Solar panels and Car batteries
 

Would a 1.8 watt solar panel be enough to keep my battery charged?

http://canadiantire.ca/include/produ...=1171145369461

the one I've got puts out 3+ watts. It seems to do a decent job. Keep in mind, the Benz lighter plug is switched so you've got to come up with an alternate game plan for connecting it to the battery. ;)

Some new cars are being shipped with and stored with small solar panels. I happen to get one from the local VW dealer. It does keep a battery topped up, I don't know what its output is, but it was free.

Haasman

Free? How'd you manage to pull that off?

I'm putting 2 group49 batteries in the trunk in the near future so woring it is not a problem. I just thought a Solar power cell would come in handy when I have my car parked at work for 8 hours in the winter...and charging batteries when no outlet is available to plug in a trickle charger...

I would get a good battery it should last a long time, I would not worry about it for at least a few months. Solar batteries need sunlight if it snows the array could be covered if you put it on your package tray it also could get covered up to get 1.2 amps the panel is 39x14xx1.2 and is $159
a 135ma (a tenth of an amp) 15x5x.75 $35
Did you know MB roadside assistance comes out free for life if you need a jump,or sell you a battery with install for about $150

Well ..... I asked for one .... and I was given one. :-)

But, as previously pointed out, the lighter socket on most of these cars is switched .... so one needs to figure out how to attach the panel. I simply got a female socket and attached it directly to the battery with alligator clips.

Haasman

Weird, cuz my VW dealership wants $250 for one with proof of ownership

You can find them on ebay.....http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-Solar-Panel-Battery-Charge-Maintainer_W0QQitemZ270086954937QQihZ017QQcategoryZ43998QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem





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If you're planning to use the solor panel to trickle charge the battery for extended storage, but there's no appreciable load on the battery, a very low power solar panel will do. ICP Solar http://www.icpsolar.com has a 2 watt unit for the dashboard for $35. You can buy the same one at Boater's World, but it's marked up. That one is not rated for rain exposure though, so don't use it on your tractor or anyhting like that.

If you don't want to rewire the inside of your car to get hot leads, remove the bulb from your dome light, clip the leads there, then turn on the light. This method also provides a fuse between the panel and your battery, which you will need anyway. Be sure to use a multimeter on the light socket first so you know which contact is positive.

The link you used requires a canadian zipcode which I dont know one of.

One like this is pretty good I would think, but you only need these if you dont drive your car once a week.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=41144

Check the panels, some backfeed from the battery in darkness, they suggest diodes