Presario R3003 and 12v adaptor issue

[Rustie]

Hi All,
I have a Presario R2003 with a P4 3.2 ghz processor and cannot get a 12volt car adaptor to power it. The unit will not work with a 12v-240v inverter either. The power light keeps flashing on and off with both adaptor and inverter.

My gut feeling is that the unit is drawing too much power for 12v operation (as it works fine with 240v AC power) but surely this should not be the case? I have searched everywhere for an answer but no-one has ever heard of the problem.

Any iseas?

 

[rschultz]

If it is R3000 series, it needs 18.5 volts, it won't work on 12V. If you are using an invverter, it should be 400 watts capacity. I run mine using a 400 watt 120V inverter in the car all the time.

 

[Rustie]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. My adaptor was bought from Dick Smith Electronics and it's output is 18.5 volts. It also states that it is designed for the Presario 3000 series. My inverter is a 300W continuous (1000Wpeak)modified sinewave which seems to work with other electrtical units but not the notebook. This makes me wonder if the fault is either motherboard or batterypack? Both the inverter and adaptor seem to have identical problems with the power light flashing on and off and the scree going dim then bright.

 

[Rustie]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. My adaptor was bought from Dick Smith Electronics and it's output is 18.5 volts. It also states that it is designed for the Presario 3000 series. My inverter is a 300W continuous (1000Wpeak)modified sinewave which seems to work with other electrtical units but not the notebook.
This makes me wonder if the fault is either motherboard or battery pack? Both the inverter and adaptor seem to have identical problems with the power light flashing on and off and the screen going dim then bright.

 

[rschultz]

Rustie,

Look at the posts about R3000 power cord issue. There is an issue involving the connector on the motherboard coming loose on this model. Vibration or movement (like driving the vehicle) can cause the motherboard connection to make/break. Mine started as an intermittent problem, then became worse and worse until I had to take the computer apart and fix it. Does wiggling or removing, rotating and reinserting the power plug cause it to start working? If so, you may have the start of this problem occurring. In my posts, I have pictures of my work this last weekend to fix the problem, and have provided links to documentation on how to fix this, should it be the same problem that you are having.

Rod

 

[Rustie]

Hi Rod,
Yes I have tried jiggling the connection (in fact it was one of the first things I tried) but to no avail. The problem is that the AC power works perfectly - no problems but whenever I plug into DC either with the invertor or the adaptor there is just nothing. The unit is running off the battery. If the problem was consistent through all power units, I would agree but because there is no issue with the AC power I tend to rule out a motherboard bad connection problem. I was wondering if the fact that the battery only has about 15 minutes runtime on it (therefore it is getting to the end of it's useful life) could be the problem. Maybe the DC cannot charge the battery and run the unit at the same time??? As you can see, I am grasping at straws here. I will follow your link (when I find it) and open the unit up to see if what you say could be the issue but I don't hold high hopes..

Rustie

 

[rschultz]

You may be right, shut it down, pull the battery out and try it.

My thinking is that the devices that you purchased may not be able to handle a dead battery and powering the PC. Assuming that your AC supply is 240V, the watts required is 240V x 1.25A = 300 watts, making the purchased inverter marginal at best for continuous use. Any component or power variation could drive it over the edge. That is why I use a 400 watt inverter. As for the 12-18V converter, give me the manufacturer name and model and I will do an analysis, but I expect that the calculations will yield the same results.

Also, the sine wave ripple of the inverter causes ineffeciencies in the PC power supply, and with the DC-DC converters, there is some chop in the DC power output, especially at the upper limits of the current ratings.

My son has a more power hungry laptop (the biggest and baddest there is)and we bought a 500 watt inverter and the installation exibited behavior exactly as you have described. I calculated that 500 watts would handle it, but not so.

Rod

 

[Rustie]

Laptop adapter is a Kerio Technologies inc. and the model is Energy Knight II DD90-1. I am planning on trying a pure sine wave inverter 300W later today (it's 1am here) and I have just purchased a new battery from e-batteries which I should receive later next week. I'm still plugging in there but running out of options.
Rustie

 

[rschultz]

I think that 300W may not be enough, pure sine wave or not, with a bad battery. Does it work withe the battery removed? (I asked this previously)

I could not find the specifications for any Kerio DC-DC converter online. Do you have a link, or detailed information.

Rod

 

[Rustie]

Rod,
Sorry about the delay in replying mate. Work committments - gotta retire soon I tell you
I have since purchased a new battery which I am charging up tonight. I have discovered the problem was the electronics in the car as I finally hooked it up directly to the battery (inverter) and it worked fine. It seems that there must be a drop in the current at the cigarette lighter and could not supply enough power to run the laptop. Also since then my inverter has fried itself and it's off to the manufacturer to be repaired. I guess it's all happening to me down this way. Anyway when the battery is charged up I well attempt the adaptor with the cigarette lighter and see how that goes but in the long run I might have to run a direct connection from the battery to the cigarette lighter to solve my problem. And the only time I could run the laptop without the battery being in was with true AC power. All other times it would not run without the battery.

 

[atlrdk]

I cannot find the post of the pictures in which you took apart the computer and fixed the power adapter. Could you direct me to those pics or repost them for me.

Thanks in advance.
Bob

 

[Que]

I cannot find the post of the pictures in which you took apart the computer and fixed the power adapter. Could you direct me to those pics or repost them for me.

Thanks in advance.
Bob

There's video tutorials:
disassembly video's
And the overall topic that has the pics and info throughout the topic:
here