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Fuse box delete? (and relays too!) If you are rewiring your car, you need to watch this before you start to help you make some informed choices.
Simplified wiring, programable redundancy options, easy control functionality and more are covered here, let's unpack some info on PDM, PDU and PMUs, noting all those acronyms are actually the same thing.
While price is all relative, there is no arguing that the cost and functionality of quality electronics previously only seen in professional motorsports have come down to a more accessible level for many motorsport enthusiasts, even drifters who are always broke!. Scott Hilzinger from Haltech explains why a PDM (note explanation below) is an attractive option for motorsport and performance car enthusiasts and how to leverage some of the features of Haltech's PD16 specifically including the company's strong focus on simple user interfaces and control.
Also discussed are CAN communications in general (CAN Bus) along with CAN keypads which offer drivers and mechanics an incredibly amount of functionality with minimal physical setup complications compared to traditional options. While CAN itself is nothing new, this simplified level of usability for aftermarket performance devices is certainly changing the use case, along with the aforementioned price bracket of PDMs decreasing.
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WHAT IS A PDM?
A power distribution module (PDM), power management unit (PMU) and power distribution unit (PDU) are all the same thing with different names.
These units replace the conventional fuses and relays we need to control and protect the various electrical circuits on our car with solid state electronics to control current flow. This dramatically simplified the wiring installation and can also improve reliability. With a conventional fused circuit, if the current is excessive then the fuse will blow to protect the components and you need to stop and replace the fuse to get going again.
With a PDM the fusing current can be adjusted in software and the unit will simply shut off the circuit if the fusing current is exceeded. The smart part however is that you can then configure the PDM to wait a specific amount of time before retrying the circuit that just failed. You can also set how many times the circuit will retry before failing permanently. This can often be enough to nurse a car with a failing electrical part back to the pits for repair. It’s also possible to log and display the current draw on each circuit so you can see exactly what’s going on with every part of the electrical system.
At this point, a PDM is still going to end up more expensive than using fuses and relays but when weighing up options most enthusiasts overlook the cost involved with mounting and wiring the relays and fuses. When you factor that in, upgrading to a PDM often isn’t going to cost substantially more and by the time you consider the advantages it can start to look pretty attractive.
At the World Time Attack Challenge where we filmed this interview, it is now harder to find vehicles NOT using PDM devices across all classes than ever, a testament to the points covered here today and more.
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TIME STAMPS
0:00 - PDM, PDU, PMU, Herb, Call It What You Like
0:15 - Haltechs PD16
0:25 - What Is A PDM?
0:58 - Why Would You Want One?
1:17 - 1: Simplicity & Reliability
1:43 - 2: Cost
1:56 - 3: Data & Fault Detection
2:02 - Deeper Cost & Simplicity Explanation
2:53 - Physical Setup & Understanding
3:22 - Smarter Fusing Features
4:35 - Communication Of Fault/s
4:55 - Extra Redundancy
5:23 - CAN Communication 101
6:07 - We Have A Course On CAN 😎
6:14 - Haltech PD16 CAN Setup
7:36 - Essentially Just Select Current, Output & Go
8:06 - Inputs And Use Cases
8:47 - Focus On Plug And Play When Used With Corresponding Products
9:10 - CAN Keypad Control
10:13 - PD16 Price and Availability AUD April 2022
10:54 - Talk To Your Local Supplier
11:28 - Thumbs Up, Learn More
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