Laptop car charger charges computer for a moment, then stops

When I plug my Asus G73JH gaming laptop into my CyberPower 150W car charger, my computer's battery symbol says it's charging for a second or two, and then it just stops, almost as if some circuit breaker stopped the car charger from providing power. Why is this? Does my laptop simply use too much wattage to the point the charger cannot supply?

 

That's possible. Sounds like your charger can't pump enough juice, or there's something wrong with your cars electrical system.

 

Try charging while your laptop is off. 150W should be more than enough for that. If it still stops, I would blame the charger...


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Be careful, I have a 150W charger also and it doesn't supply enough wattage for my G50vt. Here's what's happening:

-Your car adapter is probably able to output 150W (peak) and about 120W (continuous). This is not an exact number and if it's cool, when you first use it it may sustain 150W for a minute or two.

-Your laptop adapter is rated for 120W, but it is not 100% efficient and consumes power also. It probably can output a little over 120W if asked and will shut off if it can't. If your G73 asks for its full rated 120W, you are definitely pulling more than 120W from your power outlet. Assuming a 90% power efficiency, this is equivalent to over 130W, which is more than the continuous rating on your car adapter.

-To sum up a quick power guessing estimate:
Battery charging is ~25W
GPU is ~50+W at full, perhaps 10W at idle.
CPU is ~5-40W usually
HDDs are 1-5W depending on usage, each.
Motherboard and other internal components are anywhere from 5-15W.
I'm not sure about screens but they're usually about 5W max. Less for LED backlits, and more for higher res screens.

Remember that CPU frequency changes dozens of times a second, so it can instantaneously use a lot of power one moment and then drop to nothing the next. GPU frequency changes are more gradual.

To get around this:
-Game on wall power, not on car power. Or underclock your GPU a little while on car power.

-Make sure your GPU is not on full clocks when you're just browsing around/doing nonintensive tasks.

-Let the computer sleep and charge and then use it later.

Hope this helps! Every watt counts!