Dell Smart Plug - Laptop Power

Serialk1llr · 10-25-2006, 12:54 PM

So how many of you have run into this smart plug problem when trying to get PSU power to your Laptop carputers? I've done some digging and it appears only a few people have run into this problem. If you have any experiance with this, how did you solve it? What did you do? How did you wire things so that your PSU delivered power to your laptop?

RickS · 10-25-2006, 04:13 PM

I used a different laptop. I was originally going to use a Dell but chose a Gateway instead. I'm not a fan of Gateway but they haven't gone to this on any of theirs that I've seen (yet). It works well in my wife's van.

The other option would be to power the laptop from an inverter so you're using the brick...not the cleanest solution but it works (I have to run the one in my car that way in order to use the docking station since it pulls 160W).

turbocad6 · 10-25-2006, 04:20 PM

you can use a car adaptor made for it, lind makes them...

Serialk1llr · 10-25-2006, 05:25 PM

I'm wondering if the plug end of the lindi adapter, which looks like it could be a seperate part bought separately, could be used as the plug to be spliced in with an OPUS or Carnetix and allow for their respective functions.

turbocad6 · 10-25-2006, 06:20 PM

the plug has a 19v,a 12v, & a ground, mine did, anyway.... it was a dell 700m

turbocad6 · 10-25-2006, 06:21 PM

as far as I know, the motherboard will still boot with the 19v & work fine, but it won't charge the battery

Serialk1llr · 01-06-2007, 04:20 PM

Just wanted to add a little info to my own question as well as others. I found at in least my case the power brick had 3 holes. one was a ground wire and the other two were hot. No smart plug. So for all intents and purpose it basically splitting the power delivery over 2 wires instead of 1.

Hope that helps someone down the road.

turbocad6 · 01-06-2007, 10:04 PM

yes & no.... I did look into it a bit further when I modified my lind adapter... it's not just split power... theres something funky going on there... there are 2 different voltages, & one uses a ground plane like 5v higher than the other.... they sum to 19v, but not easily reduplicated.... I didn't put much effort into it cause I wasn't looking to solve this issue, I was looking to do the opposite & just get the summed 19v for a newer build, which I did get by combining the 2 different outputs... don't remember the exact details though...

ephyouckay · 01-07-2007, 03:14 AM

ok... maybe i dont get it but why do you need to charge the battery if you have a power supply like the p1900?

i have a dell inspiron 4150 and i think it is a 3 pin connector because i see three holes on the charger cable... if the p1900 will power the 19v that it needs to power the laptop why do you need to charge the battery? Wont i still be able to use the laptop with just the 19v? Does it effect the auto startup/shutdown?

Serialk1llr · 01-07-2007, 10:53 AM

Edit: turbocad6 - We didn't see anything besides just two 19v rails and a ground on our voltmeter. how/where did you find this funky power delivery?

ephyouckay: I have the Power coming from the P1900 into the connector on the end of the dell power brick. basically, i hacked the end of the cord off to splice it to the p1900. I did this so I could a) not solder onto my laptop mobo, b) this would allow me to -easily- remove my laptop to maintenance.

Also, i have the added benefit of being able to unhook the spliced plug and hookk it back up to the original power brick, in case I wanna actually use the laptop as a laptop or whatever.

I am not actually sure if my battery charges to tell you the truth. its life was so short before hand that I -always- use the power brick.

To answer your concerns, I would guess that your 3 pin plug is possibly like mine. 2 19v rails and a Ground. Also, your auto start/shutdown won't be affected. There are so many configurations via software/hardware for this you should be just fine no matter what you plan on doing I would think. Again, however, you might want to have an electrician buddy help. Made me MUCH more comfortable when I started hacking/splicing.

turbocad6 · 01-07-2007, 10:53 AM

if your installing the laptop permanently, then the battery doesn't even need to be there at all, let alone charge....

some guys who do laptops will want to just have a docked solution though, & when they pop the laptop out to use it as a laptop is where this will come into play....

for the most part, I personally think a parmanent install, or a dedicated car machine, is the best way to go, but everyone has there own idea of what they think is best...

atlttz · 01-07-2007, 12:35 PM

I am doing a Dell Inspiron 8500 and it will be permanet. I do not care about the battery, but I do need some help with power. I am going to go with the "brick" as you are calling it, but I need help getting power to it. Can I run off the remote wire from my amp, or do I need to go directly to the battery. Also, any suggestion on shutdown? I found on here the device one of the members makes and bought it, but it is only for start up. Thanks for your help. By the way, the info you guys have in here is nice, thanks again.