powering a laptop in car

[austinibew145]

has anyone here found a way to hook up a laptop in there car without a dc to ac inverter? I found two items online but there not avalable in the U.S.
one was featured on mp3car.com and the other was a trust brand. dc to dc converter multi volt or 12v to 19v @ around 4A. just wondering.

 

[David65]

HP lists a couple: HP adapters | HP Official Store

As well as TigerDirect: Laptop Battery, Computer Battery, Notebook Battery, Laptop Batteries at TigerDirect.com

For 19V @ 4A you probably want at least a 80 or 90 watt version. And be sure to check the size & polarity of the plug on the end.

 

[delcowizzid]

i use a projecta DC6000 universal car charger is 6000ma at 19v .bigger the better is key dont use one that doesnt have the amperage or it will fry the laptops internals due to excessive heat.i allways run a seperate ground from mu lpt port screw thread to the chassis when useing in car connected to my ecu or aldl cable to be on the safe side dont want any ground loop issues

 

[robertmee]

I just use a car charger adapter for my Dell. If you go to ebay and search your laptop model and car charger, it's likely available.

 

[austinibew145]

i use a projecta DC6000 universal car charger is 6000ma at 19v .bigger the better is key dont use one that doesnt have the amperage or it will fry the laptops internals due to excessive heat.i allways run a seperate ground from mu lpt port screw thread to the chassis when useing in car connected to my ecu or aldl cable to be on the safe side dont want any ground loop issues

thanks, where do you ground your laptop?

 

[austinibew145]

I will try the links you provided. thanks guys. I will let you know what I go with.

 

[Rafs-T-Type]

I'm going to hi-jack a little here, but is there any way this cheap charger is any good? Buy Laptop Car Charger Adapter for Compaq Presario C500 Series at LaptopZ.com

 

[usetaboost]

I will try the links you provided. thanks guys. I will let you know what I go with.

Let me know what you go with Austin. I'm tired of carting that huge paperweight from the car to the house all the time. At least it gives the car time to rest

 

[turboc87gn]

Truckstops have some mini inverters that work pretty well..they arent as big and bulky as regular ones and will fit in a glove box....

 

[austinibew145]

I am going to try this and see what happens. I have an hp dv6000

HP Pavilion DV6000 Series - Car Auto Airline DC Power Adapters

 

[WSLN 6]

I went straight hillbilly on mine when my old Compaq laptop battery died. I duct taped 3 large 6 volt lantern batteries together and wired them in series to get 18.7 volts, which was just right for the laptop. Lasted more than one season of tuning, but looked crazy.....lol The upside was no power inverter shutting down while cranking the car. Good stuff.

 

[delcowizzid]

thanks, where do you ground your laptop?

i have a second earth point in the ciggerette lighter socket.but have run it straight to the body of the car and to the diagnostic port earth as well before ive never had any issues at all with ecu's or laptops fizzling

 

[austinibew145]

I thought about wiring strait to the computers batt. I figured it would eliminate the power consumption of the dc-ac inverter and the ac-dc converter. the less crap the better. now I just play the waiting game. hope they ship fast.

 

[davelostmissing]

I thought about wiring strait to the computers batt.

Don't do that on a laptop you care about. A car's power rail has nasty spikes and noise that the innards weren't designed for.

 

[austinibew145]

not going to. power suply should be here soon. If the d@m translater would show up I might make the power tour.

 

[austinibew145]

I received it yesterday. that didn't take long. it works good so far. I didn't use it for long I just hoked it up to see if it worked