My idea for a Laptop Switch for my MKIV Jetta. Can this work?!? - Page 2

Scouse Monkey · 03-30-2005, 06:41 PM

yeah seems they dont make one for that model! should have got an IBM

They have good docking stations - i have one i got for £20 with a PCI slot, 2 additional PCMCIA slots (with controller) and a power button!

Post some pics of your power button, looks like some kind of laptop tray with a servo/solenoid activation built in might be your only option.

Man Ace · 03-30-2005, 07:57 PM

yea i will disassemble my laptop and take pics of my progress thus far when i get home tonite.

At this point I might just have to go to a pc version. I have an extra ATX complete computer system sitting in my garage. its got a 300 watt PSU though so I don't see how a OPus 150W DC PSU is going to work with it. All desktops in cars though are mini-itx it seems.If i went with a desk top it would also mean i would need to invest in a PSU & shutoff controller.

This laptop way seemed the most economical for me because i already had half the problem solved with power and shutdown.

Man Ace · 03-31-2005, 11:11 AM

I am going to figure out this laptop issue once and for all. I will take it apart and take pics tonite.

Man Ace · 03-31-2005, 10:37 PM

Ok after some struggling the laptop is now disassembled completely and I have full access to the switch. Now what?!

Here is a pic of my switch normally. It is a push down type switch.

mwh350 · 03-31-2005, 11:48 PM

Yes you do solder to two of those points. The way that I found out which two legs of that switch to solder to was using a jumper wire. Just take a small piece of wire, and brush it against two legs of the switch at a time until you get the laptop to fire up. It is important to note that switches that small are momentary that is to say that it should just take a brush with your jumper wire to fire up the laptop. The connection only has to be made for just a second. Earlier in the post you talked about using the voltage from your fog light switch to power that switch. YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT IT COULD FRY THE LAPTOP. Use the Voltage from the fog light switch to pull down a relay. The relay will just complete your little jumper wire for a brief moment, and the laptop will fire up just fine. When doing your jumper trick you should get the idea. The relay you would need is only about 5$ at Radio Shack

BoyNextDoor · 04-01-2005, 12:03 AM

i see you got the $499 laptop from BestBuy. They screwed me with $150 stating it wasn't walid. darn... Good luck on your mod though...

Man Ace · 04-01-2005, 02:31 AM

GOD DAMNIT... I ****ED IT UP.. MY LAPTOP IS DONE...

I have a ****ty *** solder gun and tried soldering the two wires that turned on the laptop and ****ed it all up.

My switch is done with and so is my carputer now. damn it.

look at this hack job.

damn it im hella depressed. My solder gun just spread out the solder everywhere. I was toying with it for the last 4 hours and then my solder just spread over the whole board. i tried to hook it up to the laptop and then the ribbon connecting the two started smoking. Obviously not a good sign.

there was a huge lump of solder on the board so i decided to file it down to give me a clean slate with no over build solder. thats why that part is smooth. I tried looking for a replacement switch board but of course no luck. at this point I don't know what else to do.

Man Ace · 04-01-2005, 02:47 AM

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is 12:45 am and I have to wake up at 6 for work tomorrow. I decided to give the laptop one more start up try before hitting bed. I connected the filed down power board. No smoke, that is a good thing. I grab my jumper wire and connected the two points that i had been trying to solder.

AND WAH-LA!

studly_steve007 · 04-01-2005, 03:28 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Scouse Monkey

See if you have Wakw on Lan in your bios, you amy be able to use that instead.

I'm in a similar place, trying to get my laptop to boot automatically but I've got Wake on LAN support, is there any chance you can point me in the direction of wot to do next to get Wake On LAN into a switch??

soundoff · 04-01-2005, 05:12 AM

man what the hell did you do to that PCB!!

if i was you i would be practicing your soldering on some less expensive junk boards before your next attempt!

jonee · 04-01-2005, 07:42 AM

Man Ace,
I have the Euro switch in my Euro Touareg. If I want to swicth on my front or rear fogs, at least the parking lights have to be on as well. So in Position 0 (as in your picture), without the parking lights on, you won't be able to pull the Euro switch, and boot your laptop.

mwh350 · 04-01-2005, 08:43 AM

See I told you it could be done Ace! Your soldering skills leave something to be desired however. I am sorry that I recommended you solder, but I am glad that it worked out for you! As far as wake on Lan goes Soundoff it normally requires a special packet to make that happen, and I don't know how you are going to send an ethernet packet from the front of your car to the back. I couldn't figure that crap out, and so I went with the hacked power button.

Man Ace · 04-01-2005, 10:50 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by mwh350

See I told you it could be done Ace! Your soldering skills leave something to be desired however. I am sorry that I recommended you solder, but I am glad that it worked out for you!

I am a newb at best with soldering. I have soldered before just not that small of connections and it didn't help my solder iron was huge. Damn it.

Just a quick update. After I booted up in windows and took that picture I spent another 3 hours trying to solder the wires to the connection points. I resoldered at least 7 different times. Each time the results were different. Either the laptop wouldn't turn on or it would boot up as soon as I put the ribbon back onto the mobo.

I think i have screwed with the switch board too much. I have soldered and filed it down several times in an attempt to get it to work. I have found that when i use my jumper wire to find where the points are, they change randomly. As soon as I find a spot where it starts from, I solder a wire to it and the laptop won't boot on my test run. Basically at this point, my laptop is without a switch basically. Either I need some real help from someone who knows what they are doing, or I need to find a replacement switch board. I have been looking everywhere.

Man Ace · 04-01-2005, 10:52 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by jonee

Man Ace,
I have the Euro switch in my Euro Touareg. If I want to swicth on my front or rear fogs, at least the parking lights have to be on as well. So in Position 0 (as in your picture), without the parking lights on, you won't be able to pull the Euro switch, and boot your laptop.

I understand that it won't turn on in Position 0. That was just a sample pic of what it looks like. My idea was to turn it to rear fogs for a second then off. Since then, I have been recommended to put a relay between the euroswitch and laptop to start it efficiently.

Man Ace · 04-01-2005, 10:56 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by BoyNextDoor

i see you got the $499 laptop from BestBuy. They screwed me with $150 stating it wasn't walid. darn... Good luck on your mod though...

Yea, I got this laptop the day after thanksgiving for $499 without needing any rebates. I think they ran a similar promotion with rebates sometime lately.

I have only used this laptop for a total of 2-3 hours probably. That's why it was the best canidate for a carputer.