Well yes. It really depends on who does the install. If it's the
clueless bozo that you're apparently you market audience, anything
that requires tools is a bad idea. Horror stories on request.
Most are installed by auto electronics shops (and then cleaned up by
auto electric shops after the wiring harness gets torched). It can be
done successfully by anyone who actually follows the instructions, but
your target audience apparently doesn't qualify. You're correct.
Directly wired to the battery.
<
http://www.caraudiohelp.com/how_to_install_a_car_amp/how_to_install_a_car_amp.htm>
See item #7 on fuse location.
Incidentally, if you want your worst case nightmare for do it thyself
automotive electronics, see:
<
http://www.mp3car.com>
in the "Show off your project" forum section:
<
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show-off-your-project/>
Some of the installs are rather marginal bordering on dangerous.
Others are really impressive works of electronic artisty. The
majority seem to survive without fire or an extended vehicle warranty.
I'm shopping for new wheels and plan to install a computer in roughly
the same manner.
You're stretching it a bit. Between about 1973 and 1985, my hobby was
product liability litigation. It was a hobby rather than a profession
because I carefully avoided most pitfalls and traps in the products I
helped design. I would collect horror stories from the news and trade
journals and bring them to meetings. That would inspire the others to
be VERY careful. Anyway, if you have any relevent horror product
liability horror stories, please make them relevent to user installed
automotive electronics. Hedge cutters aren't even close.
Actually, the lawyers don't decide anything. They advise.
As I understand it (possibly wrong), dumping the responsibility on the
customer, where the customer is forced to make a decision based on
insufficient information, is a loser in court. The customer merely
has to say that he did not understand the instructions and they're off
the hook. It's your responsibility to insure that the customer cannot
do anything wrong, cannot misinterpret, and cannot injure themselves.
Consult and attorney to be sure.
Ok, I have a design question. It draws 5amps. How are you going to
turn it on and off or is that the purpose of the engine run detector?
If this is the case, how are you going to prevent Joe Sixpack, from
placing a boom box on the air filter, and playing race track sound
effects CD's at full blast, causing your engine sound activated
contrivance to falsely activate? No answer required, but at least
think about the many ways in which such a system can fail.
Incidentally, does this have to work in a hybrid? They don't make
very much noise when running on battery.
Well, it does have the benifits of simplicity. However, once you have
a microprocessor to abuse, engine run detectors can be made as
complicated and elaborate as the software will allow. Complex
algorithms, that accept input from multiple sensors (sound, vibration,
IR, acelleration, etc). We're not fighting for every byte of RAM or
counting CPU cycles these days.
Glad to be of assistance. Incidentally, I spent 9.5 years designing
consumer marine electronics. It's not the same as automotive, but
it's close enough with the added enjoyment of a corrosive environment
and a semi-intoxicated operator.
.
