Hey guys, I have a 2005 tC. I also have a Compaq Presario 2500 laptop with an "iGo" auto and house charger. Everytime I try to plug the laptop into the car's cigarrete adapter (be it with the charger or through a converter) it charges the laptop for about 2 minutes or less and then turns off. Could it be a problem with my car, or with the charger? Side note - I also tried a toshiba laptop, and the same problem occurs.
Thank you.

Ps. I dont want to take it to the dealer, because the dealers in my area tend to say "No Problem found" or "Thats how its supposed to work"

 

have you tried another car? if it happens there then yeah it would be the adapter charger is bad.. otherwise it's something in the tC's electrical system causing it..

I haven't had any problems charging anything via either of the power outlets in the tC..

check another car and let us know what ya find..

 

Have you tried it on another car? If it does the same thing on another car it will narrow your problem down to just the charger.

 

wow too funny.. same post, same time.. two different people, who said tC's owners don't think alike..

 

Doh! We posted at the same time sciontc_mich.

 

hahahah.. too funny

 

***Continuous power output: up to 70W***
That seems a little low to me.
Plus the main reason why it will not work is the power for the computer needs 19V - 5.0A
and the IGo product is only DC input: 11.5-16V
Sorry man the IGo has got to go....
My advise is to get a 300watt power inverter for your car. It will work like a charm

 

Yes I have had the same issue in my tC as well . I have a power inverter for my Sony Vaio laptop , I cant remember the name of the inverter though . It has an audio warning for when the voltage going into it drops below a certain point . The laptop still has enough power to keep running but the inverter is running at minimum though . Both plug-ins are the same . Just not enough juice , but I have always had issues with my cig lighter anyways . Sometimes it will stay in and heat up , other times it will pop out and be cold (not working) . I dunno what the issue is .

 

Moved to Electrical... even though it's an odd one.

 

well if you need more power from the inverter, try a power inverter from radio shack, they have ones that power up to a hair dryer!

 

Update - tried the setup on my dad's car - it worked perfectly fine. Which brings me to my original question - what could be wrong?