Laptop power from cigar lighter please

[tangomoon]

Does anybody know which (precisely) cigar socket power cable will give it the power it needs to function please TIA

 

[Hoolie]

Unless your laptop will run off 12 volts - look at your mains adaptor to check its output voltage - you will need a 12 to 16v (or whatever) inverter from Maplins, PCworld, eBay etc. You can get them with a settable output voltage so you can still use it when you change your laptop!

 

[tangomoon]

Thanks

 

[kevinbrown2021]

You can get a power invertor from argos, it is perfect for what you need!!

 

[Talbot]

strongly recommend the 120w maplin Dc/DC converter, but make sure you get the correct plug for your lappie. They come with a selection of the most popular, but others are available.

 

[alan17]

Laptop spares sell exactly what you need. Locate them on google. Phone them and they will ask various questions and send you precisely the correct item;

 

[Walusotu]

Most laptops work on 19V input. It is an easy matter to purchase a multi-volt (15 to 24v) - 12v adapter (lighter socket) which works perfectly and is probably more efficient than an invertor.
Have bought such in Middle-East, India and Far-East not to mention Europe!!

 

[jeremyshaw]

Be aware that you often need a reasonably well charged battery for this to work. I have a Dell branded in-car charger for my Dell laptop. The power draw varies according to use (especially disk) and if the battery is dropping towards 12.2v then the charger will tend to cut in and out, presumably because the voltage is insufficient (car batteries are normally well charged). This may just be a phenomenon with the Dell charger...

 

[kingfisher]

Forget all that transformer stuff. I just cut the cable from my dead transformer, and soldered on a cigarette lighter plug. The laptop is rated at 19V (output from original transformer), but runs easily, albeit a little slowly, on 12V. Which means it steps down the processor etc, so it also uses less power.
Leaving the battery in is a debatable issue: it will obviously constantly use power to charge the batteries, but on the other hand, a charged battery is a good thing to have if the on board power fails and if the laptop is your primary navigation tool.
I haven't tried to see whether it can play DVDs at the lower voltage, though.

Another note: for power maintenance, keep the laptop as simple as possible: turn off all background programs such as firewalls, virus scanners etc.

 

[PIGLETSDREAM]

My Toshiba Sattelite Pro, which is old, running Win 98 with no service packs and some chartplotter software runs directly off 12volts and has done for many years. At £80 for a new battery I don't leave the battery in cos it is dead. Now works fine on board, but then it is not the modern power hungry version. Depends on what you plan to use it for