buying an older car....Power questions

crazyshaxs · 02-29-2000, 10:12 PM

Hello,
I am thinking about buying a 1963 ford falcon. I was going to put a mp3 player in my 1997 ford f150 but I am selling it. I was going to power the mp3 playerwith a invertor. Now I am thinking about takign out the console in this '63 falcon and placing my mp3 player there. How could I power it if the car has no cigarette lighter...do I direct hookup to the battery via the fuse box? Can an after market cigarette light be added? Please let me know what you think! Thanks, Shaxs

LoreleiGuy · 02-29-2000, 10:38 PM

Most inverters will come with a kit to hook directly up to the battery. So, you can probably do it through the fuse box with little problem.

Gutter · 02-29-2000, 10:59 PM

Don't some older cars run on 6vDC instead of 12vDC?

Anyway, hooking it directly to the battery isn't very hard. That's what I did with mine. You just have to put a switch in, otherwise the player will run when the car is off. I wrote out detailed info about how I did it on my site.

Gutter
http://impee3.hypermart.net
The Impee3 Car Player

jasmar · 03-01-2000, 10:45 AM

Connect the inverter directly to the battery. This method will insure good power delivery and the Battery will act as a filter somewhat.There should be plenty of holes through the firewall in the Falcon. Is it Generator or Alternator? Either way it would be 12 volt for 63. For a medium to low sized inverter use a 10 or 12 gauge wire. Ground as close as possible to the inverter. Make sure to fuse the inverter at the battery to protect the car. Make sure the inverter is fused at the inverter to protect the electronics. Check out a car stereo shop or Best Buy, Circuit City for a small amp kit and use that. As for a switch to turn it on and off I would personally use a relay. If it has a switch in the inverter that is the best. Remove the switch and extend the wires a bit. Make sure to protect them from the metal case. Get a standard automotive spdt relay (also available a car stereo shop) and wire 85 to ground, 86 to the ignition or accessory in the car, 87 to one wire from the original switch on the inverter and 30 to the other. Now the Inverter will turn on and off with the car. You can also do this if the inverter has no switch but it will be a little different. Wire 85 to ground, 86 to ignition or accessory, 87 to the wire from the battery, and 30 to the power wire of the inverter. Good luck wish I still had my 65 Falcon Ranchero. Jason

crazyshaxs · 03-02-2000, 01:22 AM

Okay, Sounds like adding an invertor is the way I want to go because I would like to have the ability to add a vcr ect. since the lcd takes regular video in. A little bout the car. Its a black 1963 Ford Falcon Futura (I Guess this was a special model, not too many made. I am not to fimiliar with the car model ect, I just drove by it and fell in love

) it has a straight 6 in it and runs good. It has a 3 spd column shift. The body is in nice condition and has new paint on it. Almost all orignal. The only thing that needs to be done (well sorta) is the upholstery. And here is the best part....only 1500 buxs...hehehe. Yeah. Anyways, thanks for the help guys!
-Jason

[This message has been edited by crazyshaxs (edited 03-02-2000).]

jjohnson · 03-02-2000, 04:11 PM

One thing you might want to consider is using a DC/DC PSU instead of an inverter. With older cars especially, an inverter will receive too little voltage while starting (cranking the engine over) and the PC will reboot or hang if it is left on. I have a 1970 Camaro and switched to DC/DC for this very reason.

------------------
--Jason

Web site: http://www.m2pc.com
Yahoo Pager: m2pc123

crazyshaxs · 03-04-2000, 03:07 AM

So, could i just leave the player on all the time and restart the car if I need to ect and just manual turn it off if i get the dc dc power like jjohnson?