One of my Christmas toys is a solar powered trickle charger. Before connecting it I thought I'd do more than just accept the little blue flashing light as proof it was doing anything so I used a multi-meter.
In the very cloudy conditions today its output varies very rapidly (i.e darts all over the place) between about 5v. and 17v. Is this normal? Will the car battery be happy with a constantly varying charge?
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Its not connected to a load of any kind.
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And I dream Im on vacation - cos I like the way that sounds -
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Kinda like the idea of such a device as std so the battery is trickle charged wherever you park the car, two weeks at the airport etc.
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just been looking at this one! seems really unobtrusive and neat, cheap enough too, may get one to charge the battery on my 12v leccy supply down my allotment!
tinyurl.com/yrjhja
Billy
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Most only produce a minute amount of charge for a limited [2-5yr] lifespan; but they have their uses for vehicles that don't get regular use.
Anything worthwhile [3A+] is very expensive and needs an in-line voltage regulator to prevent overcharging.
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I think that when it's connected to a battery the voltage will be balanced by the battery.
5v should do no harm to the battery, it just wont be putting any charge in.
17v should also be ok, the amps will be very low so any overcharge should easily be disspated as heat. Bear in mind that to charge a 12v battery you need a voltage higher than 12v, I think most car batteries tend to run at around 14v when being charged.
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Am I right in thinking that some cars cigarette lighters are only powered when the ignition is turned on? So would these trickle chargers work in those cases when in 'storage'?
Edited by truckle on 28/12/2007 at 13:49
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Am I right in thinking that some cars cigarette lighters are only powered when the ignition is turned on? So would these trickle chargers work in those cases when in 'storage'? Yes my C5 cigarette lighter socket is as you describe but some of the accessory sockets are permenently connected
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rustbucket (the original)
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The link I posted earlier up the thread has a few frequently asked questions section (such as this) that may be useful?
Billy
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The voltage swings are triggered by no balast ( battery and the flashing LED ) why they bother with the flasing LED using a few milliamps I don't relly know. They also suggest the the LED indicates it is charging, No it does not, it only indicates there is enough volage/current avaiable to power the LED. Once these panels are inside the car and you may have tinted glass, the actual charge is fairly minimal and does not even overcome the drain of the clock and the Alarm. Regards Peter
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" the actual charge is fairly minimal and does not even overcome the drain of the clock and the Alarm."
Peter D, if you want to ruin my Christmas completely please let us know the actual figures - does the charge really not even equate to a clock and alarm on standby?
I don't have an alarm on the 11 year old car and now might even disable the clock.
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If solar powered chargers are anything like these lights you put in the garden, then if you live north of Watford, forget it. Even mid-summer, my garden lights can't stay lit more than a couple of hours, and in Edinburgh it can be daylight from 3am until 11pm! (But we don't know what the sun is yet - we're still waiting to see it - to us, The Sun is a newspaper!)
And it couldn't work in my car anyway, as my fag lighter only works with the ignition on!
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I have (and have had) a solar-powered home alarm system (Response), running every time i leave the house for the last 4 years, it has an internal 4ah battery, which is still the original. and that has only ever been charged/maintained by the integeral solar panel.
works excellent!
Billy
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I have 2 solar powered chargers, one for the pork & the other was on the TR7 until it was sold. Both more than kept the battery charged & the 944 has a thirsty Cat 1 alarm & also a MP3 player on backup. Not had a problem with either. All the theorists come out with the "they don't put out enough current to be useful" are wrong. Had the same thing on the Porsche forums.... Now know of many people who've bought the £9.99 ones from Maplin, all have had good results.
Jim
54 Jaguar S-Type 2.7 SE Diesel
87 Porsche 944 Lux 2.5
80 TR7V8 Now sold!
Edited by tr7v8 on 28/12/2007 at 21:14
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