Totally dissapointed with my carputer! - Page 2

Maheriano · 07-02-2006, 08:00 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Wiredwrx

Ummm, in your picture, you have TWO 2 conductor cables leaving the PS. Where are they going to if at least one of them is NOT going to the MB.

Michael

The thin red and black wires? One powers the LED in that blue metal piece. The other is a remote lead for the amp. It's basically a switched power source for the amplifier for the speakers. And yes, the amp does work flawlessly with this setup.

Bugbyte · 07-02-2006, 08:06 PM

Then you have forgotten to hook up your power on signal from the power supply to the headers on the mobo. That would explain why it won't start until you 'jump' it.

Maheriano · 07-02-2006, 08:08 PM

So I'm missing a wire? Where the hell is this wire?

I have to search the packaging contents again.

Does anyone know for sure where it connects to the M1?

freak3dot · 07-02-2006, 08:11 PM

I was under the impression that most people set up thier carPC inside their house before putting it in the car to work out these sort of issues. Isn't that the easy way to do it?

evandude · 07-02-2006, 08:12 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Maheriano

Why is this? The wire from the wire harness is a constant battery wire unless they have some sort of built in wierdness for no reason. But the wire says BATTERY/CONSTANT right on the jacket. I'm not dissagreeing with you, just trying to understand where I'm confused.

because the relatively thin wire that's going throughout the dash and various connectors and to the wiring harness is not a good, low-resistance connection to the car battery. If it's bad enough, it can drop enough voltage that the power supply will be shutting off at a much higher battery voltage than it should. It's just one of those things that's considered good practice to simply start with a good quality connection to the battery, as well as a good quality connection to the chassis for ground. And by the way, one of the symptoms of a poor ground connection is a possible ground loop, which you seem to have already run into.

Quote:

I mean I can use a screwdriver to touch the power/ground pins together and make the computer start up. As if I had pushed a power button that was connected to them. So that means it's getting constant power and it's grounded.

I think this last part is where I'm failing. I never seen nor heard of any wire that goes from the M1 to the power pins. Are you guys messing with me? I never changed any jumper settings and I definitely never seen any wire like this. I have nothing connected to my power/ground pins which might be causing the problem. Anyone have more detail or pictures of this? I'm going to check the online manual of both the M1 and M10000 to see if they mention it.

Well, if you have to short those two pins together with a screwdriver to power up the computer, then how do you think the M1 is supposed to power it up without being connected to them? You can have it set in the BIOS so the PC powers up as soon as power is applied, however that leaves the M1 no way to shut it down other than simply cutting the power, which is not a good method (and certainly makes hibernation, standby, etc impossible unless you manually do it each time). That sounds like it could explain why the fans are still spinning when you leave the car, but later it's completely off.

DarquePervert · 07-02-2006, 08:14 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by freak3dot

I was under the impression that most people set up thier carPC inside their house before putting it in the car to work out these sort of issues. Isn't that the easy way to do it?

Easy way or not, it's the best way to do it to make sure everything works before you spend a couple days in the hot sun putting the system in your car only to find that it doesn't work the way you expect....

Maheriano · 07-02-2006, 08:21 PM

I didn't have a 12 volt car battery in my living room. Seriously, that's the only way I'd run into this problem on the bench.

Maheriano · 07-02-2006, 08:24 PM

So looking at the manual for the M1, it looks like J6 is the motherboard on/off and J8 is an optional on/off. The LED and amp turn on are wired correctly the way I have them. I'm just missing J6. Referring back to the picture on page 1, they're the connections in brown in the bottom of the picture.

Wiredwrx · 07-02-2006, 08:33 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Maheriano

So looking at the manual for the M1, it looks like J6 is the motherboard on/off and J8 is an optional on/off. The LED and amp turn on are wired correctly the way I have them. I'm just missing J6. Referring back to the picture on page 1, they're the connections in brown in the bottom of the picture.

Correct.

I have a feelingt that the cable you have going to the AMP is the one that was meant for the MB, and that since the amp turn on is OPTIONAL, that wire was not included.

But seriously, how did you plan to turn the MB on and off if there is no connection to the on and off button/header on the MB?

You can probably jerry rig a cable for the MB on/off header if you must, but I think you should move the amp cable to the proper place on the PS and the MB, and come up with something else for your AMP.

Michael

Maheriano · 07-02-2006, 08:45 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Wiredwrx

Correct.

I have a feelingt that the cable you have going to the AMP is the one that was meant for the MB, and that since the amp turn on is OPTIONAL, that wire was not included.

But seriously, how did you plan to turn the MB on and off if there is no connection to the on and off button/header on the MB?

You can probably jerry rig a cable for the MB on/off header if you must, but I think you should move the amp cable to the proper place on the PS and the MB, and come up with something else for your AMP.

Michael

Very possible I'm using that cable for the amp, but that wire goes into the case's harness as you can see, and when it comes out on the other side, it comes out as one wire. How am I supposed to plug this bare wire into the pins on the motherboard? This part I don't understand but I do know I need to go home and check what else came with the setup. I remember 3 more wires that look exactly like the 3 going to the +/-/SW on the M1 and I had no idea what they're for. I know they wouldn't plug into motherboard pins though.

Maheriano · 07-02-2006, 08:57 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by M1-ATX Manual

Loud amplifier pops when PC starts. If your PC is connected to your car amplifier, you
will hear a loud pop when the computer is first started. The M1-ATX has an ‘anti-thump’
control that will keep your amp OFF while the PC starts. Simply connect J2 to your
amplifier remote control pins to activate the ‘anti-thump’ feature.

This is obviously not working.

piabu · 07-02-2006, 09:38 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by DarquePervert

Easy way or not, it's the best way to do it to make sure everything works before you spend a couple days in the hot sun putting the system in your car only to find that it doesn't work the way you expect....

And even after making sure it works on the bench.. expect for things to not work when you put the system into the car.

Personal case in point: The setup was 1 inch too large to fit into the space I was planning to mount it the car.

Well, it looked like there was a lot of space on the bench.. DUH!

timeshifter · 07-02-2006, 09:38 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Maheriano

2. The viewing angle on the screen is horrible! When I sit in the driver's seat, I can't see anything. All the dark colours invert to light colours and I can't even tell which video I'm playing. And I have to lean over to the middle of the car to see the GPS. Plus, sunlight doesn't just make it unreadable, I can't even tell if the screen is on or off, it's rediculous.

This is the part that's giving me second thoughts about proceeding with my carputer project. I didn't realize that the screens were so bad until I started reading about the new transflective upgrades and saw some before and after pictures. Now I see your complaint. 95% of my usage will be during the daytime. The Xenarc 700TSV is the screen I had more or less decided on, thinking it was the best in the category.

Now I'm not so sure. Are the screens really this bad?

Maheriano · 07-02-2006, 09:41 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by timeshifter

This is the part that's giving me second thoughts about proceeding with my carputer project. I didn't realize that the screens were so bad until I started reading about the new transflective upgrades and saw some before and after pictures. Now I see your complaint. 95% of my usage will be during the daytime. The Xenarc 700TSV is the screen I had more or less decided on, thinking it was the best in the category.

Now I'm not so sure. Are the screens really this bad?

Dude, putting your hand over the screen does not suffice to make it readable. Even if the screen is shaded, with the reflected light coming from inside the car still makes it unreadable.

RedGTiVR6 · 07-02-2006, 10:40 PM

this thread is quite entertaining

regarding the screen....if you're wanting something to work like a factory nav unit, go away and come back in about a year or two.

If you're interested in this project as just that A PROJECT, stick around and learn, and you might even help to contribute to making the manufacturers see the need to making the current screens even better.

To the OP: how do you have your computer turning on if you currently have to jump the pins?

If you are able to jump the pins that tells me that they aren't currently being used by anything (since they are bare and able to be jumped).