I'm having some power issues with my carputer. I think this might be because of the ground I'm getting either that or I'm just hooking up too much crap to my power supply. I'm currently just running an 8 gauge ground wire from the bolt holding in the BOSE amp in the trunk. I sanded all the paint off from around the bolt first. I tried testing the resistance from the - terminal of the battery to a bunch of different metal locations on the car and I can't seem to find any place that gives me less the 4 ohms resistance.

Where are people grounding thier amps etc to?

 

From my old Mustang days I remember having installed a seperate (new) ground wire from my Optima battery to the car's alternator or chassis. This is a new lead that was run seperate, that kind of ensured a great ground for the chassis. Most factory chassis' are grounded just fine - but when you need to run heavier equipment (not intended at the factory), you should consider a better ground.

It was real easy anyways, and cost a few dollars only:
Drill a hole at a secure location, someplace on the engine brackets (if possible). The alternator bracket was ideal for this on my old car (not sure on the G).
Then, run a solid 4 gauge wire from the (-) battery post (with a connector of course) and bolt it to your new hole. The wire would of course have a properly sized spade connector on it...

I dont know if it will help, but I do know it ensures the ground conductivity on the car...

---------------------------------
Navi-Conversion Kits at Discounted Pricing
*Authorized AV Electronic Dealer*

2003.5 Desert Platinum Sedan
Premium, Navi, xBox

 

Also, make sure your current 8ga wire is as short as possible. Because of the way that cars are grounded to the battery you really shouldn't find much difference in grounding points in the trunk. In my experiance though, you always get a better ground by tapping your own screw. But, if you sanded the paint off from under an existing bolt you should be fine. How much current is your ps pulling from the battery? Also, how much power is the carputer using? And, what kind of problems are you having? I think this is a very cool project!



Kevin
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04 Diamond Graphite Coupe - FULLY loaded
Windows up with OEM Remote

 

One of the G's main grounding points is located on the passenger sides' strut assembly in the engine compartment (close to the battery). It is a 10mm bolt with a yellow wire connected to it i believe.

Another good grounding point is on the intake plenum

<font color=green>-Rambo</font color=green>
G35c-6MT-DG/Willow/HyperGround/BorlaExhaust/350Z-intake

 

The power supply is only 150 watts and I think only pulls a max of 4 amps. I can't be exactly sure of how much power the computer is pulling, but I calculated it out as best I could and it should be just under the 150 watts if everything is pulling at peak wattage. The only real power hungry things are a 3.5" hard drive (~30 watts), the 2ghz anthlon processor(~45 watts) and on-board GeForce 4 MX 3d card (~20-40 watts). The computer itself just reboots at random intervals or sometimes it takes 5 minutes too boot... It stays stuck at the BIOS screen for a while then continues to boot after a time period. I just swapped out 3.5" hard drive in it for a 2.5" one which *may* have solved my problem, but I have to use it some more to see if the problems return.

I have a bunch of 4 gauge wire laying around, would running a 4 gauge directly from the battery to the carputer for the ground be better then tapping off a part of the metal body?

 

Running a ground from the battery to the carputer will only make things worse because it can create a ground loop. When installing car amplifiers the normal acceptable ground length is less then 3 feet. This will also help keep noise/spikes out of the power line. What are you running your power supply off of? Is is 120vac or 12vdc? If you have an inverter in there it might be failing on you too. I've noticed that the Rayovac inverters I buy at Circuit City for my laptop only last about 6 months before they die and I have to buy another one. But, I hardly ever shut it off (its in my work truck).



Kevin
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04 Diamond Graphite Coupe - FULLY loaded
Windows up with OEM Remote

 

The computer is running off a 150 watt OPUS DC-DC power supply, the power cable is 8 guage running directly to the battery ~10 ft. The ground is 8 guage and less then 3 ft. The problem is also strange in that it only occurs when the computer first starts up. After it's been running for 15 minutes or so, I almost never have the problem. I don't think it's the temperature either cause it happens on both hot and cold days.

 

Maybe your problem is with the power supply. 150 watts seems very low these days. Also, things rated in watttages tend to be rated at optimum input voltage (14.4 volts or thereabouts), so a 150 watt power supply might only put out 130 watts at the voltage your car is delivering. Even if you get a 250 or 300 watt power supply, it will not necessarily consume any more than it needs....which could be 155 watts!

04 G35s 6MT BS Aero Kit/Nav/Prem
Warning: Objects in Mirror Are Losing!

 

CPU,
Can you list the components in your comp. Cards, fans, mobo, proc, anything sucking power.

"I'm not saying you're full of BS, per se" - Zimbo



-JustICE

 

Pics of your power rails in the bios would be nice to see too.

"I'm not saying you're full of BS, per se" - Zimbo



-JustICE

 

I think the problem may be solved at this point. Since I switched out the 3.5" hd for a 2.5" the problems haven't resurfaced. I guess I was just pulling too much power. I might end up throwing in another 60watt power supply in just to run the hd now though cause the old *** 4800 rpm 2 gb laptop drive that I replaced it with has terrible boot performance.

Thanks for all your help guys.