Solar panel charging?

helpimcrap · 27 May 2017 at 18:46

Cat 1 alarm on car and after a few weeks battery is flat. I have no power to a garage nor the ability to as it is not near house. Could i use this to maintain it or to power a trickle charger:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...goryId=255205&productId=1222434&storeId=10001

Maundie · 27 May 2017 at 21:11

I think this is what they are designed for, won't work if the car is parked in the garage though

andicole0 · 27 May 2017 at 21:16

You could lay the panel on the garage roof and run an extension cable down to the car, it is only 12v.
Andi.

helpimcrap · 27 May 2017 at 22:46

andicole0 said:
You could lay the panel on the garage roof and run an extension cable down to the car, it is only 12v.
Andi.

That's my thinking. But do you reckon it is powerful enough to make a difference as it designed for leisure batteries and I'm guessing no load on them other than natural loss?

helpimcrap · 27 May 2017 at 22:46

Maundie said:
I think this is what they are designed for, won't work if the car is parked in the garage though

It will if I run it from the roof.

lol

lordrobs · 28 May 2017 at 00:01

6W at 12V = 500mA. Assuming it delivers half that power for 12 hours a day you could take a conservative 125mA averaged out which should be enough to offset any drain on the battery when not in use. If it is drawing anywhere near that then your alarm is kaput (like the one in my MX5!) and you'd be better off seeing if you can isolate it or the battery.

andicole0 · 28 May 2017 at 08:49

helpimcrap said:
That's my thinking. But do you reckon it is powerful enough to make a difference as it designed for leisure batteries and I'm guessing no load on them other than natural loss?

It has to be worth a go, if it can"t cope you probably have a bigger problem.
Andi.

helpimcrap · 28 May 2017 at 19:48

andicole0 said:
It has to be worth a go, if it can"t cope you probably have a bigger problem.
Andi.

Good. I'm also wondering if there is a tracker draining the battery as i know it has at least one fitted that i think is disconnected?

Lopéz · 29 May 2017 at 13:16

Draining the battery in a few weeks sounds a bit fast, have you measured the drain?

helpimcrap · 29 May 2017 at 14:37

Lopéz said:
Draining the battery in a few weeks sounds a bit fast, have you measured the drain?

I've tried to but not got the figures on me. I need to go out again and measure it.

adam cool dude · 29 May 2017 at 15:26

Make sure you have a live 12 socket that isn't attached to ignition. Otherwise you have to attach it straight to the battery which is tiresome and will get wet.

bledd · 29 May 2017 at 16:07

Is running power the garage out of the question?

Ctek chargers are very handy for keeping your battery in good condition.

KiNgPiN83 · 29 May 2017 at 17:55

I bought this one for my scoob that used to go flat due to short journeys. Once i started using it i never got a flat battery.

Plus it stops charging once the battery is full

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AC1LLQY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

snapdragon69 · 29 May 2017 at 18:36

The trouble of these things is that they may provide a current when light, but they also drain a little when dark, two steps forward, one step back.
They just have a diode on the output and it allows a small reverse current when not producing any voltage.

helpimcrap · 29 May 2017 at 18:49

snapdragon69 said:
The trouble of these things is that they may provide a current when light, but they also drain a little when dark, two steps forward, one step back.
They just have a diode on the output and it allows a small reverse current when not producing any voltage.

Hmmm that sounds a bit more past my ability without further investigation.

Lopéz said:
Draining the battery in a few weeks sounds a bit fast, have you measured the drain?

I've disconnected the positive and attached the negative of a multimeter to the terminal and positive to the cable. On DCA it showed -0.04 (with radio plugged in and without). It was on the 200u (u has a tail?).

adam cool dude said:
Make sure you have a live 12 socket that isn't attached to ignition. Otherwise you have to attach it straight to the battery which is tiresome and will get wet.

Sorry but I don't follow?

bledd said:
Is running power the garage out of the question?

Ctek chargers are very handy for keeping your battery in good condition.

I have a trickle charger but garage is 50+m from house - overnight is ok but constant is no. Unless i run a solar panel from roof of garage or shed?

KiNgPiN83 said:
I bought this one for my scoob that used to go flat due to short journeys. Once i started using it i never got a flat battery. Plus it stops charging once the battery is full

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AC1LLQY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'll have a look cheers. I do at least 10mile journeys to make sure oil is up to temp.

snapdragon69 said:
The trouble of these things is that they may provide a current when light, but they also drain a little when dark, two steps forward, one step back.
They just have a diode on the output and it allows a small reverse current when not producing any voltage.

Hmmm how do you mean to a non sparky?

adam cool dude · 29 May 2017 at 20:24

If your car ciggy lighter doesn't produce 12v with the key out of the ignition it will not charge unless connected straight to the battery which will require a custom job or use the supplied jumper cables and connect it straight to the battery but that is fiddly and annoying.

phil-k · 29 May 2017 at 20:38

m

adam cool dude said:
If your car ciggy lighter doesn't produce 12v with the key out of the ignition it will not charge unless connected straight to the battery which will require a custom job or use the supplied jumper cables and connect it straight to the battery but that is fiddly and annoying.

most of the ones I have looked at buying, including the one recommended above have a EOBD Connector and also a built-in discharge protection

helpimcrap · 29 May 2017 at 22:41

EOBD port? Can't see a Porsche 996 has one?

It has a cigarette lighter that most chargers connect to? Or straight to the battery?

Vince · 30 May 2017 at 08:20

It's been mentioned before but why not find and fix the draw? I had the same thing on mine, found the issue, fixed it and now I leave the car for months at a time and she starts first time every time. The draw you have is not normal and it is certainly not the alarm causing it.

bledd · 30 May 2017 at 08:52

You said after a few weeks, I figured you meant a few weeks of not using the car. If you're using it and it's going flat, then something is wrong.