Over powered Laptop. Can't use effectivly.

Discussion in 'Trucking Electronics, Gadgets and Software Forum' started by Polarbear25, Jan 31, 2015.

  1. Polarbear25

    Polarbear25 Light Load Member

    51
    38
    Jun 7, 2013
    Lost
    0
    I got a new gami g laptop a few months ago which runs fine plugged into a wall but I am running into an issue trying to use it out on the road. Whenever i plug it into my 350watt inverter the inverter starts beeping and screetching after a couple minutes and then melted its 12v plug. My company does not allow us to get inverters installed on the trucks so I have to rely on the biggest one I could get still with 12v plug which is the cobra 400watt that I know of. With this one it starts beeping after a few minutes but hasn't fired itself yet. Through so tweeking of the computer I found that if I put it in power saver mode and limit the processors even further to do no more that 25% of their capability the inverter no longer gets overheated. But then I run into the issue of after maybe 1-3 hours depending on how long I drove that day the truck batteries get drained out and the truck 2015(cascadia evo) shut off all power to the sleeper to save enough power for startup.

    So what I am wondering is 1st are the batteries suppose to drain that quickly? On this truck? My Volvo drained a few times but that wasn't a new truck my any means. Or is it a side effect of the inverter issue?
    2nd at 25% of capability I can't play the games I want so is there any way to work around not being allowed to out a bigger inverter in? And if I did ever get a bigger one would it even matter?

    I looked on the power cord for the laptop and it says Input 100-240v 2.5A. Output 19.5v 9.2A
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Ebola Guy

    Ebola Guy Heavy Load Member

    977
    789
    Oct 11, 2009
    Manitowoc, WI
    0
    It could be you have shoddy batteries or fried the wiring and the inverter can't pull the juice it needs and thinks the batteries are low.

    Personally, I'd get some alligator clips and clip the inverter directly to the batteries.
     
  4. tallmon

    tallmon Medium Load Member

    657
    318
    Oct 22, 2014
    0
    At 19.5 volts and 9.2 amps that comes out to 375 watts. That's probably 375 continuous, not startup which would be more.

    I'd charge up the laptop while driving and then play until you run down the laptop battery.
     
  5. w.h.o

    w.h.o Road Train Member

    3,574
    4,068
    Jan 10, 2011
    Chicago, il
    0
    I can only charge my laptop while driving. It's a gaming laptop and only using a 12v inverter. Company don't allow anything over 185w so idk why your 300w isn't working.
     
  6. STexan

    STexan Road Train Member

    14,962
    29,144
    Oct 3, 2011
    Longview, TX
    0
    I wouldn't run a high-end gaming laptop on anything less then a 1000 watt inverter, regardless of wether you're just charging or running or whatever. That said, some cheaper inverters are just that "cheap" and may be squaking because it is otherwise defective but I suspect your machine is trying to pull too much through a relatively small capacity inverter. Not all "gaming laptops" are the same in terms of power needs. A power supply that needs to output 19.5v @ 9.2A is supplying a hungry machine and needs 25 amps of good, clean, reliable AC sine-wave and what your inverter is supplying is anything but and is mainly hampered by it's continuous output capacity which just isn't enough even assuming it's operating within spec.

    Tow and recovery yards across the nation are full of burned out trucks who tried to use cheap inverters beyond their ability, or tried to push quality inverters too far with excess continuous demand
     
  7. kemosabi49

    kemosabi49 Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

    9,966
    41,259
    Jan 13, 2013
    SW Arkansas
    0
    I've been tol that using other than a full sine wave inverter can be hard on some electronics. When I plug mine into my small inverter, the little inline box on the power cord get real hot where if it's plugged into a regular outlet it stays cool. I was told this is because the inverter is a partial sine wave inverter.
     
  8. joesmoothdog

    joesmoothdog Heavy Load Member

    737
    1,144
    Aug 5, 2013
    OTR
    0
    Draws too much when the graphics card kicks in. I have same problem. My PS3 crapped out too. You could probably surf web and do basic things but gaming and videos cause the gpu to draw peak current.
     
  9. STexan

    STexan Road Train Member

    14,962
    29,144
    Oct 3, 2011
    Longview, TX
    0
    Some gaming machines have a big graphics card and a "light-weight" intel graphics card on-board. Maybe you can "turn off" the big GPU if you don't need it for gaming.
     
  10. cowboy_tech

    cowboy_tech Road Train Member

    2,290
    1,091
    Sep 27, 2008
    Avondale, CO
    0
    Had the same issue when I upgraded to a gaming laptop. I leaped up to a 2000w, but I own my truck. With the 300w, I just had to let the laptop charge going down the road.
     
  11. snowwy

    snowwy Road Train Member

    19,723
    12,268
    Jul 6, 2009
    0
    your question is the 350 watt invertor and why your batteries are running down. and yet you want to install a higher wattage invertor.

    so you can drain the batteries down faster?????
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.