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FusionFanatic · 11-18-2007, 09:31 PM

making a new bezel for those two components meant I had to find another place to mount the info center / hazard buttons because the monitor would use the spot where they used to be. at first i just had them hanging from the wires and left them in the glove box. this quickly proved to be very annoying.

My solution was to remove the cig lighter / coin tray from in front of the shifter and make a new flat panel to hold the buttons. to move the buttons I had to extend the wiring a couple feet to reach the lower console. to make sure I would never have a problem with it I soldered and heat-shrinked every wire at both ends of the extension. it worked out fine and the buttons work and light up just as they are supposed to.

I made a simple panel to hold the factory buttons. there are also two black buttons added. the bottom button is wired to the laptop docking station's power button (to turn the carputer on/off). the upper button turns the charger on/off. I used a cheap charger i bought on eBay for $15, it works fine but causes an annoying squeal in the audio. for that reason i needed to be able to turn it on and off, which is OK because the carputer/laptop can run off it's own battery for about 3 hours.

here is the top and bottom of the original panel:

a used that panel for a few months but needed to modify it later to add a couple more buttons. one button to turn the monitor on/off and another to change it's input (PC, backup cam, aux-2). I also added an analogue 15vdc voltmeter mainly to fill the extra space, but also to make sure I don't run the battery down too low to start the car

here is the top and bottom of the new/modified panel:

everything is wired using quick disconnect harness connectors for easy access/removal

I may make a curved fiberglass panel to replace that one later one. the purpose of a curved panel would be to tilt the controls toward the driver, but it's nothing urgent just something I may do if I get bored

here is my car's interior now that this carPC installation is complete:

so that's it. I can now say that my first carputer project is officially done!

11-18-2007, 09:31 PM	#13
FusionFanatic Maximum Bitrate FusionFanatic's CarPC Specs Join Date: May 2007 Location: Boston Vehicle: '07 Ford Fusion Posts: 559 My Photos: ()	making a new bezel for those two components meant I had to find another place to mount the info center / hazard buttons because the monitor would use the spot where they used to be. at first i just had them hanging from the wires and left them in the glove box. this quickly proved to be very annoying. My solution was to remove the cig lighter / coin tray from in front of the shifter and make a new flat panel to hold the buttons. to move the buttons I had to extend the wiring a couple feet to reach the lower console. to make sure I would never have a problem with it I soldered and heat-shrinked every wire at both ends of the extension. it worked out fine and the buttons work and light up just as they are supposed to. I made a simple panel to hold the factory buttons. there are also two black buttons added. the bottom button is wired to the laptop docking station's power button (to turn the carputer on/off). the upper button turns the charger on/off. I used a cheap charger i bought on eBay for $15, it works fine but causes an annoying squeal in the audio. for that reason i needed to be able to turn it on and off, which is OK because the carputer/laptop can run off it's own battery for about 3 hours. here is the top and bottom of the original panel: a used that panel for a few months but needed to modify it later to add a couple more buttons. one button to turn the monitor on/off and another to change it's input (PC, backup cam, aux-2). I also added an analogue 15vdc voltmeter mainly to fill the extra space, but also to make sure I don't run the battery down too low to start the car here is the top and bottom of the new/modified panel: everything is wired using quick disconnect harness connectors for easy access/removal I may make a curved fiberglass panel to replace that one later one. the purpose of a curved panel would be to tilt the controls toward the driver, but it's nothing urgent just something I may do if I get bored here is my car's interior now that this carPC installation is complete: so that's it. I can now say that my first carputer project is officially done! __________________ current carPC setup previous carPC setup Last edited by FusionFanatic; 04-27-2008 at 08:52 PM.