My Wiring Diagram

**mattdisaster** · 10-03-2005, 01:42 PM

So the time for my carpc installl is almost here, and I've finally gotten the time to work on a diagram for the wiring job. What do you guys think:

All the wire from the battery to the inverter is going to be awg 4 (the thickness of wire that came on the inverter cables orig.). Except for the lcd power lines, which are awg 10; and yes there is 2 power lines, 1 for the heater and 1 for the actual lcd. I purchased the monitor used and and the lines were already cut and ready to be hardwired to the battery, note the 2 inline fuses between the power hookups. I think I've done a pretty clean/basic job here. I've still got some questions though:
1.) I'm looking into using the CarPC Pro Power Controller v2.5 (SDC) to controll the shutdown of the pc, inverter and lcd. Where would that actually figure into the wiring?
2.) Is the cigarette lighter 12v line the same as the headunit line? I'm still using the headunit but not the cig lighter (removed the ash tray long ago to discourage smoking in the car.

You guys(and gals) have been great throughout the entire process of my installation and planning, I can't wait to hear what you have to say, since this is the biggest step (aside from the actual install) that I have to do. Thanks to numbers and Will Albers for their help as well!

-matt

**Will Albers** · 10-03-2005, 02:00 PM

Will that screen handle varying voltages? You may want to place it on a regulated 12 volts. Whether you tap it off of the PSU or get a Cartech unit, its up to you.

n/m, reread your post. Looks like it will

Answers:
1 You want a large fuse at the base of the 4 gauge, within 12 inches of the battery. Once you get to the point of aa distribution block to break up the 4 gauge for the other components, I fuse there as well. Prevents items from taking out other items due to power issues and allows a quick way to kill power. You will want to use appropriate fuses for these items.

2 The CarPC is what I run. Look at their website for info. It will need a power, ground and accessory run. Then there are wires for the PC and two more for the invertor. Basically I tapped power from the ditribution and ground block. I placed it on the same fuse as the invertor. I ran a wire back for accessory and connected that to the harness where the stock radio was.

3 well perfect would be 2.5 and 8 amp fuses. Otherwise 5 and 10 amp fuses are fine

**mattdisaster** · 10-03-2005, 02:04 PM

Thanks for the reply so quick, I'll look into the cartech unit you mentioned- But I wonder if would it be possible for me to just hack the two lines to work off of a morex connector, and then connect them to the psu of the shuttle system. Its a p4 2ghz, 2 sticks of 256 ram, 2 3.5 harddrives, the usb gps, and 3 cooling fans. Think the 200w psu will be enough to power all that and the lcd?

-matt

**Will Albers** · 10-03-2005, 02:12 PM

That LCD is a monster if its fused at a total of 10 amps or so. That heater circuit scares me. I would think the power supply is too weak. So either buy a carnetix 1290 (which is overkill) or buy a bigger power supply (which is inefficient). If its safe to use (has its own regulator) than just tap 12 volts from the car and dont worry about it.

btw that 700 watt invertor is WAY overkill. You may want to look into the 220 DC-DC power supply in the power supply section. Would make life a LOT easier for you. Thats my next step... buh bye invertor, hello DC-DC.

**mattdisaster** · 10-03-2005, 02:30 PM

Once again, thanks for the help and quick reply. So for clearity I should put a fuse in inbetween the battery-> tank circuit, tank circuit->tank battery, and the tank circuit-> inverter. And by chance, I have the carnetix 1290 lol. I bought it a while back and never used it. I'de love to go dc-dc but I cant find an easy way to power such a large computer, and the idea of having an interter in the bronco seems appealing for camping trips for on the fly emergencys. Back to the lcd, if I do use the carnetix unit where would it go and would that mean I'de have to get the lcd its own psu(something small like 90w minitx one(I have one of those as well))? The heater thing is odd to me as well, I was planning on looking into it more before using it, its purpose is to heat the lcd unit(we get cold winters here) and allow it to be usable in cold temps. Thanks again!

-matt

**Will Albers** · 10-03-2005, 02:37 PM

fuse at the front battery. Distributor right before the tank circuit. The tank circuit supplies power to the invertor only, so fusing the invertor in all honesty means fusing the tank circuit. Grab a double extension block (fused 4 gauge to 2 8 gauge). Run one to the tank circuit/invertor. Use the second for an amp or the 12v lead of the carpc. no need to place a fuse between the tank and the invertor. I'll see if i cant draw it up.

Use the 1290 to supply 12 volts to the display and use the 5v to power USB items.

**mattdisaster** · 10-03-2005, 02:53 PM

Cool, thanks for the help, but I just checked, I have the 1960 if that makes a difference, and I thought the 1260 was just to be used in conjuction with a 60w psu as a startup/shutdown controller and voltage regulator. I'de be pumped if I could use it here though, I'de hate to sell it and take the hit on the price. And how would I go about powering the usb stuff(I forgot that the touchscreen for the lcd is usb as well, so it would be the gps and the touchscreen)hehe. Thanks again, you are the best, I cant wait for the finalized drawing and to get started on the install.

-matt

**Will Albers** · 10-03-2005, 03:18 PM

Not sure what the 1960 does. Carnetix just makes regulators which would work fine for what we are talking about.

**mattdisaster** · 10-03-2005, 03:26 PM

From looking at the two, the 1260 (which is what I have, sorry if I said the wrong model number before) does this:

It takes a battery input of +7.5VDC to +16VDC (survives engine cranking) and provides a regulated +12VDC output at 60 Watts (5 Amps).

And the 1290- which is what you recommended does this:

The P1290 proivdes two outputs. The primary output is +12V and can provide up to 6.3 amps (75 Watts). The secondary output is +5V to power USB devices (such as the Audigy 2NX sound USB sound card) with up to 3 amps (15 Watts). The P1290 can accept battery input as low as 7 volts under full load (90 watts) during cranking while providing a well-regulated output so that your CarPC does not crash.

The 1290 also has extra features, like the anti thump, crank survivability, battery monitor, the ability to power the carpc/screen/and usb stuff, as well as a higher power output.
So do you think the model I have will work? Like I said, I'de be interested to see if it could. Thanks so much again for all the help I look forward to a finalized diagram soon.

-matt

**Will Albers** · 10-03-2005, 03:28 PM

OK, the 1260 would be fine to power the screen but NOT the heater. Id run the heater off of the 12 volts of the car. Honestly, with what you have, I'd skip the 1260 and sell it. Its not going to help with your screen. If you had the standard Lilliput/Xenarc it would be a different story.

Just hook up the screen to 12v on the car. Still scares me!