Thinking Car Computer!

zuch · 31st May 2008, 22:59

I'm a computer geek to the core and I'm really inspired by some of the car computer projects that TBHPians have accomplished. Giggy, monty, Ankur, sys_whiz - Hats off to you guys!

(And everyone else too, I don't know all the names yet but I'm still going through all the threads)

I'm buying a new car really soon and the first thing that I want to do is to assemble my own carputer. I'm considering a fiesta at the moment. Now due to ford's legendary service history in India I'm going to opt for a 4 year extended warranty and a total maintenance plan.

If I install a computer in my new car will it void the company warranty?

I have seen threads that mention that ford advises customers to even buy ICE from their showrooms or else they will void the warranty. If that's the case will buying a car from a different manufacturer be a better option?

I wouldn't be modifying the dash or anything, will just install a touchscreen that will fit into the existing audio slot or one that fits on top of the dashboard without modifications. But I would like to hook up an OBD II scan tool to the ECU.

What are your thoughts? Would you advise me to go for something like this on a brand new car?

p.s And no windoze for me only GNU/Linux and free software

Any pointers?

monty9991 · 8th June 2008, 09:02

thats really nice we have one more guy comming to our groupe.

i dont hink so it will void your warranty until and unless you cut wires. you can get you Hu installed even from outside the showroom while you asking them not to cut the original wires and use wiring harness for the stereo.
and if you want to hav OBDII in your car them dont forget to remove the cable before entring the ford's service center. or else they might consider your car as warranty void.

no matter if its a brand new car, if you love to have this thing in it,.

ankur · 8th June 2008, 14:57

Anything you get done from a non company workshop voids the warranty. It boils down to how strongly you can state your case about non cutting of wires etc. If the company knows you got something done from an outside workshop they can easily weasel out of supporting the warranty. Its very hard to prove from your side what parts of the original car were tampered with.

If you dont want windows, the capability of your setup will be somewhat limited. But go on to mp3car.com and they have entire sections in their forum on non windows operating systems for such systems.

cheers.

31st May 2008, 22:59	#1
zuch BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 122 Thanked: 0 Times	Thinking Car Computer! I'm a computer geek to the core and I'm really inspired by some of the car computer projects that TBHPians have accomplished. Giggy, monty, Ankur, sys_whiz - Hats off to you guys! (And everyone else too, I don't know all the names yet but I'm still going through all the threads) I'm buying a new car really soon and the first thing that I want to do is to assemble my own carputer. I'm considering a fiesta at the moment. Now due to ford's legendary service history in India I'm going to opt for a 4 year extended warranty and a total maintenance plan. If I install a computer in my new car will it void the company warranty? I have seen threads that mention that ford advises customers to even buy ICE from their showrooms or else they will void the warranty. If that's the case will buying a car from a different manufacturer be a better option? I wouldn't be modifying the dash or anything, will just install a touchscreen that will fit into the existing audio slot or one that fits on top of the dashboard without modifications. But I would like to hook up an OBD II scan tool to the ECU. What are your thoughts? Would you advise me to go for something like this on a brand new car? p.s And no windoze for me only GNU/Linux and free software Any pointers?
	() Thanks

8th June 2008, 09:02	#2
monty9991 BANNED Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ludhiana Posts: 706 Thanked: 42 Times View My Garage	thats really nice we have one more guy comming to our groupe. i dont hink so it will void your warranty until and unless you cut wires. you can get you Hu installed even from outside the showroom while you asking them not to cut the original wires and use wiring harness for the stereo. and if you want to hav OBDII in your car them dont forget to remove the cable before entring the ford's service center. or else they might consider your car as warranty void. no matter if its a brand new car, if you love to have this thing in it,.
	() Thanks

8th June 2008, 14:57	#3
ankur BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 171 Thanked: 2 Times	Anything you get done from a non company workshop voids the warranty. It boils down to how strongly you can state your case about non cutting of wires etc. If the company knows you got something done from an outside workshop they can easily weasel out of supporting the warranty. Its very hard to prove from your side what parts of the original car were tampered with. If you dont want windows, the capability of your setup will be somewhat limited. But go on to mp3car.com and they have entire sections in their forum on non windows operating systems for such systems. cheers.
	() Thanks