XMobile Xbox console in a car

Modifying an Xbox and LCD display to fit into the dashboard of a Citroen Saxo and run XBMC

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Date 08 June 2006
Views 5,190
Time to read 3 minutes read

XMobile was my attempt at fitting an Xbox games console into a car.

Stage 1: Mounting the LCD

The car in which I planned to fit the Xbox in was a Citroen Saxo. The LCD monitor was a 7" model taken from a Goodmans portable DVD player. Not the best quality but it does the job.

The first job was to find somewhere suitable for the LCD to sit. The dashboard in Saxos is made up of lots of curves so finding an area big enough for the LCD wasn't easy. In the end, it was decided that the best place would be above the radio in the centre console, this would mean relocating all of the buttons such as hazards and rear heater and building a framework up for the screen to sit in. You can see the progress below.

Console
The frame for the LCD is mounted to the console using fibreglass. A PDA cradle is also fitted behind.
Filler added
Filler is applied over the fibreglass and then smoothed with sandpaper.
Installed in the car
The finished console was sprayed and mounted with the LCD installed.
xbox console
XBMC loaded with the music drive listed on the screen

Stage 2: Modifying the Xbox

An Xbox uses mains voltage to run, 240V in the UK, so some changes would need to be made for it to run off the 12V car battery.

The original mains power supply was removed and replaced with a 12V Car PC Power Unit, an adaptor circuit was used to map the wires from the ATX connector to the Xbox connector and a remote power-on lead was added to run to the front of the car together with a remote USB lead for the infrared controller.

After testing the 12V power supply we found it was unstable and so decided to use a mains inverter and use the old Xbox 240V power supply.

Xbox case and power supply box
The Xbox case and power supply box are fitted to a wooden board.
external usb and power switch
External USB/Power switching socket on back panel power supply module.
The Xbox and inverter ready to be installed
The Xbox and inverter are ready to be installed
Installed in the back of the car
Installed in the back of the car

Once the power unit was fitted, we added a relay to switch the power on and off via the car head unit from the remote out. This turns on the Xbox when the auxiliary input is selected on the radio.

Tags: Projects Xbox

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