dead battery causes?

Pint · 06-07-2008, 06:36 AM

Hi -
I'm having a problem with my VOOM PC2 with a M2 ATX power supply. I've had a a dead flat battery on a number of occasions. I thought it might be because of incorrect jumper settings but I check these and they look okay.

My machine is connected to an alipine amp and a xenarc screen all powered seperately.
I really want to avoid a seperate hard off switch.

Has anyone had problems with the M2 ATX not preventing deep discharge?

Will the Xenarc screen draw enough power to drain the battery?

Thanks for your help.

2k1Toaster · 06-07-2008, 06:53 AM

Everything will draw enough power to drain the battery given enough time.

How long inbetween car off and you trying to start it again? You do have a deep cell battery or are replacing the cheapo every time it dies right?

And is the lcd off, on, or in standby?

Also the M2 does shutoff at 11v. But 11v is already too low to start some cars especially with cheap batteries

Pint · 06-08-2008, 05:22 AM

I've only replaced the battery once and it was done by the road side assistance guy. I'm not sure if it was a cheepo. I hope not.
I loose power if I leave the car for a day, sometimes 14 hours.
My LCD is on standby.
I have a 4 wheel drive that charges the battery at about 14V. I'm thinking tha the M2 may cut out at 11 v and then the LCD drains it completely?
Is there something I can buy and wire inline to protect my Battery?

It looks like I might have to just put in a switch to cut the power completely every time I leave the car for a long time.

2k1Toaster · 06-08-2008, 05:27 AM

That's a very short time frame, either you have a short or the PC isnt actually off. Is your PC in S3 or off?

Also everytime you let a cheap battery discharge, it will never hold the same charge again.

rijk · 06-08-2008, 06:03 AM

power your screen from the m2 and it will switch off with the cpc, also use jumpersetting with a hard off, (not the taximode) the shorter the time the less you drain the battery.

The m2 has the 11 volt safety, only once it is running, it will only switch off at about 8 volts and than only start up once the 11 volt has been reached again.
Happened to me a couple of times.

You have the remote wire to the m2 on the ignition, and the remote off the amps also goes off with the ignition?

Pint · 06-12-2008, 07:54 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

That's a very short time frame, either you have a short or the PC isnt actually off. Is your PC in S3 or off?

What is S3?
Is there any way of turning off the 5volt rail?

Can I put some sort of component between the PC and Battery to monitor voltage and turn off?

Thanks

2k1Toaster · 06-12-2008, 08:07 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Pint

What is S3?
Is there any way of turning off the 5volt rail?

Can I put some sort of component between the PC and Battery to monitor voltage and turn off?

Thanks

S3 is a division of the G1 power state. G1 refers to "sleeping" in general. S3 means standby, S4 means hibernation. G0 is on, and G2 is "off" but off when things still have power. G3 is when you actually pull the plug out of the wall and it has no power at all other than the CMOS battery.

And anything that "monitors" draws power. But they do make battery terminal voltage monitors I think. Not too useful because all it will tell you is that your battery is low. You already know this as you are getting dead batteries.

Also check that your cables are nice and tight on the terminals. Go get a free alternator check to make sure it is working. And for the love pete replace that battery with a deep cycle battery. Once you run it down, it will never work well enough again with the strain we CarPC people put on them.

rijk · 06-12-2008, 09:51 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Pint

Can I put some sort of component between the PC and Battery to monitor voltage and turn off?

powesuply like: m2, m4, dsx, etc

dsx can be tuned, at what voltage it wil turn of, but changing de distance of the brainstem to the com port could cause a hikup when programing it. When your not programming it, it works very good.

FusionFanatic · 06-12-2008, 10:47 AM

the M2-ATX has a "hardoff" setting that cuts all power (including the +5vSB rail) after a set amount of time.

you can turn the hardoff feature on/off as well as set the hardoff delay time via jumper settings. what jumper setting are you using?

you can see view the full list of possible jumper settings here. you should not use any of the "never" settings, as these will drain your battery. use only the following settings (I use the first setting, and would recommend you do the same as long as your PC shuts down in less than 45 seconds).

Code:

ABCD  OFFDELAY / HARDOFF
1000  5 seconds / 1 minute
0100  5 seconds / 2 hours
0010  30 seconds / 2 hours
0001  10 minutes / 1 hour
1001  15 minutes / 2 hours
0101  1 hour / 1 hour 15 minutes
1101  5 seconds / 2 hours

although that should stop your PC from draining your battery when your car is off, it still shouldn't have drained your battery in such a short amount of time. it sounds like you have a problems with your car's electrical system. you could have a bad battery, a dying alternator, or another device draining your battery.

good luck