Carputer step one (1 Viewer)

[superjuice]

I'll start this off with the wiring for the amplifier, mostly because i cant seem to get it right Basically its a netbook(running centrafuse front end) tucked in the glove box, 7" capacitive touchscreen, and a carnetix power supply to juice it all up. The amp is a small NITRO and seems to be about 25 watts x 4 and fits nicely in the factory location. Everything works fine except i don't get sound (even though the amp is on, shown by a green led) until i turn the lights on! Once i do the antenna pops up and the sound turns on. Even after i turn the lights off the antenna stays up and the sound stays on until i turn the car off, or......if i turn the music up too loud the sounds cuts out and the antenna goes down! then i just flip the lights on and off again and back to the music.

So what i did to keep the wiring behind the dash to a minimum was to pin out the factory amp connectors from behind the dash and found(at least i thought i found) that they pin through to the factory amp location. same plug and everything. I bought two amp connector kits which have four rca's and 8 wires. perfect for rca in and 4 speaker outputs. i wired the power for the amp seperatly.

If i have everything powered up (amp is on and computer is playing) and i unplug the amp (from the amp location side) the antenna goes up, plug it back in and the sound plays fine.

Another thing i have found is if i dim the dash lights, i get a terrible buzzing sound!

Connector color codes from the package are as follows:
yellow = 12v constant
red = 12v ignition
blue = power antenna
blue/white = remote turn on
orange = illumination/dimmer
black = ground
speakers are the usual

Currently the blue is hooked up to the ignition but it doesn't turn on unless the lights are turned on, i thought they might be switched with the illumination so i tried to power the orange and the dash lights would go on with the ignition:whoops:

Since from what i have read the antenna issues are all ways remedied by disconnecting the factory amp my questions are:
Is there some relay for the antenna in between the the two amp connectors that i should know about?
Do you think the factory amp had some kind of protection in line that breaks the circuit if an overload is sensed?
Has anyone ever gotten the antenna to go up with the car off?
Maybe the illumination and antenna also went to the factory amp (somewhere in between the two plugs) and now the antenna gets a jump from there.

I guess i can just run dedicated rca and speaker wires but i put a lot of time and effort into getting this to work. It's all in there nice and neat now and i'm kinda anal and don't want to a rats nest Hopefully someone here can help shed some light on this problem so i don't have to go back and rip it all out to start over. I did test it before i put the dash back together but had not turned the stereo off until after. It has been working this way for over a month now and needs to be fixed

Thanks for any help you guys can offer

Amp wiring


Dash wiring


Wiring installed
View attachment 450385

 

[Count_Fred]

It's been years now, so my memory is foggy. However, with my old carputer screen, if I used the dimmer line, I would have sound difficulties unless the lights were on. I eventually just disconnected the dimmer line and everything seemed to work.

Cheers,
JFS III

 

[superjuice]

Thanks, the dimmer line is not connected, unless the color code is wrong. I'm going to crack the dash tomorrow and do some more testing. It will turn on the antenna even if the dash is dimmed all the way down and i toggle the lights, just a real loud buzz and it doesn't change with the volume setting.

 

[superjuice]

Now that i've been thinking about this again maybe the antenna needs to have the pulse after the ingition has been turned on. I know if i hit the lights before the computer is booted than the antenna doesnt go up. I have to wait a few seconds after the key is turned on before i hit the lights. This doesnt change the fact the the lights should have nothing to do with it but may be a work around.

 

[94SRUNNER]

I hope that some of the 80 Series electrical guru's will chime in...this looks like a very cool project and I look forward to seeing the finished install.

 

[Sanchez]

I've been toying with the same idea a while back, but I just haven't had the time to get started. I will install an intel mac mini. It's a dual boot, I have it running windows 7 and snow leopard. I will be using an lilliput 8" touchscreen on mine with a carnetix power supply also. The advantage I have is that I swapped my head unit for an aftermarket one. It has the AUX inputs which i plan on using for the sound coming from the mac. My HU has 3 sets of amp outputs on it also, 2 sets for a 4 channel amp (which I have running at the moment) and 1 set to use for subs or sub amps. I've used my iphone connected to the aux port so that i can listen to pandora and it works fine for me. So this is what I plan on using, I just need time to get in there and get it done.

good luck. I will be watching closely.

-Juan

 

[unwiredadventures]

I have a carputer installed with a touchscreen where the radio was. I'm about 80% finished with the installation. It's been a work in progress for a long time.

I bought the monitor and 12vdc PC from Mobile Computing Solutions.

For better sound I installed a Creative USB sound connected to the factory '80 amp using a Crutchfield adapter.

I also use Centrafuse as a front end. The Overland Navigator software is wonderful while on the trail.

 

[djsherif]

iPad is the cleanest carpet out there if you have one or want one, that's the direction I'm going but good luck with your setup.

 

[superjuice]

iPad is the cleanest carpet out there if you have one or want one, that's the direction I'm going but good luck with your setup.

but can it do this?

 

[superjuice]

OK some more pics


internet


netbook

 

[djsherif]

That's awesome but you should check this out too

DevToaster - Rev - iPhone app development, Great iPhone apps, and more

iPad native version coming soon but for now the iphone one should be fine.

 

[superjuice]

thats cool, but my goal was to have an interface for everything. so far this does it, not for the faint of heart, it needs attention, but it does do it all.

usb connections

touchscreen

carnetix power supply

 

[djsherif]

Curious as to What do you mean by everything? I'm not an apple fanboy or anything, but from what i see in your pics the ipad can do all of that.

Obd II
Web
Music
Video
Gps
Pictures

All the apps you could need in a car plus its portable.

The cherry is that its interface is actually designed for touch so no need for keyboard or mice or additional touch screens. Better yet, no need to wire anything to the starter and it boots from off to on in less than 10 seconds . I'd like to see a windows pc do that.

 

[Ebag333]

it boots from off to on in less than 10 seconds . I'd like to see a windows pc do that.

W7's hibernate mode lets it do exactly that.

 

[superjuice]

Curious as to What do you mean by everything? I'm not an apple fanboy or anything, but from what i see in your pics the ipad can do all of that.

Obd II
Web
Music
Video
Gps
Pictures

All the apps you could need in a car plus its portable.

The cherry is that its interface is actually designed for touch so no need for keyboard or mice or additional touch screens. Better yet, no need to wire anything to the starter and it boots from off to on in less than 10 seconds . I'd like to see a windows pc do that.

The centrafuse front end IS designed for touch, big buttons, simple controls and large fonts. I was looking at the iPad instead and it is a viable option, feel free to install one. From what i read it might be hazardous trying to navigate the apps if they are not specifically designed for an automotive environment. I was also kinda put off by having to mount the thing out in the open, all willy-nilly like

Does the iPad automatically switch to the reverse camera when backing up




I cant deny that it is a viable option (with the right array of applications) and would love to see one in an 80

 

[djsherif]

Off and hibernate isn't quite the same. In that case you could say the iPad comes out of hibernation in under a second. But to each his own

 

[djsherif]

Hahaha jerk! You got me with the backup camera. Im sure it could be possible, what in this world isn't anymore right...

I'm waiting for the right install/mounting solution to present itself for the 80 and then i'll dive in. Scosche is coming out with an interesting double din mount so im sure it's just a matter of time before someone puts it in an 80.

Check out soundmancaraudio on you tube, not so willy nilly now is it .

 

[Ebag333]

Off and hibernate isn't quite the same. In that case you could say the iPad comes out of hibernation in under a second. But to each his own

True, but with a netbook that gets 8+ hours running, hibernate gets you a loooooong time. Plus it'll get charged any time you run the vehicle.

The hybrid hibernate mode lets you do sleep/hibernate combinations, with automatic off if the battery were to hit a certain percentage.

And I think waiting an extra few seconds is worth saving $300 (or more) to me. But as you said, to each their own. The iPad is in a lot of ways an impressive device, it's rather tempting to me. If the price was reasonable (say $300) I'd be all over it. Then again, maybe not since I'd be locked into Apple's walled garden, where they don't play well with others. I like to be able to use Flash.

 

[djsherif]

Good points, and price is definitely an issue. I use my iPad for everything though so I can definitely justify it's cost, heck even the wifey loves it. Haven't touched my laptop since I got it. You're right about the walled garden but mine is jail broken so I have no walls or at least less.

The powering with the car is a huge plus, and the central interface is great but i'm sure someone will figure out both of those. My iPad gets 10+ hours of battery life with non stop usage. I left on vacation and left it in sleep mode with 100% battery. Came back 2 weeks later and it was at 96%....not too shabby at all.

 

[unwiredadventures]

Does the iPad automatically switch to the reverse camera when backing up?

Which touchscreen is that? Where did you get it?