A Total NewBie - Install on Honda Civic Hybrid

suhaildesigns · 04-29-2005, 10:52 PM

Hello every one.. Make way for a total newbie

It has been a few weeks now since this form is the first thing i see when i fire up my browser, now i thing i should start on a project myself. I am heavy impressed by the projects posted here.

I must first admit that i have a very minimal exprience with computers from the inside ( have assembled one) but not to the extent that i can make it work out site the normal PC setup. I have a couple of PCs lying around that i wanted to test on but i am not sure of a number of things:

A) The PC's nature :
Can you just take an office PC, striped of some things ( i mean stuff like a modem) can function with a problem in a car. or are there modifications that we need to make it stable.)

B) How does the power in a car work : I know that most things in are powered off the car battery. but about the voltage, I am completely blank about how excatly are they powered.

C) Does a car-pc effect the life of the car : I have a hybrid, and i am loving every moment of this 2003 Honda Civic hybrid. would be like it might effect the performance of the car.

These question do sound a lot stupid that the ones i have seen posted. but that where i stand. I am ready to learn about things from books, or any other source. Just looking for the right direction to go in.

About the car : The Car is a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid, 1.3L Eng. V4 vtec engine.
here are some snaps :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/civichybrid

I know there are a lot of proffessionals out here, and i would be really appreciate your time. I am looking for a good guide to understand how excatly the car functions and what should one consider before we think to do an install.

xdjxklusivex · 04-29-2005, 11:03 PM

Quote:

A) The PC's nature :
Can you just take an office PC, striped of some things ( i mean stuff like a modem) can function with a problem in a car. or are there modifications that we need to make it stable.)

yup all u need is just the power supply- mother board - ram - and hard drive... cd drive is not necessary...

Quote:

B) How does the power in a car work : I know that most things in are powered off the car battery. but about the voltage, I am completely blank about how excatly are they powered.

basicly u can get a inverter and wire it up... easiest way i guess... or u can get a dc-dc power supply does not need a inverter

Quote:

C) Does a car-pc effect the life of the car : I have a hybrid, and i am loving every moment of this 2003 Honda Civic hybrid. would be like it might effect the performance of the car.

not really just dont run it when ur engine is off because that way it drains the battery... the alternator (in ur case maybe a generator) keeps the battery charged...

hope that helped! good luck and have fun!

by the way where are u from? india?

electron · 04-30-2005, 08:15 AM

Keep in mind that these Hybrids have a much more complicated electrical system than regular cars. Most technicians will receive a week of training about how to work with these high voltage systems, so make sure you do your research before hooking anything up!

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/aug2002/special.cfm

suhaildesigns · 04-30-2005, 11:14 AM

Hi xdjxklusivex thankz for that clarification, That sure is the first step to getting things right.

But i was thinking, Which one would be easier to install, the inverter or the dc-dc power supply ( i know about the inverter, seen it work, but i am not sure how the dc-dc one works) I have this guide that shows have to install an inverter http://www.oakton.edu/students/~mpot.../mainpower.htm
(stripped it off autospeed's articles)
So if i get an inverter, it would power other electrical stuff too, like charging a laptop, rite?..
but is dc-dc a better option stability vise.?..

And about me. i am an indian by origin, but lived my whole life in Dubai (Middle east). Last year i moved to the US.
______________________________________
Hi electron, that was a pretty useful link, as of now , i do know that the batteries under the hood of this car work independently of the extra battery back that sits between the backseat and the truck. And the car drains power from the extra battery back when you are not accelerating, and when the car come to a dead stop.

so i wish it should not be a lot of trouble, setting up the power supply off the battery under the hood.. what do you think?..

MatrixPC · 05-02-2005, 09:12 AM

Just a word of warning.
Before you are putting in either Inverter or DC-DC PSU, double or triple check the power system in your car. Like electron said, those hybrid car has more complicate electrical system than normal car.
It may have 2 separate electrical system in there (one for normal car voltage and the other for the drive motors). I don't know for sure but you should of check that.

kamcgough · 01-11-2006, 06:05 PM

I have the schematics over there for a embedded linux driven project, but with the isolated battery system, you could support a windoz platform too. (I am drawing about 20-30 watts. A full-on Carputer would probably use more than 100 watts.)

LowSky · 01-15-2006, 11:14 AM

does the hybrid even use a 12volt battery system. you may want to be careful and look up you battery voltage first

kamcgough · 01-15-2006, 05:33 PM

the primary fuse bus provides 12v. the NiMH cell provides 150ish at 5.6Ah

the starter is a conventional flooded cell, and this is what you tap into.

Been running 1 month.

I also use my own gels (34Ah) which are trickle charged by the primary bus when the flooded bat is fully charged.

Ultimately, I have 3 battery systems, ond only charge my gels with the starter batt.

Cris · 01-15-2006, 05:36 PM

There are quite a few nce Civic installs around, so check them out.

kamcgough · 01-16-2006, 08:16 AM

...For instance http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...highlight=Roku