Thread: 99 Honda Civic - Black Box 1

So the car is in the shop still. Saving money by going to a friend is great but the amount of time it takes for work to get done is terrible. Going a day without driving seems so foreign for me. Anyways, I have used the time to catch up on some research and have come across the idea of a sheeva plug attached to a fusion brain. This of course is a long term goal but one can dream. With an always on sheeva I would have a dedicated battery for sure as well. It would be great to add scripts for shutting down the carpc, seem-less web integration/control, and an endless amount of extra things to do. I really really want to work on my car right now.. like I finally have the free time so this is milling me to wait. But till then I will keep reading!

Xbox (no longer used)
-Softmodded to Ndure with splinter cell hack
-XBMC 11
-No scripts or apps; only used stock mod
-PROS: Hard shutdown, xbox games, fastest boot, stable, lowest power
-CONS: touch screen, navigation; pretty much everything except media, limited apps and development nowadays

Linux (no longer used)
-Ubuntu 10.10
-I don't really remember some of the software that I used but it was not nearly as functional as I would have liked. Only was really able to get music, wifi, and video recording to function
-PROS: it's linux so the options are endless, if I had the time
-CONS: No navigation software, no frontends, hardware compatibility; sound card

Windows (current use)
-fiddled around with win7 since I had an 'extra' copy but boot time was a little slow and there were apps that I wanted which refused to function.
-settled with TinyXP
-Winamp for music
-Navigator Free for gps
-Debut Video for camera recording
-Nexus for a useful taskbar
-I am trying to configure roadrunner to use as a frontend but that is a little complicated but I am sure one day I will figure it out.
-PROS: boot time is quicker than expected, software/hardware compatibility is great, no learning curve, easy to follow other projects
-CONS: windows is boring and not very customizable, I really wanted to do my build with linux but I will save that for another time

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My philosophy on frontends right now is that I would much rather just use separate programs for each function I want to incorporate. This is mostly because of wanting to use various different software and that the function I want to use isn't always available in that particular front end. The only way I could imagine using a front end would be coding something into Labview since that would allow me to place any app in there for use.

So, after waiting four days I FINALLY got my car back. That's what I get for trying to save a bit of money. In the end I paid $150 for the new alternator and got 25 more amps added to the car. The only other downside to saving all that money is that I had to install the part myself. Although it was kind of entertaining to learn how to do that anyways. In other news, I spent all of today working on making everything work correctly. This is for sure the most progress that I have made in months, if not the most progress ever. I will first start with some pictures.

Around noon when I started
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These first few images were from before I took anything apart. As you can tell there is a little bit of a mess. Essentially my goals of today were to: run all power wires under the center console, zip tie any and all wires, reorganize the trunk mess of wires, properly install the inverter and carputer, remount the screen with a proper bracket, install the usb splitter so that the wires are nicely tucked, test and evaluate everything.

I wanted to take pictures during the build but I kinda got carried away. Essentially I just took off all of the front panels and center console. Then I put in all of the wires that were there previously but now in an organized and neat fashion. I had to drill some holes to mount a bracket for the screen. I still may need to redo the screen mount but now at least there is less duct tape. And finally, I put the inverter in the trunk and made sure the computer worked. When I turned it on, everything worked great! Plus now it is MUCH neater. I could consider this a complete build, BUT after the images I will explain more of what I have planned. I suppose this is a major milestone though because I have all of my original planned updates except for OBDII.


The RCA cables are'nt really all that neat but since they are behind my sub in the trunk, I didnt really see the point of tucking them. I will get to eventually but this is still a work in progress and other things are more pertinent.


The Inverter is in the trunk plugged into the wires that I had installed a while ago. Thankfully I didn't have to do this part because I didn't have any wire strippers or the hardware to ground anything else.


Keyboard for the backseat passengers as a method for changing songs, typing in youtube videos, and other internet usage; not tucked in because it is more of a secondary item that I would leave unplugged and under the seat when not used.


The only place where the power wires are now visible. This was the best place to send the wires so that there was maximum neatness everywhere else. That 0 gauge would have never fit anywhere else anyways.








No more red wire!! It has been over a year with that obnoxious red wire running the left side of my car. It is so odd seeing it gone, but so much more professional this way.


Usb hub behind the cupholders so that it is tucked away but easily accesible. 2 free ports for accessories (keyboard and charging my phone when tethering.


Hole that I cut so that the wires would nicely go in behind the hub. Fits more naturally this way.





Carputer in the glove box. All the usb/vga wires are crammed in there. Don't care if its a little messy for now because it's only seen when I need to change something. Just need a place for registration/insurance papers now...








Gps attached to the outside of the car (don't worry its waterproof BU-353). Also, the duct tape is holding my winshield molding on because it's old and tore but is not worth going through changing the whole damn thing. And the mirror is being held on as well because some smart person in Boston messed it up in the middle of the night somehow.


View of the gps and camera on my dash





Some lights I installed. There are also sets under the driver and front passenger seats. Those lights were already there months ago but the dash ones hadn't been hooked up till now


Winamp


Desktop



Now that everything is clean and installed, I can continue working on the software in the correct environment and fiddle with things until they are perfect. In the mean time, I will also start looking into getting the correct OBDII cable and software for it. Other things on the to-do list include: run a power wire so I do not have to open the glove box to tun on the computer (doing that tomorrow if it doesn't rain too much), Look into Fusion Brains and then Sheeva Plugs (long-term), learn my way with the navigation software/look into other programs that are available, discover a working frontend, put in more lights (vents, HVAC controls, interior map light upgrade, trunk).
That is just a list of things I want to do off the top of my head. I will begin another post when I have a more solidified plan of what I want to do and how I am going to go about doing them. I am just excited to play with my new toy now =). Let me know if you have any questions, as I am now on the forums at least once a day. Peace!

So, there is an issue that I have been having since the beginning of this whole carputer project. It is a nasty ground loop that I cannot seem to get rid of. Before putting in the inverter, I received no problems with the sound and the speakers were silent when no music was playing. This indicates that the radio is grounded properly, the amps are grounded properly, and that nothing else in the sound system can be the problem. That leaves only one culprit for the annoyance and that would be the inverter itself. The inverter is plugged into the same power distribution blocks as the amps and grounded in the same place as well. The ground loop is absolutely unbearable if the computer is plugged into the amps directly, but if it is first routed through the head unit (hidden behind my touchscreen), then it is only a slight buzz. The slight buzz is only audible when music is paused or playing very softly. Now the only real problem with that is sometimes I enjoy listening to classical music at low volumes which is not really possible with the ground loop in the way. Everything else sounds fine but since I am a bit of an audiophile, I am not really happy. Below is a crude diagram I drew up representing the way everything is powered. Fixing this has always been high priority but I would like to figure this out without having to replace the inverter. Right now it really seems like that is where my issue is rooted from, but hopefully not.



Now it is off to the store to get more duct tape and try to keep planning my to-do list. Yesterday was successful enough for now though. I consider 'phase 1' to be complete. Later.

So this weekend I got a $200 'premium driving fee' (as I like to call it). Sooo that is definitely going to set me back a little bit since that was the money I had planned on using for the next couple of upgrades to the system. In the mean time I will continue planning but I will not likely be able to do anything major until May really.. I will soon post my full to do list so I can at least begin to compile everything that I want to do, whenever I get the money. For right now, the one thing I want to do which will not require money is sort out the software some more. Since there has finally been road testing and I have logged some hours with the system, I can give some conclusions on the User Interface so far. The problem of not using a front end is definitely apparent when I am trying to multitask (music, camera, navigation, internet). It is not that bad because the navigation is very touch friendly, but Winamp is definitely NOT touch friendly. It is easy to operate with a keyboard as the passenger, but I am talking about operation with only the touch screen while driving. I just want the simple tasks of pause/play, next/previous, and selection of track. I was able to make the buttons big enough for pause/play and next/previous to function, but selection of track is impossible. There really is no way around this by using Winamp so I need to find an alternative software. There is always the centrafuse option but that costs money and I am not really a fan of anything other than the music player it has. Anyways, I will post a full to-do list and continue to update if anything else comes up. The moral of the story is though, I HATE THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE!

Yesterday I found out that my heat is not working! Thankfully it was not very cold out but it was chilly enough that I wanted some heat. And I really needed the defrosters so ended up having to just use the AC at full cold, which made it a little uncomfortable for ~30 minute drive. This is something that of course I could survive now till like November since its getting warm out, but definitely something I want to fix! Not exactly sure what happened. I am assuming that something got damaged on the control box (loose wire, fuse, etc) but I have not yet been able to find the culprit. SInce the lights in the box have been out, I may end up just buying a new box (~$40 with shipping on ebay) and if that fixes both problems, great. If not then theres a ****ty wiring problem. Somewhere. Not exactly excited for the latter, but I fear that is likely going to be the outcome. Time to search the internets for a solution!

CURRENT TO DO LIST

Hardware (within this year definitely)

• OBDII cable (thinking a blutooth one from Amazon)
• Blutooth receiver for OBD, cell phone calling integration, and keyboard
• Mini keyboard for passenger use and debugging (currently using full-sized wired)
• HD, waterproof, shock resistant camera to mount in grill to replace dash camera
• Re-purpose current camera for use as either a backup camera or record inside the car
• Microphone for calling and voice operation
• In-line RCA controls to have quick access to 4-channel amp and sub amp levels
• Run the power switch to the front of the car
• Fix the ground loop; ground distribution block to a new hole with paint sanded down

Hardware (possibly in the future/ would be cool once everything else is done)

• Upgrade 4-channel amp to 400W (rms) instead of current 200W (rms)
• Upgrade 1-channel amp to 1000W (rms) instead of current 500W (rms)
• Optima yellow-top battery in trunk for audio equipment with additional fuse
• Capacitors (1F should be enough)
• Touchscreen tablet for some sort of remote operation
• 5-speed manual transmission swap (that would be so awesome)
• Power windows (not standard auto-windows; retain ability to manually crank as well)
• Automatic/Wireless ignition and locks
• If I get bored of the audio system (lol this is really a stretch), additional speakers should be added to really improve the experience. I would get 2 midbass drivers to put in the back doors (nonstandard install/custom holes needed) and 2-4 tweeters to place throughout the car to make the sound perfectly balanced. And most certainly another amp would be needed then (thinking Id use my current 4 channel amp if I upgraded to the 400W)

Software (within this year definitely)

• Front End (road runner preferably)
• Navigation (need to download more maps for MapFactor, would rather find a better program that includes a better system for points of interest and such)
• Music (Winamp is great, but I would like library organization to work better for in-car)
• Cell phone (find software to integrate cell phone calls; Skype?)
• OBDII software
• Digital sound processing software
• Nifty integration of Gps, OBD, and camera to create a cohesive video of some sort

Software ( possibly in the future/ would be cool once everything else is done)

• Linux distribution operating system
• Total voice control with touchscreen as backup and advanced use
• Total situational awareness (auto climate, automatic recording; video, gps logs, and OBD data)
• Integrate power windows, locks, and auto-start to the computer and attached to internet
• Control of everything from the internet and therefore from my phone

The other day, I drove my car around for some errands and noticed that when I tried to change the temperature for the AC, it actually got warmer! So I changed it to full heat and to my surprise, the heater was in fully working order. Now this is rather confusing because I did not do anything in order to fix it. It is nice that it functions correctly now but it does not really make much sense to me why it did not work in the first place. I will continue monitoring the issue and if it reappears then I will try to further investigate it. But for now, I will move on with the project and just hope it was a control box just being dumb issue.

On another note though, there appears to be another electrical problem. When starting the car for the first time after it has sat for a bit, I get some weird starting issues. I am thinking that it probably means my battery is going. I will look into figuring that out and if it is the issue, that will be an easy replacement (this time I will buy a better one though). By the end of the month, the development process for the summer should begin! I am excited to get working on things again and I will surely be posting pics of what I accomplish. Definitely going to add bluetooth, OBDII, better camera, and mount the screen more properly. Should be fun times!!!

Hey duncan I just wanted to say good luck on the build. I really respect that you're actually getting things going and trying different things. Might not be the most elegant install ever, but props to you for just doing it.