Rigging your laptop direct to fuse block
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2026 4:52 pm
This one stumped me for a while and had to ask around online and try several different things and fail before finding what the issue was. I have since been able to connect several other devices of various voltages to the fuse block directly, when they don't have a connector that would otherwise work with my 12V system.
I initially snipped the wire from the wall wart adaptor and just connected straight to the fuse block expecting success as I noted on the wall wart it stated 12V and my system is 12V so expected immediate success and was sorely disappointed to find that it would not charge, although the charge light would be on.
After much said research and several fails I was given the suggestion that it is overvoltage protection so I bought a voltage regulator and tried wiring that between the laptop and the fuse block and lo and behold it worked. There was a sweet spot between 7v and 12v where it would charge and my usual voltage of my system would be around 13v, being a lifepo4 battery.
So since then I have rigged other devices, sometimes with buck boost converter, up to 20V to the fuse block and had success.
I initially snipped the wire from the wall wart adaptor and just connected straight to the fuse block expecting success as I noted on the wall wart it stated 12V and my system is 12V so expected immediate success and was sorely disappointed to find that it would not charge, although the charge light would be on.
After much said research and several fails I was given the suggestion that it is overvoltage protection so I bought a voltage regulator and tried wiring that between the laptop and the fuse block and lo and behold it worked. There was a sweet spot between 7v and 12v where it would charge and my usual voltage of my system would be around 13v, being a lifepo4 battery.
So since then I have rigged other devices, sometimes with buck boost converter, up to 20V to the fuse block and had success.