A good installation job for a set up like this is really critical to the ultimate cool factor. Don't be afraid to remove panels, and fish wires under the carpet. The goal is to keep all your wiring as invisible as possible. In the Jeep we worked on, we had a fuse box under a removable panel on the driver side of the dash. We found an inline fuse that allowed us to insert a new 5 amp fuse inline with an existing fuse location. That gave us the power to our computer tied into the accessory circuit. The power supply is intelligent enough to boot the computer when we turn the key. When you shut down the car, the power supply will shut down safely after 30 seconds without its regular power. From there, the trick was wiring that power to our desired location under the passenger side chair.
You can run either do a lengthy run under the carpet to keep the wiring completely hidden, or you could do a shorter run that would have a few exposed wires at the very end. The short run goes underneath the driver-side dash with a piece of paneling that removes with just two screws. That gets you into the stereo location on the dash where you could run under the passenger side of the console and pull the wire out right by the passenger side seat. If you are working with a Jeep or other Chrysler/Dodge SUV, there is a good chance you can do a similar run.
Once you get it back there, you will want to work out the ground for your electrical power. We used a self tapping screw and drilled it into the passenger side frame in a place that will be covered once the panels are back in place. Connect a wire to that screw and then tighten it with a power drill. Run the last wiring from there under the carpet and out an incision under the passenger seat. The power supply also needs a permanent hot line that will give it the power it uses to shut the computer down when the car is shut down. We tapped into the cigarette lighter on our dash. Do a splice on that wire then run it under the passenger side of the console and out. We actually didn't do that bit of wiring until the next day and did our first power up without that feature. You are now ready to do the final wire splicing for the connection into the automotive power supply.
To secure the computer under the seat, you will want to put a few strips of Velcro on the bottom of the case. This should work for most vehicles. It turns out that the factory carpet for the Jeep is not typical for automotive carpet and has no closed loops. So the Velcro was ineffective for the Liberty.
It proved not to be an issue because the arrangement with the moldings under the seat worked out to keep the computer from going anywhere just fine. We chose to place the computer with the face of the computer facing out the back. This worked out to give us a shorter run for our hook ups out the back of the computer to the important areas in the dash, and made for easier access to the dvd drive.
Once you get it to this point you are finally ready for the first power up with the computer. After a long night in the dark, fighting off the shivers from a cold front that moved in, it really felt great to turn the key in the car and watch the computer boot. Never mind the fact that we still haven't mounted the monitor or even run the wiring for its permanent location.
