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I don't see myself ever dating a woman that's that damn helpless, let alone letting her drive my car without me right there.
Date one, maybe. Let her drive my 928, hell no!
You brought up current draw, more important than draining your battery is how the computer will react when your battery gets low. Will it freak out and go off? Will it revert to some confused state where it becomes useless? Will it reset endlessly, thus drawing more current?
Another thing to consider is a new product I noticed in a "Coolest inventions of 2004" article. 3M invented a fluid that acts like water, but is harmless to electronics. It's distributed by Tyco. Apparently you can submerge a running computer in it, lift it out, and all the fluid drains off with no damage to the electronics. Due to the weight and volume of a liquid suppressant, it may not be feasible for a car, but it's something to look into. I'm thinking about using it for an extreme PC cooling solution.
FD, I first saw that stuff around '87 I believe it was.... the reps had a 13" color television running in a fishtank full of the stuff. What I saw was intended for cooling electronics. What is 3m's stated purpose for their "new" invention? Fire supression?
Good point about behavior with low voltage... another reason to avoid some aftermarket "smart" thingy of this nature.
I don't see myself ever dating a woman that's that damn helpless, let alone letting her drive my car without me right there.
If we wanted everything about our mode of transport to be engineered for the lowest common denominator, so that the stupidest person on the planet couldn't possibly have any problem, we'd be back to the horse and sledge... and STILL people would find their way to catastrophe. Just put a damn halon or halotron extinguisher within reach and quit worrying so much... enjoy the drive!
Exactly ... remember that "they" want to protect us from ourselves .. Oh, the horror of it all .... it's for teh Children, of course ....
Well - yes I know this was a long time ago.. anything come of it for anyone... any auto systems, plumbed manually operated firebottles? well trained fire dogs...?
I already have a small 1lb dry powder handheld in my car - but have decided I really don't want to ever be put in the position to need to use it on my car... so I have ordered a 2.5lb Halotron extinguisher. Since my concerns include engine fires, central electric or other interior fires as well as friends etc cars I want to have the flexibility of a handheld in the cabin - but also want a way to get halon into the right places in the engine compartment rapidly and safely. I am not in favor of an automatic system although a heat senser warning device (or two) might be a good idea... not sure how to do this reliably - will need to investigate...
Although I'm still awaiting the extinguisher - I have plumbed steel braided pressure hose to two nozzles in the engine compartment & back to the driver footwell. The nozzles jet forward from the bulkhead just under the intake tubes and directly along the cam covers - this would seem to get good coverage on both sides of the engine alongside the fuel rails and send a blanket forward & down. The inside mounting is still tbd but I do have the quick release female fitting for this end and will install a flex tube w/ male quick release as a directional hose on the handheld unit. This should also aid directional (e.g. underhood) work on anyone elses car and is easier to point than the whole unit inside a cramped car.
The hardest parts are done - routing for the nozzles is just inside the bulkhead lip and nozzles are approx 3-5" down drilled though the bulkhead - nozzles are wide orrifice end caps on 1/4" brass compression fittings. The hose then snakes though the open passthough grommet to the engine compartment & though the fender grommet - behind the splash shield and into the drivers footwell via a new grommet above the dead pedal. 5' hose from the footwell to the drivers side compression "T" for the first nozzle (smaller orrifice) then 2' hose to the passenger side compression "L" for the final slightly larger orrifice nozzle.
I don't expect to test it out - except with compressed air, that will be proof enough for me. I'm hoping good maintenance & fire prevention + preparedness means I'll never have to worry!
If interested I'll post some pictures.
Still working on the mounting for the female quick release socket in the cabin. Can't decide on a fixed position under the dash lip - or a pull out socket with (say 12") extra hose. Original thinking was the corner next to drivers door fixed just below bolster (angled down) - hides well here
Sharkskin suggested the console side - with some pull out extension so its easier for the driver or passenger to operate... This also means its easier to operate without opening the door - say if you can't due to an accident... More difficult to hide the install there though...
Actually Alan, that suggestion was for a release to trigger a hard-plumbed halon system. What you're working on now might be a bit fiddly for an untrained passenger to deal with. I was suggesting down near the hood release, so that you could reach it easily whether you were in the car or not.
OK - heres the other half of this story... had to do something to take my mind of the stupid wheel lock nut issue!
I have just about completed this project... really quite happy with how it turned out. I recommend - but its a lot of work.
Got my Halon extinguisher - red of course and that doesn't really match my car - so I've done a color conversion to stealth black. The 12" hose & quick release nozzle is on even with a dust cover (one of Dave's suggestions). The extinghuiser mount shown is a temporary basic type (clip is a bit in the passengers way). It is mounted to the movable part of the seat - a better mount will be fitted later when available again...
Meanwhile in the driver footwell easily reachable (in or out) is the concealed port with an apprx 14" pull out hose - this allows easy operation even from the drivers seat. So extinguisher and engine port are both reachable without even leaving your seat.
All that remains to do is to install some elastic straps to retain/retract the hose into the holster (up into the under dash area
BTW the final system (using a different extinguisher). I added the Brey-Krause quick release mount and added another mount plate - so I can have the extinguisher in either place - easiest to reach at the front, or when my wife is riding in the car for long I put it in the back (still reachable - but less comfortable). She says the extinguisher gets in the way of her preferred handbag location (easiest and best to just fix the problem) - you can persuade BK to sell you an extra mount!
Note the flex hose, quick release connector (locks to the fire port), and the flex hose organizer clips (hose just pulls out)
Amerex 2.5Lb Halon in B-K QR Mount to front pass seat
Same Extinguisher mounted on my alternate (wife friendly) B-K mount behind front pass seat
Detail of the B-K QR mount - its a work of art and works superbly - one handed, in one motion. The only downside is the $$$
Unobtrusive - but shoots forward right between the air intake tube & fuel rail drivers side
Unobtrusive - but shoots forward right between the air intake tube & fuel rail passenger side
Halon is heavier than air so blanketing from the top is good. Before deployment you really need to be stopped, with engine off and cooling fans NOT running - else all the halon will end up in a cloud behind you. That last part can be hard due to the fan after-running if the engine was really hot. I have not engineered the quick solution to that yet (I have a slow solution but that is really not much use).
