Am I goin' a little too far?

[mszo]

Is it possible to somehow rewire a car battery so that it still powers the car but as an extension has the ends a power supply would have without burning everything out?

Just curious...

[pure_rock_fury]

Considering the fact that the PSU doesn't just push out 12v DC, I think this may be a risky task. The PSU steps down the voltage for various pieces of equipment and also has different amperages for different lines.
Check this link out for more info on what a PSU does.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/power-supply1.htm

I am not an electronics guy, but it seems to me that although it may be possible, it may be easier and safer to go with an inverter and use a PSU for a car PC. There was a site around that had some parts and kits for this, I'll see if I can find it for you.

EDIT: Take a look at this
http://www.mini-box.com/s.nl/sc.8/category.101/.f

[mszo]

thanks for the links. That's kinda what i was looking for. I know that the power would be thrown off and things would burn out and short cicuit...but it would be cool to have like a computer built under you hood or seat runnin off the power of your car

lol..what a crazy idea

[OvRiDe]

MP3car.com has been around for a while. That site is like this one except for it specializes in modding computers to fit in cars. FrodoPlayer is a pretty kewl frontend for car pcs. Back in 98 my buddy put a pc in the center console of his 86 Ramcharger and used a keypad and a 20X2 LCD as an MP3 player. He used an inverter. Not too long ago I saw an article where someone mounted a Mac Mini under the radio in their car.

[mszo]

That's so cool. I bet he was one of the few people with mp3 players-he must have gotten so much action from the women...ignore that sarcasm please

[Cevinzol]

The main problem with direct connecting to a car battery is that they can have a wide range of amperage. Many car batts can crank out 30A thats a lot more than a comp can handle. If you want a comp in your ride plug an inverter (avoid the square wave type) into a cigarette lighter and run it that way. If you want to hide parts, you can hard wire the inverter to the wires going to the lighter and tuck it under the dash.

(Warning: I'm speaking from theory not experience. do a LOT of reading before starting this.... and take pictures)

[OvRiDe]

There was a really nice worklog on Gruntville by Bellerophon on his MagnumP.C. I tried to do a search for it, but nothing turned up. Anybody know what happened to it?

[jdbnsn]

I know that MP3car.com sells devices which stabilize the power so that it does not damage the computer it is powering, I would highly recommend this type of device.

[OvRiDe]

Well I found the thread on the Magnum P.C., if your interested its here.

[Omega]

uh, whoever said 30A, you're wrong.

try 300-400A.

a Car's starting motor requires up to 400A of current to rortate it at the idle RPM (commonly 1250RPM), and even more amperage to send to the ignition coil to power ignition (which is different than starting).

However, once started, the battery pushes out just about 30-60A for everything.


Now, in theory, it would work to hook up computer components to the 12v + terminal, and they should work. however, powing a whole computer is different, because there is also 5V and 3.3V in computers. Also, the amperage in computers hardly ever breaks 2A, if ever.


All i can say is take a 12V device you don't want, some very high gague wire, and test this out.

Also, take pics.