Has anyone tried the AA Solar charger/maintainer connected via OBD?.
I only use the car couple times a month in winter and I have one of these in the loft that i have never used. I realise it is more a maintainer of charge than a charger itself, Just want to check whether it would cause any issue to the RX??
Hi I've not used the solar, so can't say! I used this battery charger as my car was off the road for a few years and worked very well and it's tiny! I wish I kept it all connect as it would of help yesterday!!!
Robin
These users thanked the author RobinPZ72 for the post:
Question for those who have one - can it be plugged into the OBD and be left on, say, the dash in the windscreen, or does it have to be external to the car? In short - does solar power receive charge through glass?
Yes works though glass but don't leave it connected whilst starting car (at least that's what it says in instructions)
- like you could do that in rx8 as the obd connector on AA one stops you getting your feet to the pedals!
One point to note though: Output is only ever a fraction of trickle charger so won't really charge the battery up - it will just maintain it.
Last edited by bigpete8 on Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:31 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Sunlight Silver 231
Pete/Peter him/he/hrh couldn't really care as have 3 siblings and was lucky not to get called by the dogs name.
Yes I've used that exact AA charger for a few years now. Put the panel inside on the dashboard or at the back depending on the sun direction in the morning ( wire is long enough ) and connect into the OBD port. Lock up the car as normal. I might switch of the internal alarm if I know it will be a while before I start it again, which helps keep it going for longer I think.
I've managed 2-3 weeks at at time and the car is good to go when I start it. Just need to disconnect before you start the car.
Yes I've used that exact AA charger for a few years now. Put the panel inside on the dashboard or at the back depending on the sun direction in the morning ( wire is long enough ) and connect into the OBD port. Lock up the car as normal. I might switch of the internal alarm if I know it will be a while before I start it again, which helps keep it going for longer I think.
I've managed 2-3 weeks at at time and the car is good to go when I start it. Just need to disconnect before you start the car.
i would be dissapointed if my car didnt start after 2-3 weeks of non-use without using a trickle charger!
Yes I've used that exact AA charger for a few years now. Put the panel inside on the dashboard or at the back depending on the sun direction in the morning ( wire is long enough ) and connect into the OBD port. Lock up the car as normal. I might switch of the internal alarm if I know it will be a while before I start it again, which helps keep it going for longer I think.
I've managed 2-3 weeks at at time and the car is good to go when I start it. Just need to disconnect before you start the car.
i would be dissapointed if my car didnt start after 2-3 weeks of non-use without using a trickle charger!
Ha ha. I suppose it probably should. I'm obviously too risk averse !!
So.... a little warning on using solar chargers, after endorsing them so enthusiastically.
I found my car starting a bit sluggishly and thought initially it was the starter motor and/or battery, so got a new bosch battery and starter motor fitted by Luke MRS. This was on a tuesday. On sunday I go to take the car for a spin and it won't start. I try a few times and then give up as I don't want to flood it.
Get Luke over again and he finds I've massively flooded it ( in my defence the first time in 12.5 years ). After much ado we manage to deflood it. Now we check the battery and it seems good after charging up. And alternator works fine. So then we check with lights on etc and still all good.
Now we plug in the solar charger. All good. Except when we turn the panel over out of the sun. Sudden battery drain.
I've had my charger a few years now and there is supposed to be a diode to stop the charge being sucked the opposite way, but it seems after some googling this can short out. I've not done any further tests, I've just stopped using it but since then I've started the car twice and it starts up no probs cold or hot ( even with low compression in the front rotor ).
I will try to investigate further but for those of you parking the car up with a solar charger ( I have the AA one ), maybe a multimeter check on with the charger on every now and again might be worthwhile. I will investigate solar chargers when I have time to see if there is a way to check these diodes more easily....
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I have the very same AA solar charger for my track car so will be checking!
Thanks for the heads up.
Yes although I feel sheepish for not realising, if it helps others then at least my folly may have had some usefulness.
Bear in mind I've had this charger for years and it's worked well so don't everyone just stop using it. It worked fine for ages for me, I guess it's just maybe a bit old now and/or somehow I managed to damage it. I am tempted to go and get the same one again, but I will also order a multimeter this time to make sure all is working as expected in the future.
The problem is usually mechanical in that the construction is bonded together so it's difficult/impossible to access the internal components without major damage.
An additional external diode, in the lead, would prevent discharge but the forward voltage drop would limit the effectiveness of the charger.
In practice it might not be economical to repair despite the minimal cost of the components - worth a try but be prepared to replace.
Highlighting the failure mode is a good call, as I've also had a Maplin-branded solar charger fail in this way, and it took a while to understand what was happening.
Mine would charge during the day and discharge at night. The car would start fine in the afternoon/evening but a bit slow in the morning.
The problem is usually mechanical in that the construction is bonded together so it's difficult/impossible to access the internal components without major damage.
An additional external diode, in the lead, would prevent discharge but the forward voltage drop would limit the effectiveness of the charger.
In practice it might not be economical to repair despite the minimal cost of the components - worth a try but be prepared to replace.
Highlighting the failure mode is a good call, as I've also had a Maplin-branded solar charger fail in this way, and it took a while to understand what was happening.
Mine would charge during the day and discharge at night. The car would start fine in the afternoon/evening but a bit slow in the morning.
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Actually maybe I shouldn't say for sure it's the diode without some diagnostics. Seems to be from the behaviour but can't say for sure. I will say that that it definitely seemed to hold charge in the battery whilst sunny side up but definitely drained that battery when I flipped it over easy.
Symptoms were similar, for a month or so it just was hesitating on start up, making me think it might starter motor or battery related ( which I changed ), then I had the spectacular startup fail.
I'll just probably buy another. It's served me many good years so happy to replace rather than fiddling with diodes etc.
