Thread: Questions about my setup and the Carnetix P1900...

Originally Posted by Nola111

Ok, I will try to make this post as concise and well-organized as possible.

For organization, you get an A-.
For conciseness, you flunk miserably!

Today I learned a lesson... read everything you possibly can in this forum BEFORE you buy anything. There is a wealth of information here on CarPC's, and many people here have taken a lot of time to write very informative posts and FAQ's to help people. Everyone please heed this lesson... if you're new to the Car PC world, even if you know a lot about pc's and car audio, READ READ READ before jumping the gun with excitement! Granted, I read ALOT of FAQ's and posts on here before I started the plans for mine... but I should have read more

Well said, and I couldn't agree more.
I try to tell newbies to read and then read some more and plan and ask questions and... Well, you get the idea.
It doesn't always work that way, though. Sorry you had to learn an expensive lesson.

The Blaxtream PC already has a PSU in it with built-in SSC and voltage regulation. It says it will accept voltages between 6v and 24v. But granted, this can not mean that the pc can run continuously on the voltages that vary from 12v??

I'm not the expert on that, but I would be willing to bet that the Blaxstream, being designed for vehicle use, has a PSU/SDC unit that's designed to take the raw voltagre from the car's electical system.
Hopefully, someone can confirm that.

So I start thinking, just because the pc will take 6v up to 24 v doesn't mean that I should be running 18v continous to it. (Tell me if I'm wrong here, and if it's ok).

I don't think so. Again, I'm not the expert...

- I plan to keep the P1900 to still power the screen and USB hub.

Ummmm. Why the screen? The Xenarc can take the unregulated 12v from the car's electical system just fine. It has a built-in regulator.

- I am running a 10gauge power wire from the battery to the P1900. What is the best and safest way for me to connect the 12v wire coming out of my pc, since I will not be connecting it to the P1900 output anymore? Just tap directly to the 10gauge wire coming from the battery before it gets to the P1900? Only thing that worries me is the wire coming from the pc is 16 gauge. Is that unsafe to connect that to a 10 gauge?

It's fine. The amperage that the PC is going to draw is fine for the few inches of 16awg, but for the longer run, a thicker (lower guage) wire is necessary to prevent overheating of the wire, and potentially causing a fire.

Alright, let me leave it at that before I ask more questions...

You're asking intelligent questions, man! bring 'em on!

Originally Posted by sexy6s

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/powe...cnx-p1900.html

this might help you. If i recall correctly Darque said its fine if you want to connect those 14 or 16 guage wire to a 8 gauge wire. So i'm assuming that this would also be fine...but i'm not 100% sure if you need a fuse inbeween there somewhere...

DING! DING! DING!
You are correct, sir. A fuse is needed to protect the wiring and ultimately your car and your life.

my amp might be a diffrent story, but thats connected via an 8gauge wire, and has a fuse about 10 inches from the power lead on the + side of the battery....still trying to figure out this whole power supply deal anyways....but hey

Here's how mine is set up.
I have 4awg coming off the battery. There's a 100A fuse withing a foot of the battery. That fuse is to protect the WIRING, not the components.
The 4awg runs to my fused distro block.
I have 10-awg going from the distro block to my amps (or I will, when I hook them up!) and a 40A fuse on each of those lines. Again, the fuses are to protect the WIRING.
I have 12AWG running to an inverter and to the DSATX, each with a 30A fuse. Care to guess what the fuses are for? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

All ground lines are the same guage as the power lines. The main ground from the distro block is running to a bolt where the rear seatblets mount.

Hope that helps!