connecting laptop power plug to carnetix

lazyboyw · 02-02-2008, 02:03 AM

Hey guys, could use some help here. I decided to hack up the ac power cord to my dell 500m, and see if I can hook it up to the carnetix p1900.

As you can see in the pictures, it has three wires. Before I pulled them apart, the outer one (thickest-pointing up in the pic) surrounds the middle wire (pointing down) which surrounds the inner one (very thin-pointing to the right).

Anyone know whats the polarity of the wires? Or how I can find out? I'm hoping 1 is 19.5V and 2 are ground.

Thanks

v8 scimitar · 02-02-2008, 04:43 AM

a multi meter will tell you instantly what goes where.

VXdunnydoor · 02-02-2008, 11:31 AM

Outer shielding = ground
middle shielding = +19V
white = AC adaptor ID.

The AC adaptor ID wire is for communication between the laptop and the power supply to make sure it can supply enough power and to make sure it is a Dell power pack. The laptop will not charge without this AC adaptor ID wire connected. The system performance is also decreased if a non Dell supply is used (or if the white wire is not connected).

Hope this helps

lazyboyw · 02-03-2008, 09:17 PM

I don't know about reduced system performance, but I was able to verify everything else you guys said. Much thanks.

VXdunnydoor · 02-04-2008, 03:04 AM

There is an error message that appears when you boot up (might be disabled by default). It reads:
"The AC Power Adapter type cannot be determined. This will prevent optimal system performance.

Strike the F3 key (before the F1 or F2 key) if you do not want to see power warning messages again.

Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility"

I have a Dell Latitude D600 and I get this message due to the power pack being

up. It will run off AC fine but it won't charge the battery.

I hope for your sake it's a different story.

turbocad6 · 02-04-2008, 03:35 PM

I've screwed with these oddball dell plugs in the past, & from what I remember, it's a pretty funky scheme they use, I don't think it's just a ground, a 19v & a communications wire, from what I remember it was more like a floating ground, or some funky configuration, niether lead has the whole 19v, there were 2 different voltages in the ones I played with, & I think they somehow sum to the rated 19v... I never got far enough to really figure it all out because I just got a lind adaptor that took care of the whole mess... it will be a real challenge to get this to work 100% off just the p1900 unless you don't care about the laptop batery charging at all, the easiest & best solution is probably to pick up a lind adaptor if your using one of these funky configured dells. the p1900 could still control startup & shutdown & could then be used to power everything else & control the lind adaptor itself, which would power the laptop...

lazyboyw · 02-05-2008, 12:18 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by VXdunnydoor

There is an error message that appears when you boot up (might be disabled by default). It reads:
"The AC Power Adapter type cannot be determined. This will prevent optimal system performance.

Strike the F3 key (before the F1 or F2 key) if you do not want to see power warning messages again.

Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility"

I have a Dell Latitude D600 and I get this message due to the power pack being

up. It will run off AC fine but it won't charge the battery.

I hope for your sake it's a different story.

Yeah I saw that the second time around. But I haven't felt much difference in the performance. It might be one of those things they add to scare people into buying a dell adapter.

The lind ones are a pretty penny as well. Maybe one day. Right now I'll be okay with bringing the laptop in every once in a while to get a charge. Although, considering most pc setups don't even have a battery, the battery on the laptop may last a while (I hope).

Anyone have any experiences with the ebay auto laptop adapters? There are a few on there but the words: "This Adapter can be connected to the cigarette Lighter of Car/Auto or Truck and your laptop may get the required power when you travel" kinda scare me.

shotgunefx · 02-05-2008, 03:42 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by lazyboyw

Yeah I saw that the second time around. But I haven't felt much difference in the performance. It might be one of those things they add to scare people into buying a dell adapter.

The lind ones are a pretty penny as well. Maybe one day. Right now I'll be okay with bringing the laptop in every once in a while to get a charge. Although, considering most pc setups don't even have a battery, the battery on the laptop may last a while (I hope).

Anyone have any experiences with the ebay auto laptop adapters? There are a few on there but the words: "This Adapter can be connected to the cigarette Lighter of Car/Auto or Truck and your laptop may get the required power when you travel" kinda scare me.

On the Inspiron 8600, there is an option in the BIOS to disable that boot warning about the adapter, but it won't charge, nor can you use a doc IIRC.

I ended up getting an adapter from battery biz and so far so good.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/1076564-post63.html

lazyboyw · 04-23-2008, 11:57 PM

I thought I'd post an update since a bunch of stuff happened since my first post up above and maybe some one will find it useful.

I tried the dell adapter using the carnetix, and it worked, pretty well. However, I had a dell 500m (comes with a 60W adapter), and eventually I decided to get a dock, so it will be easier to move the laptop in and out of the car. So I had to get a 90W adapter to support the dock. My first attempt was the ebay ones, not the inverter types, I'm talking about the ones they market specifically for Dell. It worked okay for the price, like 30ish bucks. It even charged the laptop. However, I quickly found that I was getting a high pitch sound in the audio, and the video was also picking up interference. And eventually I found the problem to be the power adapter.

I went online to look for alternative solutions... I didn't want to spend over a hundred bucks just to get rid of the noise... I was a bit torn over what to do, pretty unhappy with either choice... and then! I found one these: Lind Electronics DE2045-1342, hard wire kit. They're like $100 bucks... new. But a refurbished one was 15 bucks!!! (plus some shipping). I guess the hard wire kits are not in high demand and thus the whopping 85% discount. So I got it, installed, it and it works beautifully! No sounds, no interference, low profile that I can hide easily, and it charges the laptop. And it was cheaper than the ebay crap. I got it at TechForLess and they still has 10 of these guys left at that price, there might be other sites out there as well.

Moral of the story, stay away from ebay crap and get the refurbished good stuff!

I guess I should also add that I don't work for any of these companies, I'm just a happy buyer that wanted to share the info.

Good luck