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LOL...

anyhow...

so I finished my lcd, and xbox install...here's the question...

I wired my inverter to the ACC wire behind my deck so that I dont have to switch it on and off all the time...now, when my key is in postion 1 or 2 in the ignition everything is powered up fine, screen is on xbox is on and so on...the problem is if Im watching something and I decide to start up the car completely the inverter will reset and start on again, and obviously the xbox will turn off as well...

is this because Im wired to the ACC...would I be better off wired to the battery wire (yellow wire), or the IGNITION wire or something else

some help would be great!

 
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The reason it resets is because it's switched. When going from acc to start/on, the starter turns over resetting the voltage. Hard to explain, but there is a charge voltage required to start the car. Maybe that makes sense.

 
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makes perfect sense....is there anyway of getting around this??? From what u told me, I'd guess there isn't

 
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The ignition system in your car draws every volt in the system at the time of cranking in order to ensure the strongest cranking possible. So anything connecting to an ACC lead will have to lend it's power momentarily to the ignition system every time the car is started.

 
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ok, but does this mean...there is nothing I can do at all???? LOL

 
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wiring it to the orange ING wire, or the yellow battery wire...or even the cigerette lighter...

 
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The only way around it is wire the inverter to a direct 12V source. I would not recomend using any wires behind the radio since they are very small gauge, you might end up burning something. Wire direct to the battery and fuse it. Just remember to turn everything off before you leave the car cuz it will kill your battery if its left on.

 
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It'd be difficult to connect it where you don't have to turn it(invertor) off when you turn the car off and walk away and avoid killing the battery. There is no way around it. You either have to have it to a switched source (such as the ACC wire you used), which means when you have the car running, you can turn it to acc and it remain on. But, you can't go the other way, from acc to start without it resetting it. If you hooked it direct to the battery, it'd stay on when cranking from acc, but you'd have to remember to cut it off when you leave the vehicle, or you'll kill your battery. You might could possibly connect it to the battery in some manner with a resistor or something where it will detect when the key is in the off position, but it'd probably be a headache to figure out I'm guessing.

 
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accessory wires turn off when the key is turned to start, ignition wires stay on through start, so all you should have to do is use an ignition wire. the voltage might drop a little, but it should still be enough to keep the invertor on. if not its definitly still enough voltage to keep a relay turned on, so just add a relay. according to directechs it should be a black with yellow stripe wire in the ignition harness, but test it first with a meter.

 
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Exactly what bzrollin said.. you just won't be able to have the inverter on when the key is in the accessory position, it will have to be in the run position.

 
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what if I wire it to the ACC and the Ignition wire...lol...would it work then...its a stretch

 
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you could do that, but you'd have to use relays on both wires. its not that hard, use 2 regular bosch style relays.

both relays wire like this: (the terminals are numbered)
85 to ground
30 to 12v+ (constant) - use the big white wire in the ignition harness and put a fuse on it
87 to the 12v+ on the invertor

then wire 86 on one relay to the acc wire, and 86 on the other relay to the ignition wire

 
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In your position, I would leave the ignition on an ACC switch, to protect the car.

I would definitely use a relay to switch a direct line to the battery, to protect the wiring behind the dash.

the physical design of the ignition switch kills power to acc when starting the car. wiring up a relay to acc allowing battery power to go wont cure the shutting off.

what will is if you jump over to mp3car.com and search for "tank circuit" or "battery tank" or "power tank" or something like that, they are circuits designed to provide power for that one or two seconds your car needs to crank over, so nothing will shut off.

that way, you are protected from drained batteries AND the lcd wont shut off during crank!

....thats if the ignition thing doesnt work out for ya...... thats a much more elegant solution

 
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ok I've decided that Im gonna just hook it up directly to the battery...question now is...what kinda fuse should I use...Im not tooo familiar with this stuff...so thanks for all the help and patients guys...is the cig lighter a constant 12V???

 
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Uh, what size invertor do you have? I think an invertor draws too much current to be hooked up to the wire that you have it hooked up to now, and the cig lighter. Your going to end up smoking that wire if it pulls more then i'd say 20a. Isnt there a fuse on the invertor? You should use the same size as the fuse on the invertor (or the sum of the fuses if there is more then one). If you are wiring it to the battery, wire it to the battery.

 
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oh no...its not pulling anywhere near 20a, its a small inverter it pulls in 140 continues Watts....

 
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I have no experience at all at car wiring, but reading this it occured to me that your lcd and xbox are prob running off ac. If this is the case, and you only need 2 secs or so of power, then a simple battery backup would prob work. It kicks in in the event of a power loss, which is whats happening when you start your car. Im sure you could find a small one that would last 20 or 30 seconds max. but then thats all you really need.

I wondered the same thing for my navagation system, it sucks because it has to reboot whenever i start the car, so i loose music for 20 secs or so. Mine runs off the dc though, so i dont think that would work.

 
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the cig lighter is acc, so youll need to run a 10 gauge line to wherever the inverter is.....

30 amp should be more than fine.

 
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ok....****...

so....is the battery the only constant????

Checked with the electronic engineers here at work..and 12 guage should be more than good enough....

so here's what Im gonna do...Im gonna wire the inverter to a constant 12V and then Im gonna open up the inverter take out the switch and relocate it right by the hand break...nice clean install and that way I have a nice switch that lights up...its gonna look pretty!!! should be done tomorrow...I'll let u guys know if my car catches fire and explodes...

 
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right on dj, they are right, 12 gauge is fine. and its pretty standard to hack and relocate the inverter switch, so good luck, I bet itll all turn out sweet!