solar trickle charger

[ritchiet002]

Aloha!
Last year we became bi-coastal. We stored our 2014 Ford Focus for 6 months in a covered space in our condo. When we returned the battery was "stone" dead.
It was suggested to me, though the battery was strong, the drain of the modern electronics had caused the discharge.
Questions
1. Is this true?
2. If I put a solar trickle charger on it, will the ambient light in the parking
structure keep the battery charged? The area is quite bright and my space is
flanked on two sides by open wall structures that get good, but indirect light.
3. If I go the charger route, does anyone have tips on the charger wattage and
efficiency I should use? FYI it will be in Hawaii for the summer and fall
months, so available hours of sunlight should not be a problem.

Mahalo
_________________
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From now on, I'm gonna connect the dots my own way!______________________________________

[Bob Loblaw]

1. Is this true? Absolutely. Modern cars are always sucking juice.

2. If I put a solar trickle charger on it, will the ambient light in the parking
structure keep the battery charged? The area is quite bright and my space is flanked on two sides by open wall structures that get good, but indirect light. Unlikely, but there's only 1 way to find out for sure.

3. If I go the charger route, does anyone have tips on the charger wattage and efficiency I should use? FYI it will be in Hawaii for the summer and fall
months, so available hours of sunlight should not be a problem. Ctek chargers are the way to go, I think.
https://www.ctek.com/products
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sent from a phone using poor grammar and spelling

[cdennisg]

Disconnect the battery when you leave. Batteries lose about .5 volts per month just sitting on the shelf, so when you get there, throw it on a good quality charger for a couple of hours and hook it back up.

I spent many years as a grunt mechanic in a boat shop back in the 90's. This is what was done with every boat we serviced and stored for the winter. The batteries sat on a shelf in the back of the shop, or sometimes were left in the boat, but always disconnected. In the spring they would be charged back up (we charged them in parallel, sometimes a dozen at once) and reinstalled.
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nothing

[Cusser]

I say bring the battery into the house and plug into a trickle charger.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[cdennisg]

[Cusser]

[mark tucker]

I tried the solar charger...more dead batterys then ever... I think they draw power when the battery is over 6 volts......possiably shooting rays up to the sun causing sun spots. no solar charger and no more dead batterys..... I don't like trickle chargers. neither do batterys. but!!! if your leaving it for extended times it may be worth putting the trickle charger on the car and disconnection the battery....then reconnect the battery start the car and drive off...but first disconnect the charger before driving off into the sunset dragging a battery charger.

[Jacks]

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=...sQ1QIINCgH
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Jack Staggs
Actual name

[ritchiet002]

Ok-----The rest of the story
The car will be sitting in a tandem parking stall. I am leaving a key in a "lock box" next to the vehicle in case the building management needs access to move it. It can't be towed because the truck can not fit in the structure let alone get up to the 5th floor. Jacks post has me worried. Does anyone think the warnings in Jacks "link" pertain to solar chargers too? I was going to put on a "disconnect" terminal on the battery, but was just wondering about the also using the solar. I have to research the fire issues. I think that it would be more relevant to a plug in charger that charges 24/7--???
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl...sQ1QIINCgH
_________________
Somewhere there is a jar with your name on it!

From now on, I'm gonna connect the dots my own way!______________________________________

[cbeck]

I have installed and serviced dozens of solar vehicle gate operators, both 12 and 24 vdc. I have wired panels in both parallel and in series. If the equipment does not have a charge controler built in, we must provide/install one. There is a diode in the + feed from the panels so we don't discharge tuckers battery while the panels are not producing power. The controler can go in a weather tite box with the output leads coming out to your car connected to your battery with your choice of how to connect to your battery. Maybe refer to what the rv industry is doing.
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My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

[ritchiet002]

[cbeck]

On cloudy days our panels still put out over 90%. Never checked em in the rain. We try to avoid the 12 v systems, but a pair of 12 v 20 watt panels put out close to 40 vdc wired in series on a sunny day. We get our equipment from liftmaster/chaimberlin group.
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My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

[Zeen]

I've been using these on my VW, Mercedes, and boats for winter storage for several years:

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BM3B-Automatic...le+charger

They work as advertised; never over charged and always ready. You can wire it up with the included quick disconnect if your building manager needs to unplug it and move the vehicle.

There's no reason a solar version wouldn't work if it had the right controls built in, but that's an important "if".
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The consequences of your decisions should not be confused with fate.

[ach60]

Charge up the Battery, and then disconnect it.
Put a tag on the key for the lock box, "Battery Disconnected".
When you come back, connect battery and go for drive.
If she no start, then charge the battery, or just jump the car.
All this other stuff is a waste of time & money.
I locked my convertible in storage for 6 months this way while I moved.
Car started right up, but left rear brake stuck, made a hell of a bang when I dumped the clutch to break it loose.
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Good Luck
Al

[busdaddy]

I've had good results with the little ~6" X 12" dashtop chargers as well as pulling the clock and ECU memory fuses. Disconnecting the battery works too but is messy and requires tools, not too much fun if you are getting back to the car in the middle of the night after a long trip and not in the mood for wrench work.
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[Gary]

My dad used to make chargers out of power supplies used for handheld electronics (think cell phone chargers or DC power adapters). He would clip the end and solder grounding cable clips to each wire. He'd use the ones rated at 800-1000 mA to keep automotive and lawn mower batteries topped off all winter with zero risk of overcharging the batteries.

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[Joe 20]

What a great idea for an old cell phone charger!! I wonder if there are any fire/safety issues?

[Malokin Martin]

Didn’t some hippies light their bus on fire last year doing this exact same thing?

[cdennisg]