Ambra SN8660 laptop 4-pin power supply?

[xjas]

Hi all!

I've recently gotten this cute Ambra (IBM) SN8660 / SN425 mini laptop. Came complete with original 70MB HDD & 4MB proprietary RAM expansion.




^^ Unfortunately I don't have the power supply... It uses a 4-pin snap-lock mini-DIN for power, same plug as a Mac G4 Cube or some Wacom tablets. I have the plug but I can't find a pinout for this anywhere! All I can see on the bottom is 13V+16.5V. Very, very little info about this particular series of laptops out there.

I was able to get it to POST by applying 12V to the battery contacts but the screen didn't come on. That setup was too flakey to try with an external VGA cable, but I think it works.

I did find some Thinkpads & IBM devices seem to use the female plug version of this connector with a 16V PSU, but I have no way of knowing if that's the same pinout.

Can anyone help me out with this?

 

[modem7]

Made for Ambra by Chicony (the 'E8H' in the FCC ID).

Two of the pins are sure to be 'ground/return' pins, and using a multimeter, you may find that they connect to the 'ground' running about the insides (or on metalwork on the outside of the case).
Speculation: The 13V might only be used for battery charging.

What appears to be the colour version, the SN8660C, is on eBay at [here].
The photo of the underside shows the same power requirements as your SN8660.
Perhaps convince the seller to let you know of the make-model number of the power adapter.
That could help.
( And if the seller is really generous, they may measure the pinout for you. )

 

[xjas]

Thanks for that! I tested it with a multimeter. The two left side pins are definitely ground:

What's the likelihood it would harm anything to put 12V or 13V on both the right hand pins and see what happens? I have a nice regulated 12V 2A PSU I was testing the battery terminals with.

I contacted both sellers with one of these on Ebay already, waiting to hear back. A pic of the sticker on the underside of the PSU would be really nice, every supply I've seen with this plug has the pinout marked. Here's hoping...