In preparing for my vacation, I brought a converter that plugs in the cigarette lighter and has a outlet for laptops, or anything that needs to be plugged in. I believe it was 100 watts. It was from iMobile.

I tested it to make sure it worked before I set off. It worked. However on the way down to Virginia Beach, I wanted to watch movies. So I set it up and it worked for the first two mins then it shut off and left my laptop running on battery power. So I reset it again and it shut off after 30 secs. Was my laptop drawing too much from the converter? Or is it defective?

So I tried watching it on battery power. THe laptop'* screen is SO dim that i could hardly see it. How do I brighten it up? I remember seeing Ryan (bandit)'* laptop of the same kind as mine being a lot brighter without being plugged in.

my converter won't work if the car is off. I think it senses less than 14V and shuts down to no drain the battery (car) I find I have to unplug the converter after I start the car and it works till turn off. Maybe you have low voltage? It could be defective also. I don't know off a laptop ps that is more than 95 watts.

This was when the car was running at 70 mph. I would think there would not be a issue with battery drainage?

You say unplug, you mean unplug at the cigarette liighter?

100W is not gonna be enough for some power supplies. Grab yourself a 150W from a truckstop somewhere. Coleman or Cobra are the best for that wattage range.

You know what Cody I was having the same Issues just before ONBF on the way to Buffalo. IMO it'* not your converter I stopped and boght a second one that didnt shut off but sounded an alarm everytime I came to a stop both are far more then my Laptop needed.

I believe its a voltage regulation issue with our cars. as at the rear 12 acdc I was only seeing 11.0-11.8 volts

I should add that the same converter does fine when it charges a phone.

I hate technology

Maybe you guys with poor charging systems should invest in a 150 amp alternator for a U van. Might have to get the brackets from one as well, but it should be a worthy investment.

As for your laptop dimming, most if not all, laptops have a - usually blue - set of buttons to push to brighten the screen. Also, there should be an adjustment on your taskbar.

I think for a laptop you have to use a digital power convertor for voltage changes.