plugging laptop into 115vac dash outlet

tahoejeff · Post by **tahoejeff** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:09 pm

i'm taking a trip tomorrow, and want to plug my Dell laptop into my dash plug outlet. will this be a problem? has anyone else done this?i asked this on a diff forum, and one answer worries me:If the laptop has a switching power supply it may not play well with a basic inverter. I toasted a couple of BellSouth supplied 150 watt inverters with the 90 watt power supply for an Itronix Go-Book before I figured out what I was doing wrong.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:18 pm

I plugged mine in to that without a problem.Also my gateway worked well with it.Just check the wattage rating on the dell power supply, because i know my friend's dell was like 110W and it was too much for that supply, so it would pop the internal breaker until he unplugged it.

prathman · Post by **prathman** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:28 pm

No problems with our laptop power supplies (Dell and Toshiba), but, as ragingfish mentioned, check the wattage or current requirement on your power supply. We did have to use a 2-prong to 3-prong adapter to plug in the laptop power supplies.

northvibe · Post by **northvibe** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 1:22 pm

Three of my Apple powerbooks ran fine off of it, my IBM works... all my ipods...cell phone chargers...mmm just dont run a hair dryer and you'll be fine

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 9:40 pm

Quote, originally posted by tahoejeff Â» I toasted a couple of BellSouth supplied 150 watt inverters with the 90 watt power supply for an Itronix Go-Book before I figured out what I was doing wrong.Try it in the Vibe and see. I have hooked up things that drew more than the VIbe's inverter could handle, and it just shut off. Took off the load and it worked again (for loads within it's capacity). Perhaps the inverter in the Vibe has better overload protection than the inverters BellSouth supplied

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 3:47 am

I had no problem with my Compaq--had to use a 3 prong adapter is all.

sstress · Post by **sstress** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:04 am

For long trips... I plug a power strip into mine and lay it on the floor. I cut the 3rd prong off and works great.

tnpartsguy · Post by **tnpartsguy** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:28 am

I do turn my brightness level down when using my laptop in the car to help not overload the system. I carry a grounding adapter in the car at all times to make sure stuff can get plugged in, the angle is all wrong for most cords.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 2:30 pm

on our road trip from Ontario, Canada to Anchorage, AK back in May 05, i used the plug for my laptop and it worked just fine.

Herb · Post by **Herb** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 2:45 pm

Quote, originally posted by psiu Â»I had no problem with my Compaq--had to use a 3 prong adapter is all.Apparently 3 prong adapters are not legal for use or sale in Canada so we'll have to come up with something else.http://www.gov.ns.ca/enla/elec...s.asp

Striider · Post by **Striider** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:23 pm

Here, get a cheap grounding strip and use these to cut the grounding prong off the end.

Neouka · Post by **Neouka** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:57 am

I saw 3 prong "cheaters" for sale in a local dollar store, actually.They have the Chateau brand name on them, but yes, they're incredibly illegal here. I don't know how places get them.

wyatt89 · Post by **wyatt89** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:10 am

i made toast in my car to see if it would work...and it did

im sure your lappy will be fine...

TraySeeLea · Post by **TraySeeLea** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 10:03 pm

mmMMm toast with peanut butter~!

zionzr2 · Post by **zionzr2** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 10:31 pm

On long trips there is always a laptop plugged in mine no problems at all. simply use the 2 to 3 prong adapter.

ramenboy... · Post by **ramenboy...** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 1:07 am

one of the few times i've need to run the ibook in the vibe, it had to be charged. it was fine, but the charger is bulky and had to be constantly pressed into the socket to make the connection.you'll be fine

kunkstyle · Post by **kunkstyle** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:36 am

Quote, originally posted by ramenboy... Â»but the charger is bulky and had to be constantly pressed into the socket to make the connection.I've got the same problem with my iPod - a little 3" extension cord worked wonders.

tahoejeff · Post by **tahoejeff** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:29 am

thank you for all the replies and suggestions. now how do i convince my wife she has to have a laptop sitting on her lap when we take trips?she 'tolerated' it while we were taking backroads through the north woods, but...

Herb · Post by **Herb** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 2:22 pm

Quote, originally posted by Neouka Â»I saw 3 prong "cheaters" for sale in a local dollar store, actually.They have the Chateau brand name on them, but yes, they're incredibly illegal here. I don't know how places get them.I hadn't thought about dollar stores. They bring in all sorts of odd things too.I went the eBay routehttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...h=020I just hope they make it past the boarder

Mr. Joe · Post by **Mr. Joe** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 5:56 am

I've considered taking the hardware out of my 300w power inverter and replacing the inverter in my vue with it.

plugging laptop into 115vac dash outlet

plugging laptop into 115vac dash outlet

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