TurboLink and Power Inverters ...

[kenmosher]

Just an important safety tip from your ol' uncle Ken ...

Cheap inverters can be the cause of all sorts of chaos with TurboLink (and probably DS too). I've just lately seen a rash of wierd "problems" that go away as soon as the laptop is plugged into a wall socket (instead of the inverter) or run on batteries.

Depending on how well the laptop is buffered from the power source, some work better than others... i.e. one brand of laptop works fine but another freaks out with the same TurboLink cable. It appears the power inverters that do a poor job of filtering and regulating the AC wave form cause the most problems (it seems to "hum" through the parallel port and cause data "flakiness").

If you are having problems with your scan tool (TurboLink, DS, etc.), do a test by plugging into a wall socket or running on batteries before you do anything else. Oftentimes that will be the culprit.

Another quick tip ... voltage boosters can make the inverters freak out too. If you see the scan tool go nuts only at WOT and you have a voltage booster, it may be that the inverter is seeing too much voltage.

Hope that helps!

 

[SloNoMo]

Thanks Ken!

Thanks for the look out Uncle Ken,,,,,,,,I run a inverter with your T/Link system and no problem yet........How's the new version of T/Link coming!!


Later,
Mack

 

[jon_we4]

I'm half way into disecting and rewireing a inverter i bought into the fuse box, i was going to hide it in the consol and have the socket and switch be on a plate in the ashtray area.....


i hope my plan will still work

 

[kenmosher]

I would test it before I got too far into the project. It may work just fine ...

 

[Scottie-GNZ]

Thanks Ken,

that might explain some of the oddities I see in DS. At WOT, the Inj DC will drop from 80% to the teens or shoot up to hi-90s FOR ONE FRAME only and I will occasionally get codes 24, 42 & 55, always together. I have excellent suggestions from Steve Y and Steve W to shorten and shield the ribbon cable.

Unfortunately my cheapy (read free) laptop does not have good or available batteries so I need the inverter. Is the inverter problem the fact that it is in the electrical circuit or its proximity to the ECM and scantool? Could it be relocated and how far away is safe?

TIA

 

[jon_we4]

Originally posted by kenmosher
I would test it before I got too far into the project. It may work just fine ...

uh.... can i have a beta of 3.0 so i can test it now?

i still havnt been able to connect to the ECM with or without the inverter.

i've been counting the days

 

[Scottie-GNZ]

ttt

Can anyone answer the question in my reply above?

Thanks.

 

[kenmosher]

I can't speak for DS ... and since it has a cable that breaks the Faraday cage of the ECM, it might be picking up something in the RF down the cable.

In the case of TurboLink, it's in the power side of the laptop that is causing the problems (not the location of the inverter).

 

[c&cgn]

Ken, will this problem cause bad data when trying to record a run? My buddy's TL works fine when looking at it and trying to tune the car but when He tries to record a run, at least half the time he has problems, like it will show 160mph and 43*KR when there should be none.

I may try my invertor on his car to see if it makes a difference. What do you think?

 

[1badTTA]

HEHEHE
I posted this a while ago, but it may be useful for this thread also.

I use a toshiba 610ct laptop and the power source is a converter from 110v AC to 15v DC. I wasn't able to find the power suply when I got my DS so I simply made a cable with a cig lighter plug on one end and the proper plug for the laptop on the other. Since the alternator almost always puts out 12-14V this is not a problem. The only problems associated with this is if I leave the laptop pluged in overnight and don't start the car for 24 hours, I will have a dead battery.

Check your laptop to see what voltage is required and if it is 12-15V DC you should have no problems at all doing what I did.

 

[Scottie-GNZ]

1BadTTA,

interesting, I will check my laptop voltage. Does it drain the car battery even if the laptop is powered off.

BTW, did yoyu eliminate the adaptor box in the laptop cord or leave in it?