Meissen's Project CarPC Thread
TECH Resident
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 964
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta, GA
Originally Posted by JasonWW
Did you read my post above?
Sorry man, I did camaro searches on mp3car before and it never came up with anything other than a few sloppy attempts on some LT1s. I never saw anything like the pics posted by you done to a camaro on that site, Ill have to check again.
Completely overlooked the link the first time, my bad.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 2
From: Macomb Twp, MI
lol I have to agree on that one. <3 Carbon fiber. I actually wrapped the pieces myself, and will likely be doing a few more pieces by Spring... but the two pieces I'm doing has never, ever been done before so it'll be an interesting venture into the unknown. 
Originally Posted by meissenation
I did notice, though, that *apparently* the Opus still supplies power to the USB port even though the car is off, potentially draining your battery if you leave it sit for too long.
Doesn't the Opus have a hard off option?
I can't remember, but I thought I saw something about the opus (and all PS's) maintaining power to the mobo even when off. Have you tried going into the BIOS and turnng off the "wake from LAN" or something like that? Your mobo might be suppling power to that circuit, but the opus should have a jumper to perform a hard off (after 5 hours?). That way it is turned off completely. I remember seeing something like that, but I can't find it at the moment.
Maybe try looking in the opus threads. Surely your not the only one this has happened to. Hopefully there is an easy fix.
Last edited by JasonWW; Jan 7, 2006 at 12:25 PM.
Most PC power supplies (ATX anyway) will supply I believe it is 2.6v to the PCI bus (others too depending on the board) even when the power is off. You may want to try tweaking with the ACPI power settings in the BIOS though.
On the other hand 2.6v drawing practically nothing would take a REALLY long time to drain your battery
On the other hand 2.6v drawing practically nothing would take a REALLY long time to drain your battery
Originally Posted by Z28-CTYHNTR
Couldnt you just make a switch that completely disconnects the PSU from the battery?
Hundreds of users are using the Opus 150 and it works well for them. There's got to be a proper solution to the problem.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 2
From: Macomb Twp, MI
The PSU does hibernation mode, so it turns it off completely.
Yeah, let me give the whole story instead of just the nutshell. When I first installed the carPC in the car using the invertor and then a regular ATX PSU, I had also taken the time to install a capacitor too. I let the car sit for 4 days, battery was dead. Bought a new battery since I was using atleast a 4 year old battery, swapped it in, no problem. The car sat for 2 days, battery was dead. Charged it with our battery charger, a few days later it was dead again. Took the battery back and had the auto store test it, test said the battery was bad. Bought the red top, at some point or another the battery died, don't remember how long it sat. I had swapped the invertor out around the same time as installing the redtop and had put the Opus in, so I figured it couldn't be the carPC draining the battery while the car was off because I had used two seperate power supplies. Disconnected the capacitor, and so far I haven't had a dead battery yet. So, I don't think the draw is too much to worry about, but none the less something to atleast keep in mind. If my battery dies again, I'll let y'all know. If it supplying a low amount of power to the USB port is why my UPS GPS mouse has been working so great, and as long as the battery doesn't die again, then I'm happy with that lol.
Yeah, let me give the whole story instead of just the nutshell. When I first installed the carPC in the car using the invertor and then a regular ATX PSU, I had also taken the time to install a capacitor too. I let the car sit for 4 days, battery was dead. Bought a new battery since I was using atleast a 4 year old battery, swapped it in, no problem. The car sat for 2 days, battery was dead. Charged it with our battery charger, a few days later it was dead again. Took the battery back and had the auto store test it, test said the battery was bad. Bought the red top, at some point or another the battery died, don't remember how long it sat. I had swapped the invertor out around the same time as installing the redtop and had put the Opus in, so I figured it couldn't be the carPC draining the battery while the car was off because I had used two seperate power supplies. Disconnected the capacitor, and so far I haven't had a dead battery yet. So, I don't think the draw is too much to worry about, but none the less something to atleast keep in mind. If my battery dies again, I'll let y'all know. If it supplying a low amount of power to the USB port is why my UPS GPS mouse has been working so great, and as long as the battery doesn't die again, then I'm happy with that lol.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 2
From: Macomb Twp, MI
It's all good, no worries. The 93-96 dash is impossible to put a 7" screen in and have it still look good, no matter what it just ruins the lines. If it weren't for the fact that I'd have to upgrade the gauge cluster too, I'd switch over to a 97+ dash since that's the easiest dash to put the bezel in. Regardless of the looks of the bezel, it sure is damn 
having the touchscreen, GPS, 500+ mp3s, wireless internet access, and Duck Hunt at your fingertips molded into the dash, passengers absolutely love it, and of course I love driving and having the GPS on screen... it's great when there's a traffic jam and you can look and see all the routes through the neighborhood streets next to you that you can cut through to get further ahead of the traffic. 
having the touchscreen, GPS, 500+ mp3s, wireless internet access, and Duck Hunt at your fingertips molded into the dash, passengers absolutely love it, and of course I love driving and having the GPS on screen... it's great when there's a traffic jam and you can look and see all the routes through the neighborhood streets next to you that you can cut through to get further ahead of the traffic. Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 2
From: Macomb Twp, MI
Battery died again, took out the amp meter to measure what's drawing. Sure enough, the Opus power supply is drawing about 1/3rd an amp every hour, which is why the battery drains if it sits for too long without running. I guess that's why Opus's instructions says to install an inline switch to turn it off...
TECH Resident
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 964
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta, GA
Originally Posted by meissenation
Battery died again, took out the amp meter to measure what's drawing. Sure enough, the Opus power supply is drawing about 1/3rd an amp every hour, which is why the battery drains if it sits for too long without running. I guess that's why Opus's instructions says to install an inline switch to turn it off...
The Opus is considered the best of all the dc-dc PSU's. No way they could have this problem with so many people using them. There has to be a setting or something that will fix your drainage problem.
I'll look around on the MP3car.com site myself.
It could very well be your GPS that is drawing a lot of power. I forgot if your using a USB GPS or not, but if it's a USB you can split the loom open and take the power wire and run it through a small relay. That way the GPS will be turned off when the PC turns off.
I saw where a guy mentioned that the voltage threshold that the Opus uses before turning off (10 volts) can be changed, but I don't have details yet.
Check this thread:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=53247
It mentions disabling the 5vsb (5 volt stand by).
Another thread to check out:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=56519
and
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=51939
You may also be able to wire a relay into the 5vsb wire between the PSU and the mobo. The purple wire. http://pinouts.ru/data/atxpower_pinout.shtml
I'm just throwing things out there. Brian, try unplugging your GPS the next time you are not going to drive your car for a few days and see how the it responds.
I'll look around on the MP3car.com site myself.
This is from the opus 150 owners manual:
"The normal full load operating voltage range of the power supply is between 7V to 18VDC. The micro controller monitors the battery voltage so the battery will not be deep discharged. When the ignition switch is in the aux position or delayed turn off enabled the computer can be powered up. Under this condition the engine is not running, so the battery is not being charged. When the battery voltage dips below 11V for more than 10 seconds continually the SFX- DC-DC power supply will enter automatically into a shutdown sequence. This will protect the battery from deep discharge, and the battery is saved for its main intended purpose, to start the vehicle."
"The normal full load operating voltage range of the power supply is between 7V to 18VDC. The micro controller monitors the battery voltage so the battery will not be deep discharged. When the ignition switch is in the aux position or delayed turn off enabled the computer can be powered up. Under this condition the engine is not running, so the battery is not being charged. When the battery voltage dips below 11V for more than 10 seconds continually the SFX- DC-DC power supply will enter automatically into a shutdown sequence. This will protect the battery from deep discharge, and the battery is saved for its main intended purpose, to start the vehicle."
I saw where a guy mentioned that the voltage threshold that the Opus uses before turning off (10 volts) can be changed, but I don't have details yet.
Check this thread:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=53247
It mentions disabling the 5vsb (5 volt stand by).
Another thread to check out:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=56519
and
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=51939
You may also be able to wire a relay into the 5vsb wire between the PSU and the mobo. The purple wire. http://pinouts.ru/data/atxpower_pinout.shtml
I'm just throwing things out there. Brian, try unplugging your GPS the next time you are not going to drive your car for a few days and see how the it responds.
Last edited by JasonWW; Jan 15, 2006 at 03:59 PM.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 2
From: Macomb Twp, MI
lol damn man, talk about bein helpful! :thumbsup: Appreciate all that, Jason! Probably what I'm going to do is just throw an inline switch inline with the 12v battery wire, that way when the car's just sitting for periods of time, I can just flick the wire off and it'll be fine. If you're driving the car every day or even every other day for more than 5 minutes at a time, I'm guessing the alternator would charge the battery back up so it wouldn't be a problem, only if you let it sit for too long that it dips down. I'm honestly not too worried about it, simple switch and s'all good. I'm probably going to invest in that ashtray switch panel that someone posted in that "custom ashtray" thread and then use one of those switches for the carPC. 
I'll try unplugging the USB GPS and see what happens -- I have a feeling that's actually what the root of the problem is, the powersupply otherwise is only a blinking LED when the car's off.
I'll try unplugging the USB GPS and see what happens -- I have a feeling that's actually what the root of the problem is, the powersupply otherwise is only a blinking LED when the car's off. I'm starting to think the 5vsb line is what is getting you. You do have a USB GPS mouse, right? I see were those have caused other people problems when the car sits for a few days.
If you find out that is what is causing the drain, then buy a short USB extension cable, cut the sheath off, cut the positive and maybe the negative wires in half (only the positive should work) and then simply use a 12v DPDT relay on those 2 wires and a 12v trigger from the PSU. When the PSU cuts off power to the 12v rail it will also cut power to the USB mouse. That way the GPS will only recieve power when the PC is powered up. It may sound complicated, but it's pretty simple once you know how a relay works.
If you know what a DPDT relay is and how to wire it, then you can fix your problem right there. if you don't know, then I can explain how they work. I think this would be a lot better than remembering to flip a switch.
If you find out that is what is causing the drain, then buy a short USB extension cable, cut the sheath off, cut the positive and maybe the negative wires in half (only the positive should work) and then simply use a 12v DPDT relay on those 2 wires and a 12v trigger from the PSU. When the PSU cuts off power to the 12v rail it will also cut power to the USB mouse. That way the GPS will only recieve power when the PC is powered up. It may sound complicated, but it's pretty simple once you know how a relay works.
If you know what a DPDT relay is and how to wire it, then you can fix your problem right there. if you don't know, then I can explain how they work. I think this would be a lot better than remembering to flip a switch.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 2
From: Macomb Twp, MI
Yeah, I have the Delorme USB GPS mouse. That'd explain what I said in a few posts back about how the UPS GPS mouse is still on while the car is off, dang noticed it awhile ago and never put two and two together that that was my problem. I'll tell my dad about it, his original idea was to wire a relay in to the 12v battery wire so that when there's no 12v switched source giving power, the battery wire will be cut off too, and then when the 12v switched source is on, the relay will connect the 12v battery wire, but that just seemed like it ruined the point of the power supply lol.
I'll tell my dad about it, his original idea was to wire a relay in to the 12v battery wire so that when there's no 12v switched source giving power, the battery wire will be cut off too, and then when the 12v switched source is on, the relay will connect the 12v battery wire, but that just seemed like it ruined the point of the power supply lol. Hey, did you hear about the new M2 PSU? It's just like the M1, but built up to put out 160w. It's only $90 also. I don't think the M1 or M2 has the USB drain that the Opus has. Maybe you could sell the Opus for at least $90 and then buy the M2. Something to think about.
http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_...roducts_id=171
http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_...roducts_id=171
TECH Resident
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 964
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta, GA
Yeah I was looking into the M1 like Snootch had in his carpc writeup but now that I see the M2 is pretty much on par with the opus I think its a better option for less cost. Ill probably wind up getting it.
Man, I went through 3 of the M2's and had trouble with them all. I got the Opus 150 and it's been working like a charm so far.
I wanted to bring up something we were talking about before. Right now I have the PC trigger wire hooked up to the radio power wire. Since our cars have RAP, I have to turn off the engine and open the door before the signal is sent to the Opus. Then I wait 10 seconds and watch it shutdown. I thought this would be the way to go, but I'm not liking it. I think I would rather have the trigger wired into a regualar ign source. If I want to leave the PC on I can switch the key to acc, but so far the RAP takes too long. I find myself opening the door and then sitting there to make sure it starts going off. I need it to start turning off sooner.
My question is: Is there a non-RAP ign wire I can use as a trigger around the radio area?
If anyone knows, holler. Thanks.
I wanted to bring up something we were talking about before. Right now I have the PC trigger wire hooked up to the radio power wire. Since our cars have RAP, I have to turn off the engine and open the door before the signal is sent to the Opus. Then I wait 10 seconds and watch it shutdown. I thought this would be the way to go, but I'm not liking it. I think I would rather have the trigger wired into a regualar ign source. If I want to leave the PC on I can switch the key to acc, but so far the RAP takes too long. I find myself opening the door and then sitting there to make sure it starts going off. I need it to start turning off sooner.
My question is: Is there a non-RAP ign wire I can use as a trigger around the radio area?
If anyone knows, holler. Thanks.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 2
From: Macomb Twp, MI
Hmmm not sure... You'd probably have to figure out something that turns off immediately with the car... maybe have to do a relay with the actual ignition wire. For me, I noticed that if I turned the car off, got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, if I did it at a normal pace that by the time I got around to the passenger side it'd be turning off. Sucks about the M2s, were you atleast able to get your money back? Glad about the opus though, it's been a real pleasure having mine now that I got it all figured out. I noticed mp3car lowered the price down to $120, too.. not bad of a price.
I actually JUST finished my rework of the bezel. Lessons learned from the past though, I shalt not post too many pictures here until the entire interior is finished and thy wires are hidden.
I dropped the edges down another inch or so, it drops it closer to the center console and makes it an easier flow from the bezel to the console. There's also some hints from the console in the bezel... the "ridge" on the left bottom is mimicking the ridges of the console where it goes from the shift plate to the cubby hole. The right bottom is nice and smooth curve like the right side of the center console.
Here's a sneak peak of the updated bezel before I put it in the car:
Also gives a sneak peak of what the interior is looking like. Let's just say, you better like '77 corvette interiors. I have some panels still needing to be installed and the new carpet needs to be tucked in fully, but once it's all together again I'll post some full pics and let the savages of LS1tech rip it apart.
I actually JUST finished my rework of the bezel. Lessons learned from the past though, I shalt not post too many pictures here until the entire interior is finished and thy wires are hidden.
I dropped the edges down another inch or so, it drops it closer to the center console and makes it an easier flow from the bezel to the console. There's also some hints from the console in the bezel... the "ridge" on the left bottom is mimicking the ridges of the console where it goes from the shift plate to the cubby hole. The right bottom is nice and smooth curve like the right side of the center console.
Here's a sneak peak of the updated bezel before I put it in the car:
Also gives a sneak peak of what the interior is looking like. Let's just say, you better like '77 corvette interiors.
I have some panels still needing to be installed and the new carpet needs to be tucked in fully, but once it's all together again I'll post some full pics and let the savages of LS1tech rip it apart. Last edited by meissenation; Apr 3, 2006 at 09:09 PM.