600e voltage tolerance

[PCWatchman]

My 600e 2645-5bu says 16v 2.6a on bottom. AC adaptor says 16v 3.32a

I have an IBM Car Adaptor that puts out exactly 20.0v at 2.2amps.

Question: Can I feed 20V to 600e w/o damage, or should I use power resistor to drop it to 16v?

[Kurt]

The recommended voltage for 600E is 16V. So using a higher voltage will fry the motherboard of your 600E.

[440roadrunner]

Let's clear a few things up and get VERY VERY specific here:



You said:

have an IBM Car Adaptor that puts out exactly 20.0v at 2.2amps

Now is that adaptor listed FOR a Thinkpad BY IBM? Does it have a part number, FRU, and have you confirmed that it is supposed to operate a Thinkpad laptop?


Have you MEASURED the voltage, UNDER LOAD, while operating the Thinkpad, and with the car running, and with the engine above idle? If so, did you do so with a known good ACCURATE meter, such as a modern digital multimeter?


Many, many "power adaptors" for various components, from rechargable accessories, to scanners, to printers, routers, modems, DO NOT output the voltage that is "on the label" while under load and operating. Worse, substituting an off brand "wall wort" is chancy, because of the same reasons.

[PCWatchman]

The attraction of this adaptor was that it put out exactly 20v with car running, starting, off, etc. It has it's own regulators. It's an IBM, but not for 600E. I used 2 resistors to lower the voltage to 16.2v, but 600e won't even turn on with it if there's no battery plugged in. 2.2 amperage is too low. 600E says 2.6a, battery says 4400mah. That's it for this project. I'll get the right IBM adaptor. I'm not going to fry my beloved laptop playing with amperage. Thanks!

---OFF TOPIC NOTICE---

440roadrunner,
When I was a kid, my next door neighbor was a Mopar guru. Looking out our front window often revealed his blue 70 Charger R/T Hemi (with custom machined 12.5 race hemi heads) and his bud's blue RoadRunner w/black nose cone and black 3 foot tail fin. It had a high rise mainfold and a true 6-pack carb config above the hoodline, with a removable cowl that was usually off. THAT was the RoadRunner! Ahhhhhh....

Good username!

[440roadrunner]

I'm glad you cleared up the adaptor thing. You can't use resistors to drop voltage for critical devices such as this, because the output after the resistor changes V with the load. I REALLY don't know how tolerant Thinkpads are. I once tried to run my old 380XD off 14V (automotive) and it would run for awhile, then either quit or generate an error, I've forgotten.

Also be careful of grounds in automobiles. Some devices stupidly run the + to the OUTSIDE of the connector. While all the newer series of Thinkpads that use the common style barrel connector are "center positive", I have an old 510CE that is OPPOSITE of this. Since I have a number of Thinkpads, I have to be VERY careful of this old laptop and it's power supply, because they are reversed.

(I once had a little handheld radio with the stupid "outer shell positive" and every time I disconnected the charger, the connector would invaribly find it's way to the shift handle or some other handy dandy ground--so it could blow the fuse)


[/quote]/black nose cone and black 3 foot tail fin

That sounds like what was known as a "Superbird", which I personally never cared for. My Roadrunner looked simply like a Sport Satellite or GTX. THAT thing was fast. It could run low 13's or high 12's all day long, and had an honest top speed of over 145. Spicer 60 rear 3.54's, 4 speed. Le'ts put aircraft landing lights in the high beam buckets.

[PCWatchman]

Yea, Superbird, that was it. You had a nice car, too. My first car was a 4dr Satellite. Paid $400 for it in '80. It was a stock 318 2bbl with a lot of mileage, but had a great stereo, and helped get me the babe I married for life. Mopar power!

[serverbook]

YOU CAN RUN ANY AC ADAPTOR ON ANY LAPTOP AS LONG AS THE AMPERAGE CAPACITY ARE SIMILAR OR HIGHER TO PROMOTE ADEQUATE BATTEY CHARGING AND PERIPHERALS OPERATION ,AND ONLY USE HIGHER VOLTAGE PSU 16V AND UP/NEVER USE LOWER VOLTAGE PSU BELOW 16 VOLTS ON MAJORITY OF THINKPADS
IF I CHOSE TO SPEND THE SAME COIN,NATRUALLY I WOULD OPT FOR THE FACTORY SPEC ITEM.
BUT ONE DOESN'T HAVE TO YEILD TO MANUFACTURES MONOPOLY NO MORE.
YET ANOTHER MYTH EXPOSED