Setesh82

I just finished my Car PC install and thought since I got the idea and loads of information from here I would try to give back a little.

Finished Product:


Here is a break down of all the things I needed to accomplish the job.

Software:

• Windows XP (Stripped down to boot more quickly)
• Centrafuse 3.1
• iGuidance

Hardware:

• Fanless Micro Intel Vehicle Computer w/ P2140 PSU
• Dynamics 816 8.4" Touchscreen LCD Monitor
• DC-Powered 4-Port USB Hub
• Mini USB wireless keyboard
• BU-353 USB GPS Receiver
• Navi screen bezel courtesy of MightyTL
• X3-PIE w/ TL wire harness from ebay
• USB Gamepad (used as an interface with the navi controlls)
• Innotraveler Car Kit (Motorola Droid car dock Seidio)
• 3x 50mm case fans
• Hosa 10' Audio/Visualbe Cable (VGA w/ 3.5mm audio at one end and RCA at the other)
• USB cables

Supplies:

• Plexiglas from Home Depot
• Electrical Tap
• Liquid Electrical Tape
• Plastic Dip (spray rubber/plastic coating)
• Sheet of MDF board (for enclosure)
• 5mm blue LEDs
• Elmers wood glue
• Miscelanous screws, bolts and brackets
• Replacement automotive carpet
• Bucket of elbow greese

Tools:

• Dremel Tool
• Cordless Drill
• Soldering Iron
• Hot-Glue gun
• Xacto Knives
• Large Clamps

Helpful Links
These are just the ones I have subscribed but there were many others that helped me tremendously.

• Center Console Removal Videos by VmtSquad
• How to remove the back seats
• Running power through the firewall
• met152's CarPc install
• VmtSquad's CarPc WorkLog
• Gamepad to Navi control wiring

One of the first things I started looking for was the LCD after alot of thought I decided to go with the Dynamics 816 8.4" LCD.
I knew it would be larger than the stock display housing but not enough to really affect usage.
Personally I didn't like being able to see any of the LCDs original frame sticking out from the stock housing.
Since the LCD frame was to large I had to remove it and mount all the components directly to the navi bezel.








Once I had the LCD mounted I started working on the USB gamepad integration with the navi controls






Extended the hvac control wires




Originally I was going to try and put the computer under the drivers seat but I decided against because I didn't want passengers possibly kicking it.
Instead I built an enclosure to put in the trunk which I hung from the back desk.



The top of the enclosure slides into the base on runners. I did this so that I could mount only the top of the enclosure to the under side of the rear deck. This would allow me to easily remove the entire computer if I need to do any work on it.


Made a couple custom mounts out of some bent T brackets and rubber pads. That way I didn't have to screw into the computer case.


50mm case fan mounted to the front (to pull air in)


Wiring up the power connection and kill switch


Everything mounted and hooked up


The top in place and everything fit like a charm. Can also see the rear 50mm case fans (pull air out)




Once the enclosure was build I started to work on the plexiglas for the radio and hvac display.


My first attempt (fail)


This is my third and final attempt the 2nd was similiar but I screwed up the spacing for the display windows.
There are still some issues that I am not quite happy with but someone once said "perfection is unatainable".



I have uploaded all the pictrues I took during the whole process.

==Catfish==

iTrader: (1)

Good job!

Mjakaz09TL

iTrader: (7)

Holy hell man that is badass!! How long did all this take you and how much did it cost for everything?

Are you for hire??

jsilas

That is quite an amazing job. Seriously impressive. I especially like the integration of the factory control devices being integrated into the computer control system.

Outstanding work!

jsilas

Something I just thought of that would be sweet -

If you haven't already, it'd be awesome to get some OBDII software/cable, and hook that up to your computer. You could potentially observe vehicle performance information and CEL codes right from your Carputer.

King of Pain

Congratulations. Another member of the TL CarPC club. Nice work on the LCD screen. I'd like to do that to my screen too.

Setesh82

I would say it took me about 2 months but that is only being able to work on the weekends.

I would classify this as a work of passion and as such doing it for someone else I don't think would have the same allure. Not to mention I don't really have the time... my girlfriend was getting a bit upset with the amount of time I was spending on it. That being said I would definitely be will to help anyone with any information they need on how I did certain parts.

I have to give all the credit for that idea to VmtSquad and KN_TL. Them giving me the idea along with the wiring info and getting the Navi houseing from MightyTL made it all possible.

I have been thinking about getting an OBDII setup which centrafuse would fully support and mp3car has some for sale. Only issue is that I want to find a setup that has all the codes for Acura and I have not looked hard enough to find one.

Etohprn247

iTrader: (6)

Nice work...

Wanna do this toooo but hell I'm too lazy!! Lemme know when you wanna sell your car

Setesh82

I will make sure to call you when the wheels fall off

SLAYER6669

Top notch work! The things I like the most about your install are the way you used a larger screen and eliminated the LCD bezel, the Acura logo at the bottom makes for a nice touch (as well as the blue LED conversion) and fills in the empty space. I thought about using those navi buttons to control the PC myself, but I didn't know how to do it.

Setesh82

For the Navi buttons I first tried connecting the USB gamepad with the stock wiring harness. Unfortunately I ran into problems with multiple buttons being pressed due to the way the circuit board was laid out (or my inability to hook it up correctly).

I ended up severing all the connections on the circuit board with my xacto knife. Then I just soldered the gamepad leads directly to the Navi switches.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

LEDs look great, man. I am working on a non-localized version of the radio LEDs, waiting for my wire to arrive.

Hey, any tips for removing the radio face? That was a freaking BITCH when I was working on it.

ABP_04TL

iTrader: (2)

siiikkkkkkk job bro... props 2 u on this job

Setesh82

I will probably say duh I knew that when I get the answer... but what to do you mean by non-localized when referring to the radio LEDs.


I actually didn't have a hard time getting the face off the radio. That is once I figured out there was four screws and not only two. I originally missed the two screws under the felt strip but after that it came off pretty easy.

Setesh82

Yeah, my reason for doing the Acura at the bottom of the faceplate was to fill in that empty space. That and I thought it would look cool as shit

BTW... here is the circuit I built to power the logo and the spots I tied into the radio/hvac display. The circuit fades the LED's behind the logo out when the power is turned off.

bzyrice

iTrader: (10)

Man this is awesome.. I wish i had the time to mess around with this stuff.. I need to learn more about circuit boards.. Did VMTSquad ever figure out how to wire in the factory buttons and joystick? Do all your buttons on the factory display work?

Setesh82

All of the buttons on the display work and the navi ones I tied into the USB game controller. I got all of the navi controls mapped to keyboard presses.

I don't know if they got the joystick working, I ended up wiring directly to the joystick and was only able to get down-right and up-left to work. Since I only wanted it for next and previous tracks fine for me. While I was in there I even add some LEDs so that the joystick has a backlight.

VmtSquad

iTrader: (1)

Good job on the install bro !! The LEDs conversion looks AWESOME!

I'm currently working on my Navi Buttons rerouting. Instead of using a USB controller I use an ARCADE circuit board and have a lot of possibility and its easily configurable.

Here it is: http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac.html

For a complete right up on how I did to send commands and associate those commands to my AppleScripts: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/ice3...ds-ice3-4.html (Starts @ post 55)

Anyway good job bro, and by the way could you send me the wiring info on the Navi JOYSTICK. Even if it's only left/right/up/down it would do the job !!!

THANKS and good job again!

VmtSquad

iTrader: (1)

YES I DID - I'm only missing the joystick info !! The only difference is I send commands to my MAC via a Arcade Board and associate those commands with some AppleScripts.

Here's the complete write out: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/ice3...ds-ice3-4.html (post 55)

Setesh82

unfortunately I didn't write it down... but I will make sure to look at the wiring next time I have it apart.

When I wired it up I just put my multi-meter on two of the joystick connections and then pressed a direction until I got a complete circuit. Then repeated the process until I had tested all the connections together.

bzyrice

iTrader: (10)

congrats man! cant wait to see your setup done too!

VmtSquad

iTrader: (1)

Hey Setech82, I know that wire 10 & 11 are for the LEDs. What did you do to make them light up ??

Thanks!

VmtSquad

iTrader: (1)

Also for the joystick, I tried the wire 2 & 6 (starting from the light-blue) and see some results for all 5 positions UP/DOWN/RIGHT/LEFT and PUSH. I would like to see how you assigned 5 commands with 2 wire....I'm a bit lost regarding the JoyStick...your help would be much appreciated

Sorry for the double post....

THANKS!

Setesh82

I totally did away with the wiring harness... I took my xacto knife to the circuit board and scraped off all the connection coming from the switches. Then I soldered my usb gamepad leads directly to the switches. I had way to much trouble getting all the buttons to work without triggering multiple inputs on the gamepad. For the joystick I did the same thing and soldered my connection directly to the joystick connection on the bottom of the circuit board. Regarding the LEDs, since I severed all the connections on the circuit board I just wired them into the LEDs on the hvac controls.

You can see all the wires for the gamepad coming out of the navi-control housing. It isn't very clean there but I made a nice cover for the back of everything. Going in to do more work might be a bit of a pain but it works.

dwb993

iTrader: (13)

Is your upper clock display blue, too?
Any details on that piece? I have the Navi version, so mine may be more complicated than yours.
Also, are those 3mm LEDs in the Radio?
Nice job.

Setesh82

Yes, the clock is blue as well. I took it apart and soldered an additional blue LED in there. I didn't want to take out the existing one for fear that it would not be bright enough. If you plan on doing the clock you need to be really careful as the display is the same as the radio display which is made of glass and will crack easily. I actually had to buy a replacement for my radio display off ebay cost me $65.

How I put a blue LED in the clock:
What made this tough is that the connections coming off the clock display to the circuit board go through a plasic housing which makes it impossible to get to the LEDs.

1. First thing you have to remove the glass display panel. To do this I used some copper de-soldering braid and rand it over all the solder points for the display on the back of the circuit board. This is the painful part as you need to get all the solder off but you don't want to get the board to hot and fry anything.
   
2. Once all the solder is remove you should be able to remove the glass display + plastic housing with little effort. There are a couple clips on the plastic housing holding it to the circuit board. Just pinch those and it will come off easily. Don't force it, if it is not coming off then you missed some solder so go back and double check.
   
3. Now you should be able to see the LEDs. I just soldered my blue LEDs next to the stock ones without removing them. I didn't use a resistor, however depending on the LEDs that you are using you may need one. Make sure to point the LEDs to the side and not straight up at the display to avoid getting any hot spots. It might even be helpfull to sand the LED a little as I think this diffuses the color and avoids hot spots as well.
   
4. Put the display back into place and be careful to line up all the connections with their respective hole in the circuit board. I found this to be easier than I originally anticipated.
   
5. With the display back in place carefully solder all the connection again. Making sure not to cross connect any of them (a small amount of solder will go a long way). Said it before but you probably can't say it enough. Don't forget to not over heat the board or you might fry something.

When I did the LED conversion on the radio all I had was 5mm LEDs so I took out my dremel and ground them down it worked out pretty well.

Knertified

Awesome work man. How did you do the plexi? Did you mask it by eye and paint it or is that what you used the spray rubber for?

Setesh82

The plexi took a couple tries I measure as best I could but it did take a little bit of eye balling. I used a flat black spray paint to coat the back of the Plexi that way the front would be nice and shiny.

crewdog

Man this is nice. I love the idea of having a Carputer, but i don't have a degree in electrical engineering.

Setesh82

Most of what I know I learned by just tinkering...I learned a lot but unfortunately not all my toys as a kid survived

VmtSquad

iTrader: (1)

Did you manage to find a way to connect every NAVI buttons? I still have some trouble with the center joysticks!!!

AWESOME thread by the way, thanks for the props!

Setesh82

For the Navi button i ended up connecting my USB controller leads directly to the switchs on the circuit board instead of using the stock connector. I had to do this because I couldn't get all the Navi buttons to work without triggering multiple inputs on the usb controller. The joystick was a bit tricky I managed to find three connections that allowed me to use Up-Left and Down-Right. I only wanted to use it to advance tracks or scroll so that worked find for me.

If you decide to connect your input leads directly to the switches make sure that scratch off the circuit board connection between the switches.

Currently thinking about how I could run a small pipe for AC back to the trunk. Gets to damn hot here in FL, I have had the pc shutdown a couple times after the car has sat in the sun all day.

VmtSquad

iTrader: (1)

Thats what I did to...and yes I did scratch all the circuit...let me know which pins (if you remember) you used for the joystick...

Setesh82

I don't remember and if it were easier to take apart I would look. It wasn't too difficult to find them however. I used my multimeter set to the complete circuit setting (annoying beep). Then I went around and test each connection with every other connection while holding down a direction on the joystick.

From what I remember there are like 4 ground connections (you can used anyone of these) and then there is a connection for Up-Left and one for Down-Right. So you should only need to connect three of the connections on the back of the joystick to make it work the way I did.

Oh, There is one connection that will give you a connection no matter what direction you move the joystick including click so watch out for that one.