Solar Power Battery Charger

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djtonymorgan
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Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by djtonymorgan »

Since I don't use my rex much and my OBD reader is always plugged in I find my new battery feels a little sluggish on starting.

So, I'm just rebuilding a till in a Halfords and notice they have the Ring Battery Maintainers at a really good price, cheaper than I can get them on Ebay! Amazon is a quid cheaper but I can take one away with me now from Halfords.

£14.99 for the RSP150, for up to 50Ah batteries which may be a little weak.
£24.99 for the RSP240, for up to 100Ah batteries which should be more than sufficient for an RX8.

Anyway, we know that you cannot just plug this into the lighter socket as the relays only engage when the key is in position 1.
So you would need to connect it to a permanent live from a fusebox or run a new cable.

Luckily I've fitted a powered sub into my boot so I already have a direct power cable to the battery so I'll fit the solar panel onto my parcel shelf with velcro tabs, I love a job that requires minimum effort!
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by madder »

The amount of inverted current these would provide into a car battery is neglible. Normally a suitcase sized array would do 250watts !.. An entire array of pv on a roof only.just manages 3kw in roaring sunshine. Can't really beat the effectiveness of fossel fuels into a altenator!
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djtonymorgan
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by djtonymorgan »

This is my first go at keeping the battery charged, if it doesn't work I'll have to get a mains powered trickle charger and the panel can the go on my shed to run lights inside.
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by dilbert »

Or you could fit one of [urlw=http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-Car ... 35d72bf62e]these :lol:[/urlw]
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by warpc0il »

Leaving the battery disconnected for a long time can cause the power steering control module to fail.

There have been multiple reports of this happening, though it's still not fully understood why.
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by Helisupp »

Well I fitted one to my car, battery was still nearly flat after 4 weeks........................its now on the garage shelf never to be used.

I also tried it on my motorhome with no effect.

It was giving 13-14 volts so something must be happening, I think the battery is draining quicker than the solar panel can keep the charge.
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by Ian.Mothersole »

^^I have a similar story...

Tried a solar charger, and it was completely useless.
So I bought a fairly cheap trickle charger and a long length of wire to run it out to the car - Works perfectly :thumleft:
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by warpc0il »

:whathesaid:

Only for "trickle charger" read "smart charger".

A trickle charger supplies a small amount of charge current all the time, whereas a smart charger supplies the amount of current (varying from high, to low, to nothing) to keep the battery in top condition.

I suspect that's what Ian meant too.
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by Ian.Mothersole »

^Yes thanks Dave, smart charger is what I meant :thumleft:
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by Flameshades »

My solar charger has diodes oin it to stop discharge at night etc. Seems to work well. battery is up at same voltage it was when connected to the car (currently in garden as waiting for bits. )
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by djtonymorgan »

With the recent good weather I have noticed a definite improvement in starting after being left for over a week, must be keeping it at the same level.
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Re: Solar Power Battery Charger

Post by Lineypirate »

My car has a battery fitted that can only be described as "dog-egg" and normally fails after about 5 days. However, a Maplins own solar charger (cost about £25) kept the battery topped up enough to start after about 3 weeks with no issue. My trusty multimeter tells me it's putting out about 20v in the sun so it's doing something!
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