crazyman03

quick questions first, lmdew: you mentioned jumpering the connection, where is this connection under the hood? i looked in the area but I think i'm looking at the wrong connectors. All i found was a 4-wire connector? I searched for what it might look like. this?: Obviously with wires coming out of it? *if* my system needs to be recharged, why? does that mean that it has a leak? or simply that the freon has lost its kick? I was doing a bit of research, and it seems too even if i were to recharge the system, i wouldn't be able to even buy the stuff. apparently you need to be licensed or certified to even think about it. I also looked into maybe doing a conversion to r134A and seems that too i would need a licensed mechanic to do it. does this sound right? I was looking on different "kits" and found this link seems pretty straightforward (not only judging from that site) -Justin

what would be the best place thats not a stealership to get the freon recharged? i called "Go Subaru" in golden today and they quoted me in the neighborhood of 170-375 to recharge it. and somewhere around 700 to convert to the new refrigerant.. -Justin

i'm pretty sure they are done seeing as the thread started in 2006. and the very recent post is still 2009 and before that 2008 so.. yea.. this is an old thread. -Justin

or you can find a cheap wire harness for it. so that way you don't have to hack into your dash. http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=113331 .. i still got it.. says the same kit fits '84 and up -Justin

I actually already got that covered. I ended up doing the diagram i made earlier without the USB relay. I mainly wanted the second relay because i didnt want the computer to shutdown when i was starting the car. (ACC starting the pulse, then would lose power when cranking, then would "re-pulse the button" when the engine was not cranking anymore) Turns out, the cap kept power long enough not to do that. also, even if it did.. the computer wouldnt shutdown anyway. the USB relay would've been a 5v switch. so technically, it would've worked but it seems i might not need it anyway. the way to get the power button to switch isnt by putting power to it. you simply jumper it and it starts it. is that what you mean? The computer is in there now.. I'm going to wire in the standalone inverter tomorrow as well as the "auto on switch" -Justin

I installed the new computer in the dash. I positioned it there so that i can still be able to use the CD/DVD I had to trim the back of the glovebox.. but it closes! lol Its a bit rough, needs a bit more work but works for now :-D -Justin

I installed the new computer in the dash. I positioned it there so that i can still be able to use the CD/DVD I had to trim the back of the glovebox.. but it closes! lol -Justin

Got a little anxious with the LCD in dash... so i installed it this morning, no sanding or anything yet but just to get a peak at it: and i still got cup holders! Well. at the moment I'm at a good spot. I'm going to sand down the mold so that i can apply bondo to it mold it, and make it pretty.. paint it and call it done. Perhaps tuesday I'll install the laptop. I was thinking in the glove box so that i can still utilize the DVD player in it, but we'll see. Oh btw, Money shots! -Justin

You're supposed to replace them regularly? Lol.... I don't think about them until i hear the squealers, or they start acting funky. edit: I replaced my rears on my new Lego just this past 2 weeks or so.. they were grinding :-/ P.O. didn't change them ever methinks. My red one had brakes put on when i first got it.. never changed them lol were still at 25% when i got rid of it. Never really gave it much thought as to how many miles i put on my rigs over the years. If I'd guess, I'd say somewhere around 15k a year? just in work alone? not counting if i go on special installs/out of state maintenance. then its probably in the neighbrohood of 25k? Sucks really.. they pay a nice /per mile rate but at the expense of putting miles on my car:-\ -Justin

yea, double check the rad cap. iirc, the coolant system is a sealed system it operates under its own atmosphere. air in the system = bad mojo I would also say it was the thermostat though. had this happen to me too.. brand new t-stat defective. also pay attention to the heat rating on it. Higher the heat level, the hotter the coolant needs to be before it opens. was the system properly burped? and is there too much water in the system? bubbling water will cause air in the system bubbling and again = bad mojo -Justin

Well last night I started to get a bit impatient with the whole waiting for monies, wood and such to get started on the dash mod. I started looking at the original trim piece and noticed that the screen itself would fit in it just perfect. did a little cutting and came up with this: (click on the thumbnails) did a little "redneck bondo" and: I also started working on the power supply. Since i'm going the route of a laptop computer, i dont really need a 300w inverter. I'm still keeping it installed but i'm going to have a stand-alone power inverter just for the laptop: Got a little anxious... so i installed it this morning, no sanding or anything yet but just to get a peak at it: and i still got cup holders! Well. at the moment I'm at a good spot. I'm going to sand down the mold so that i can apply real bondo to it mold it, and make it pretty.. paint it and call it done. Perhaps tonight I'll install the laptop. I was thinking in the glove box so that i can still utilize the DVD player in it, but we'll see. -Justin

You'll like the legacy. For the most part, I've always had a Loyale/GL wagon's and i still love 'em but the legacy is a much nicer ride. Its smooth! Congrats on the new car! -Justin

OK, So I've been tossing around how exactly I wanted the CarPC to run, position and such and I came across a Laptop that had a trashed LCD and KB but the system itself was in decent shape. Picture: Its a Centrino 1.8? with 512 that can be upgraded to like 2GB. So.. Now that I'm going that route, I dont need to worry about the power off module. But, now i needed figure out how to get it to turn on automatically since laptops don't really have a "power on after power loss" option. Here's what i came up with: Correct me if I'm wrong on this one. I came up with it based on a few options i've found on the internet. Relay 1- when power is applied to the switch, it briefly connects 87 to 30, when the cap is powered voltage set to "0" then it disconnects 87 and 30. Relay 2- Basically if the computer is already on, dont do the action of pushing the button. When the USB port is powered, it turns on the switch to 87 which is attached to nothing. unless the computer is Not on, the first relay will travel through the 2nd untill the usb port is live. will this work? i havent tried. It looks like it will. After looking at it a bit more I might be able to get away with this without the cap. "theoretically" when you turn on the computer, the USB ports are active so it would stop the jumpering of the power button. maybe? -Justin

some new development on the carPC front... 1 Dilemma and 1 possibility. first the Dilemma.. Speed, or size. I was rummaging around my random crap in my closet.. and found a HP Thin client. Its about 8"x5", about 1/2 the size of the sx270 really. BUT, its 800mhz@512MB Ram. The sx270 is a p4 2.8@1gb ram. With the thin client being smaller, i can put it in smaller places (like behind the deck) but its a bit significantly slower and memory is limited to i think 512 max. the Possibility is i know of a laptop that i might be able to get my hands on that is a centreno 2.8@1GB with a blue ray drive that is thin. only thing wrong with it is the screen is cracked. decisions, decisions. any input? -Justin

1:25? thats forever!! lol I actually was booting off a USB drive :-P. Ya know, you probably could use something like front row for it. I'm sure there is some front end for ppc. I've seen tons of installs with a mini and i'm sure someone came up with one. Anyway yea. Running pirate software does kinda blow. Since the PC is a Dell, i just threw the Dell cd from work in there and it activates it. simply because its a dell. (btw my boot times are around 45 sec or so. I did a slim-down of xp) I did like the simplicity of the nghost front end and i might end up using bits of it. I do particularly like the open-source part. But for now, Its probably going to stick to XP. I'm getting my ducks in a row for the install. I have plenty of wire, relays, diodes and such but now i'm waiting on time to do it. My daughters birthday is on one of my days off so i probably cant do it this coming week. If you want, i'll trade you my sx270 for your mini :-P lol -Justin

look at your rims. On one of my cars i have a bent rim that causes the car to shake only when braking. Its balanced so it doesn't shake while driving much but when braking it does.. Causing the wheel to shake but not the petal. -Justin

remove the battery for 30 or so minutes? that resets the codes and errors on the on-board computer.. -Justin

ah.. yea flash media is nice btw, eulogious, I tried that LinuxICE thing. I wasnt all that impressed. I mean yea, its linux, open source and.. its linux. But 1, it took too long to boot. 2, the GUI was rather choppy. I'm going to play with it a bit.. maybe see if i can get the GUI to look a bit more friendly. But centrafuse is a much nicer interface IMO. that or RoadRunner.. that's a nice one too.. -Justin

kinda looks like a belt cover bracket? like the cover bolts to it, then it to the block? -Justin

LOL Where the hell did you read that! I must've re read that thing 50 times and missed it. I remember seeing it but couldn't find it again. curious though, How would that work? I mean, if i had a UPS plugged into my computer, setup and ready to self power down... and i removed the comm port, wouldn't it shut itself down? or is it just the way that the "power scheme" is setup? I attempted this, and my PC didn't power down. -Justin

Get a SSD disk. (solid state disk, disk on chip, flash drive whatever) there is no moving parts on it so bumps wont affect it. I have a 512MB drive i'm contemplating installing in the dell. I can install winxp Embedded on it which takes up like.. 100MB???? the rest can be for added software.. and just use a thumbdrive for music and movies. They make larger SSD/Flash Drives. of corse they are a bit pricey. on the other hand though, laptop hard drives have come a long way nowdays. Better shock protection, less moving parts. even if you had a desktop setup, you can get a converter from Desktop EIDE to laptop IDE. or SATA fo that matter, you can just plug it in. -Justin

looking at that diagram of the on/off setup. Seems like one thing wouldn't work. The center relay (at least how I'm reading it), looks like it would be powering the pin 8 Comm connection at all times wouldn't it? shouldn't the 5v be to the 87a? edit: How i'm reading it, if the key is on the "ign" position, it would have the relay switched on to the 87 pin. when the key is in the off position and out.. it would switch off the relay and put it back to 87a. wouldnt that be what you would want in the first place? 5v to pin-8 causes the power management shutdown right? -Justin

cool! yea, I had a mac mini PPC running 10.4 with a gig of ram. but dipstick here decided to sell it. really wish i still had it! I would've molded it where the deck is and called it done! lol and it would've been easier to install. I saw an audio install where a guy did a 10"? TLCD in his dash. Looked pretty flipin SWEEEEETT!!! running an intel mac, headrest monitors going to the mac as well. Though, he didnt run a front-end software.. (SMD Monster Install) he just used iTunes lol i would've at least used front row or something At the moment though.. I'm torn. I had a guy offer me a flip-out Dash DVD player. MP3/DVD/CD/AM/FM, rear camera, 2 video outputs. Of corse, its a Dual deck so its.. well.. a Dual:rolleyes:. I want to keep the carputer but like i said earlier, i wouldnt mind a dash unit. Double Din would've been nicer though. Anyway, depending on what i'm going to do about that. I'm going to try and start the molding process here this next week. $$ is being retarded so buying bondo is going to be on hold.. I've already got wood and paint. -Justin

I put my deck in... and started preparing the dash for the head unit and LCD. i'm thinking LCD right where the factory deck goes. Here's what i'm thinking: Obviously, it'll be a lot cleaner when i'm done! but for now... -Justin

hmm.. It wouldn't let me edit my post. odd.. Anyway.. So I got my wire harness to install my deck I had been holding out installing it because i don't have a cage for the deck but i like how it turned out. I was toying around with the LCD to see where i wanted to put it. Looks perfect where the stock deck was located. Nothing permanent at the moment, except the deck but its a start :-) Just need to build the trim piece to make it look perfect! but at the moment: (i didnt want a gaping hole in the dash just because It might take a bit before i start on the trim peice) -Justin