Inspiron 1150 Power Inverter for Car Use

Question

Want to use 'something' to power Dell 1150 in the car for use with GPS mapping software.   Tried Husky 400 watt power inverter in cigarette lighter but the cigarette plug adapter is defective so I've attached it directly to the car battery. Seems to work and powers the laptop. I've also tried a Targus 90 watt unit plugged into the cigarette lighter and it worked for about 20 minutes and then alarms went off. I think because the battery was only about 50% at the time so it was drawing too much juice and finally shut down.   However, both power inverter units made the Dell AC power cord make a strange 'clicking' noise that it doesn't make when plugged into a regular 110V household line. I'm fearfull that I will damage the PC if I continue to use these power inverters for an extended time. Is that correct or don't worry about it?   When sizing an inverter, isn't the formula V x A = W???? In this case, 19.5v x 4.52a = 88.14w   Just trying to get a lower cost solution for laptop GPS versus the $1,000.00 Garmin 2620 option. With all the running around I've done in getting this far and not really set-up yet, that was probably the way to go in the first place.

Kayaker19 · Answer

Get a DC to DC adapter - Dell part # A0406008 The cheap inverters are sending a relatively ugly electrical signal and over time, your AC adapter will probably not like it very much. Second, you are seeing extreme innefficiency when converting DC (which is what the PC wants) to AC (fake AC in this case) and then using your AC adapter to convert back to DC. You could be losing 35%-40% which at 12VDC could be trying to pull 10-12 amps through the cig plug vs. 8-9 amps with a DC to DC adapter.

Dave 54 · Answer

I've searched and searched but cannot find that Dell part number. Can you post a link to that page or provide info on how to find it?

Kayaker19 · Answer

Try http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?cat=all&s=gen&c=us&l=en&cs=&k=A0406008 Can go to www.dell.com then in search box key in the part number.

Dave 54 · Answer

Thanks Kayaker 19........Once I found the part number, I was able to order it. Should have just ordered it off the Lind site and I'd have it by now. Dell's site said it would ship in1-2 weeks but the confirming order email from Dell said it would ship Jan 7th (3 weeks from the 19th). Tried to cancel today but the rep couldn't cancel the order because alledgely it's in the shipping channel right now. 'Ah well'.....I don't need it until next week anyway. Looking forward to having this mobile office set up with laptop+GPS system on a AutoExec mobile desk with the correct power adapter instead of the power inverter. Thanks again.

Locked Topics – Laptops General

Was this post helpful?