Laptop Auto Power-On / Turn-On Module - Page 14

W3bMa5t3r · 06-28-2007, 05:05 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by brad1011a

I have the same lappy going into my van. That daughter card's power-on contacts are shorted by the underside of the power button.

If you pull that card out you can see the same contacts on the reverse by pulling off the insulating tape underneath. There is no clearance there, so I'm going to try doing it with just a few strands of wire.

Have you or anyone been able to do it differently?

I wonder if the main board has a separate 'emergency' power button... I haven't been able to find anything about that...

Check out post #153 or so. If that's what you're referring to, I think he ended up soldering the switch to his mobo at the point shown after determining which were the correct points, just like you would for the power switch. Might be good to contact him about this... and maybe post pics/results of it here.

brad1011a · 06-28-2007, 07:35 PM

Thanks. The daughter card also has the LED's on it, and the connector (and its interface) would be difficult to solder to.

I think I'm going to just use the pad, and solder lightly using tinned wires. Because of the low clearance I'll try to use four (or so) open strands, insulated by flat tape.

I'll report back with pics.

brad1011a · 06-29-2007, 04:54 PM

OK here's how I did my Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop. This should work with similar models that use a daughter board with contact 'pads' meant to be shorted by the conductor disc on the underside of the flexible power button.

On this Dell all that is needed to access the daughter board is to remove the hinge cover, which requires no screws.

This is the daughter card with the hinge cover removed showing the circular contacts that need to be shorted:

This is where I mounted the connector to the hinge cover. There's a slight clearance issue, but only when the screen is completely opened flat, but it still opens that far easily. Otherwise it opens very wide even with the plug inserted:

From the top:

Top of daughter board showing contacts:

Bottom where I need to solder. The small holes allow the wire to be 'hooked' into:

One wire (perfect size!) hooked in ready to solder:

Half way there. Flat tape is used to insulate because of clearance:

Front of board. Notice small amount of solder coming through hole at left (too much and the button may not work!):

Card back in:

Ready to go, and tested:

brad1011a · 06-29-2007, 07:35 PM

Oh and thanks for an awesome product!

W3bMa5t3r · 06-30-2007, 04:25 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by brad1011a

Oh and thanks for an awesome product!

Looks dang good

and you're welcome.

Cheers

brad1011a · 06-30-2007, 11:30 AM

One quick question; I notice the contents of the 'black box' seem loose, and may rattle in my car. Is there any issue if I open it up, and secure everything with velcro or something?

brad1011a · 06-30-2007, 01:32 PM

Never mind I just added some fill below the circuit board.

But I just discovered that this laptop will not boot (cold or from hibernation) with the lid closed, even though the BIOS is set to 'Active with lid closed'.

Guess I'll have to go digging for those wires...

brad1011a · 06-30-2007, 02:45 PM

Never mind *again*; it works just fine with the lid closed as long as there's an external monitor. Duh!

W3bMa5t3r · 06-30-2007, 10:18 PM

lol... glad everything has been worked out. Thanks for the input about the box though. I had thought that with the box and cables being tied down it would be fine, but I guess there is still a chance for some movement, so I'll start adhering the circuit boards to the bottom. I don't want to make it permanent since some people like to fool around with their toys, so maybe industrial strength 3M double sided tape would work. Holding the circuit board to the bottom.

Cheers,
The W3bMa5t3r

brad1011a · 07-01-2007, 10:18 AM

I notice the board has mounting holes at the corners, but you'd have to glue down a bracket...

Perhaps a piece of plastic screwed to the back of the board, and velcro that...

RedGTiVR6 · 07-01-2007, 11:00 AM

thread moved to the new Laptops forum.

hithere · 07-01-2007, 02:28 PM

Don't know if this has been posted before, but the Inspiron 6400/E1505, for those that are interested, is very similar to the Dell above, only the power button pcb is smaller, and there is little room to route all but the smallest of wire, and there is little room on the chassis for the added port...

I used the almost-non-shielded wire from Radio Shack, forget what they call it, but it's less than a half a millimeter thick and covered with some scrape-away insulation. It works great, the two wires soldered to pins 1 and 3 on the power switch, clearly marked, and will route under the power button PCB nicely. I would suggest using a small bit of electrical tape to assist insulating this type of wire wherever you go across edges and ridges where you decide to route the cable. Other than that, it works great and will not result in having to further modify any part of the laptop enclosure to route cable.

For this laptop, I'd also advise a smaller plug than the one specified above, and route it to the rear part of the laptop out where the video card heatsink vents.

esko · 07-22-2007, 03:00 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by hithere

Don't know if this has been posted before, but the Inspiron 6400/E1505, for those that are interested, is very similar to the Dell above, only the power button pcb is smaller, and there is little room to route all but the smallest of wire, and there is little room on the chassis for the added port...

I used the almost-non-shielded wire from Radio Shack, forget what they call it, but it's less than a half a millimeter thick and covered with some scrape-away insulation. It works great, the two wires soldered to pins 1 and 3 on the power switch, clearly marked, and will route under the power button PCB nicely. I would suggest using a small bit of electrical tape to assist insulating this type of wire wherever you go across edges and ridges where you decide to route the cable. Other than that, it works great and will not result in having to further modify any part of the laptop enclosure to route cable.

For this laptop, I'd also advise a smaller plug than the one specified above, and route it to the rear part of the laptop out where the video card heatsink vents.

Can you provide a picture? I have the same laptop. Thanks!

wilgartw · 07-23-2007, 03:17 AM

i was very worried that i would damage my laptop soldering, so i went the cowards route and bought a docking station. if i messed up the soldering it would cost me a lot less to replace.

iyou can see the output socket on the second picture

the_crooked_toe · 07-23-2007, 01:15 PM

i'm currently in my first build for a carputer. i want to first say that this site has taught me wonders.

now i'm stuck. i was looking into getting one of these modules. after talking with w3b he told me i have a membrane power switch (see below). I started reading about soldering the leads on the mobo. but i have a huge problem. there are 40 solder points on the mobo. i have my multimeter set on continuity and i'm getting some weird readings (note that this is the first time i've used a multimeter). I read earlier that polarity wasn't an issue. I have the red plugged into COM and the black plugged into V(ohm)mA on the mulitmeter. when i put the black on pin 34 or 36 and touch it to almost every point on the top it will get a reading in the range of 750 to 850. If i do black on 34 or 36, and touch the red to 38 then i get a reading of 088. If i switch it around and i do black to 38 and red to 34 or 36, then i get a reading of 1199. i also get a reading when i do black on 38 to red on 39 of 1403, but when i reverse the colors i get nothing. then when black is on 38 i don't get a reading anywhere else on the board. so the reading with the highest number is black 38 to red 39. does anyone have any insight?

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