Solar trickle charger for car battery

Strider590

arcon5 wrote: »

Frankly if its off the road for a quarter of the year i'd forget the battery and give it a charge or put a new one on when the time comes. You may find there to be other problems anyway, sticking brakes one of the possibilities.

It's a good point, unfortunately the handbrake will probably be stuck on, unless you chock the wheels and leave it off. But then on the road some kids will probably remove the chocks and take great pleasure in rolling your car into something.

Also the fuel, if it's normal unleaded, then it'll go off in the tank due to it's bio-ethanol content.

Richard53

ajb69 wrote: »

Stupid question time - well, another stupid question time! - if I go and start the car up and run it at idle for a while, will that help or hinder? My gut feel is that I'll lose more battery starting up than I'll ever get back.

That's actually a sensible question, and a lot of people don't consider it. Rule of thumb is that it takes around 10 minutes of fast idle to replenish the charge taken by starting the engine (varies hugely, obviously). So people who start the car every week and run it for 30 seconds are actually depleting the battery over time. But starting the car without giving it a proper run will do more harm than good - the engine stays cold, condensation forms, combustion products form acids in the insides, and no good comes of it. I was told a long time ago that you should never start an engine unless you go on and get it fully warm - 20 minutes or so. If you can't do that, better not to start it at all.

forgotmyname

You will need to leave it running for at least 20 minutes, But letting a cold engine sit there idling for that long is not good for it.

Get a 5watt panel instead of that one. Little difference in price.

jimmy_cricket

In a similar position but further on. Fractured right ankle meant that car has been sitting on the drive for three months. Just got back to driving this week.

To reassure you from my experience, the six year old battery started the car but was a little flat. Been driving it around as much as possible and now fully charged. No issues with sticking brakes or anything else. Drives just like before.

Roland_Sausage

I bought this one when I broke my hand earlier in the year and the battery in my Focus was going flat due to not being able to drive.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AC1LLQY

It plugs into the OBD connector situated just under the steering wheel and to the right a bit.

Although it is a bit more expensive than the one you were looking at, it works very well and I am happy with it.

forgotmyname

I would not connect a solar panel to the OBD port. Am i missing it or does it not mention the output?

ajb69

Peak Power Output: 2.4 watt, Peak Volts Output: 12.7 volts, Optimum Working Current: 0.13-0.2 amps.

Out of interest, what's wrong with the obd port? Seems a bit odd I grant you, but then the cigarette lighter's not ideal either!

Thanks

D

Strider590

A normal car battery float charge is 13.6v and bulk charge 14.4v.......

12.7v isn't enough to achieve a full charge. A fully charged battery should measure 12.8v-13v.

Plus if that is the max voltage output, then unless it's in direct strong sunlight, it won't be anywhere near that 12.7v.

forgotmyname

Your cars ECU is not connected to the lighter socket.

I wouldnt want a cheap solar panel connected to the OBD port. Unlikely to cause an issue, But what if it gets a sudden spike?

My 1.8w panel is a similar size to the original post, My 5w is similar to the one you put, So they are using cheaper/less efficient panels.

Astronaughtwannabe

Marktheshark wrote: »

The fuse for aux power has a double sized slot, move the fuse up to the other hole of the 3 terminals and it will stay live.

Not wishing to rudely butt in to the OP's plight, but I don't suppose you know if the new Focus has that option? I've searched all over but come up blank on that question.