How can I get direct 12v from my Civic?
 

Have a 2005 Hybrid, am running XM thru a "Roady" that uses the ONLY power plug. :)

I am making a cross-country trip and REALLY need to use my laptop for GPS. I have an invertor and it will not work in the power plug (plus I don't want to go without XM!). Actually, the convertor blows the accessory fuse immediately.

The invertor will allow me to hook direct to the battery (of a normal car) (of course using an inline fuse!).

So will the "real" battery support the inverter? If not, where to wire it? Or... where is the best place to wire it?

The convertor is a nice one, takes 12v and will put out 200w continuous or 300 peak. The computer needs 90w to run.

Another question, is there an "easy" (relatively) place to run a wire thru the firewall?

Thanks in advance!

Oh, btw.. 2000 miles and my mapping software is telling me around $100 for gas. Gotta love it! In my durango, it figures $475!

Re: How can I get direct 12v from my Civic?
 

I read somewhere that the DC/DC converter is rated at 90A for the HCHII, it might be less for the HCHI. The laptop/inverter should take less than 10A (130W at 13 V), including the losses. It should be OK if you keep other 12V consumers to a minimum, such as headlights, heated mirrors/rear window, heated seats (?), ventilation fan. The battery is very small and can only take up temporary fluctuations in power demand, so all power more or less always comes from the converter.

I haven't checked on the HCH but there are often rubber grommets in the firewall, up above and left to the pedals. You might be able to find a spare one, or you have to squeeze the cables into one that's already occupied.

Re: How can I get direct 12v from my Civic?
 

Yeah the back of the computer cord (it has a big box on it) says 110-240v 2.4amp 50-60hz. So it seems it only pulls 2.4 amps, right?

The invertor says on the input "40A max, 12v DC". I gotta think it will spike right away to build up some charge, then only use whatever I plug into it which would be under 5A.

I'll get under the dash to find a grommet, I know my old car had a bunch over the pedals, too.

I have to think that 10ga wire with an inline 40A fuse would work great. I may get a fuse holder with max 40A but put 30A in there just to be safe. But heck, even if HCHI is half of the overhead of II, then 45A would be available. the computer would NEVER use that much.

Thanks man!

Re: How can I get direct 12v from my Civic?
 

I tried plugging a laptop into my HCH1 and it didn't like it at all, too much power drain for either using or charging. Ended up just charging the laptop nightly in the hotels and returned the adaptor.

Re: How can I get direct 12v from my Civic?
 

A couple of years ago I did a video documentary on getting the most MPG from a HCH-1. I had my laptop recording from one of those "eybeball" webcams pointed at the FCD while a camcorder recorded the road.

It all was powered through one of those 12 to 120V converters. I don't know of the rating.
Since I was doing some FAS the 12V power plug wouldn't work for my project cuz power gets interupted when the car is switched off/on.

What I did was to run a wire from the 12V battery under the hood. I opened the passenger side door and ran the wire out of the corner of the hood next to the A-pillar and through the door jam, then closed the hood and door. Since the wire actually runs under the hood and behind the door it couldn't be seen from the outside. The wire simply came into the cabin through the corner of the door and connected to the converter.
(Not pinching the wire)

It worked perfectly for my temporary project. However if I were to keep it like that for a length of time (But still temporary) I'd put a fuse (Probably 8A) on the battery side under the hood just to be sure and disconnect it when not in use.

If you run a wire directly to the battery you are not using the cars accessory wiring harness which is protected by your blowing fuse.

Re: How can I get direct 12v from my Civic?
 

Coincidentally, I have a Roady, too! I did run both the Roady and a laptop computer without trouble on a week long trip back in July. I used a low wattage inverter to power the laptop from the 12v outlet.

Re: How can I get direct 12v from my Civic?
 

There might be something wrong with your inverter, like a short. I plug my laptop into my inverter in our 2005 HCH all the time and it works perfectly. If you're plugging it in with nothing and it's blowing your fuse, you might want to try another inverter. Go to Best Buy and get one if it doesn't work either, then you can return it.

Re: How can I get direct 12v from my Civic?
 

The invervtor (any any other item plugged into the 2nd outlet in the armrest) must total no more than 10 amps of total draw at 12 volts

Re: How can I get direct 12v from my Civic?
 

I've got a 90W Targus inverter that I use whenever I take a long trip. Always plugged into the center armrest plug, no problems thus far. Nameplate reads 12V 10A input, 120V 90W output.