# Car electrical systems expansion

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092>\
**Category:** The Drawing Board\
**Created:** [September 18, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092 "2013-09-18T02:04:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Gatleos](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/gatleos/32/1008_2.png) [@Gatleos](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Gatleos)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/1 "2013-09-18T02:04:28Z")

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So, I just released a [pull request](https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/pull/3080) on the github repo to add horns to vehicles. And while I was poking around in the vehicle code I noticed that cars don’t currently have any sort of electrical system (unless you’re using an electric engine). Basically right now you can install a headlight on a bicycle and get an infinite free light source. The horns I added also don’t require any electricity.

It wouldn’t be too difficult to add I think, though I’m not exactly an expert on cars. With it we could add car radios, jumper cables, etc. Just a thought.

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**Author:** ![Rivet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/rivet/32/11_2.png) [@Rivet](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Rivet)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/2 "2013-09-18T02:08:49Z")

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As if it weren’t bad enough that 90% of cars in Cataclysm won’t go because of a broken engine, you want to add batteries and starters too?

But in all seriousness, remember that if you’re going to add electrical draw to the gasoline cars, they’ll need a charging system like an alternator in order to keep the starter and the headlights from sapping the battery dry.

Also, car radios. Has anybody else noticed that there’s no cars in Cataclysm that have radios or other music players?

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**Author:** ![Gatleos](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/gatleos/32/1008_2.png) [@Gatleos](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Gatleos)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/3 "2013-09-18T02:17:25Z")

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Yeah, I thought about 99% of cars having either a broken engine or dead battery. There would probably need to be some rebalancing there so the amount of working cars stays about the same. It’s been less than a week since Z-Day, after all.

With a working electrical system we could have airbags that could be removed and made into an anti-zombie IED. I’m sure you people can think of more car components.

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**Author:** ![Annarchia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Annarchia](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Annarchia)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/4 "2013-09-18T02:19:31Z")

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Install extra speakers along with your mounted weapons, plug in your mp3 player, then call the zombies to their last meal?

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**Author:** ![keldoclock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19b73/32.png) [@keldoclock](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/keldoclock)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/5 "2013-09-18T05:55:32Z")

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Cigarette lighters and the many accessories that plug into them would doubtless be useful for the survivor, as would the tiny lights in your car.

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**Author:** ![i2amroy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/i2amroy/32/909_2.png) [@i2amroy](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/i2amroy)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 6:25am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/6 "2013-09-18T06:25:27Z")

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A car expansion (with batteries and starters and whatnot) is on the list of planned things, we just haven’t gotten around to it yet. 😛

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**Author:** ![Iosyn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/iosyn/32/35_2.png) [@Iosyn](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Iosyn)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/7 "2013-09-18T14:27:06Z")

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[quote=“Rivet, post:2, topic:3092”]As if it weren’t bad enough that 90% of cars in Cataclysm won’t go because of a broken engine, you want to add batteries and starters too?

But in all seriousness, remember that if you’re going to add electrical draw to the gasoline cars, they’ll need a charging system like an alternator in order to keep the starter and the headlights from sapping the battery dry.

Also, car radios. Has anybody else noticed that there’s no cars in Cataclysm that have radios or other music players?[/quote]

Yeah, the lack of car radios is a bit of an irk for me. Electric cigarette lighters would be a nice addition too (since y’know, you can’t use matches to light cigarettes. 😉  
To be honest as car batteries are charged while the engine is running I think we could get away without an electrical system for now, since barring severe cold weather/running radio and lights with the engine off for hours they don’t usually die.

Maybe that’s a thing: Winter, depending on temp there’s a chance your car battery will die, possibly leaving you stranded somewhere if you forgot to bring a spare.

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**Author:** ![kevin.granade](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/kevin.granade/32/1316_2.png) [@kevin.granade](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kevin.granade)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/8 "2013-09-18T15:08:44Z")

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The attraction of seperating out the power system to me is that it means you can steal all those batteries as a good basis for survivor-made electrical systems :3  
I wouldn’t worry about specifically having starters or alternators, just assume that all gasoline engines consume some charges to start, and produce charges while running (this implies that engines will have a “running” vs “non running state”, and a vehicle menu entry to go with it). The main addition would be a “car battery” part (maybe a larger “truck battery” part too) that is pulled from to start the engine, and code to recharge it when the engine is running.  
You can also hook up a solar panel and charge a battery that way. Alternately you could have a gasoline engine (slowly) charge a fuel cell for an electric car, and possibly switch to a silent running mode when desired. That’s all optional things we can build on top though, the main thing is starting/stopping engines and keeping track of the battery charge.  
In other words, yes please 🙂

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**Author:** ![AseaHeru](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/aseaheru/32/8_2.png) [@AseaHeru](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/AseaHeru)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/9 "2013-09-18T17:45:26Z")

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If you find a uncharged battery you should be able to charge it with some acids.

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**Author:** ![Rivet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/rivet/32/11_2.png) [@Rivet](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Rivet)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/10 "2013-09-18T17:48:40Z")

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> [@AseaHeru](#):
>
> If you find a uncharged battery you should be able to charge it with some acids.

That’s not how charging a battery works at all.

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**Author:** ![Ian\_Strachan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/ian_strachan/32/1003_2.png) [@Ian\_Strachan](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Ian_Strachan)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/11 "2013-09-18T23:44:56Z")

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Forget the car radio, I want some air conditioning for when I want to drive during the summer. It should prevent you from getting the “Hot” status as long as you are in control of the car.

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/12 "2013-09-18T23:59:26Z")

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> [@Ian Strachan](#):
>
> Forget the car radio, I want some air conditioning for when I want to drive during the summer. It should prevent you from getting the “Hot” status as long as you are in control of the car.

Somehow I thought Shoes had abstracted that in? I think driving’s been climate-controlled for a while.

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**Author:** ![vultures](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/vultures/32/69_2.png) [@vultures](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/vultures)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/13 "2013-09-19T00:18:10Z")

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Well, there had been a couple of topics about vehicle overhaul, I suggested one of the solutions but nevermind; the devs took a detour with wrecks and couple of more complex vehicle types since 0.6 and 0.7. Supposedly there’s much to be tuned before all the new features can be implemented, and after all - moddable via .jsons and sorts.

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**Author:** ![AseaHeru](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/aseaheru/32/8_2.png) [@AseaHeru](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/AseaHeru)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/14 "2013-09-19T01:33:29Z")

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> [@Rivet](#):
>
> [quote=“AseaHeru, post:9, topic:3092”]If you find a uncharged battery you should be able to charge it with some acids.

That’s not how charging a battery works at all.[/quote]  
it depends on the battery. I am talking about the old acid and lead ones.

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**Author:** ![TaintedHolyWater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TaintedHolyWater](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/TaintedHolyWater)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 7:28am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/15 "2013-09-20T07:28:10Z")

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Just to throw in a quick suggestion how about something like jumper cables to pull electricity from one car to another (maybe using the siphoning code?)

That way I can charge my little electric go cart off of the large solar bank I could put outside my shack.

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**Author:** ![Zireael](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/zireael/32/956_2.png) [@Zireael](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Zireael)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 9:16am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/16 "2013-09-20T09:16:43Z")

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I like all these ideas coming along…

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**Author:** ![Gatleos](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/gatleos/32/1008_2.png) [@Gatleos](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Gatleos)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/17 "2013-09-25T06:02:19Z")

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I’ve been doing some intensive research on car battery amperage and various other things, trying to get this as realistic as possible. I think what I’ll do is take the current “storage battery” object and rename it “car battery”, then put one in all cars with electrical systems. Then I can make certain car systems sap “fuel” from it over time and give non-electric engines alternators that refill the battery over time.

So far I’ve got ~40 amperage-hour car batteries which should drain in about 7 hours if you leave the engine off and the headlights on. Might need some tweaking.

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**Author:** ![Zireael](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/zireael/32/956_2.png) [@Zireael](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Zireael)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 7:03am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/18 "2013-09-25T07:03:45Z")

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[quote=“Gatleos, post:17, topic:3092”]I’ve been doing some intensive research on car battery amperage and various other things, trying to get this as realistic as possible. I think what I’ll do is take the current “storage battery” object and rename it “car battery”, then put one in all cars with electrical systems. Then I can make certain car systems sap “fuel” from it over time and give non-electric engines alternators that refill the battery over time.

So far I’ve got ~40 amperage-hour car batteries which should drain in about 7 hours if you leave the engine off and the headlights on. Might need some tweaking.[/quote]

Good idea.

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**Author:** ![Moddan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@Moddan](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Moddan)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 7:49am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/19 "2013-09-25T07:49:57Z")

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Maybe then there could be an optional car part/upgrade that recharges the battery a bit whenever deaccelerating.

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**Author:** ![kevin.granade](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/kevin.granade/32/1316_2.png) [@kevin.granade](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kevin.granade)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/car-electrical-systems-expansion/3092/20 "2013-09-25T14:51:57Z")

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[quote=“Gatleos, post:17, topic:3092”]I’ve been doing some intensive research on car battery amperage and various other things, trying to get this as realistic as possible. I think what I’ll do is take the current “storage battery” object and rename it “car battery”, then put one in all cars with electrical systems. Then I can make certain car systems sap “fuel” from it over time and give non-electric engines alternators that refill the battery over time.

So far I’ve got ~40 amperage-hour car batteries which should drain in about 7 hours if you leave the engine off and the headlights on. Might need some tweaking.[/quote]

When you say “rename it”, you mean you’re making a new part based off the old one with lower power capacity, right? If so that’s just what we want yes 🙂

This will go well with the recent addition that has a small number of vehicles being spawned with their headlights on 🙂

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