Anyone used anything like this at all?

Does it work through windscreen?

Will it have negative effect on modern stop/start battery if connected directly (battery management electronics unaware of this addition)?

 

My Skoda Octavia is sometimes parked up for a long time because I drive the EV whenever possible. Its battery is over 5 years old, and when parked up for 3 weeks over Christmas, it flashed up low battery warning, stop/start would not kick in until after 4th day of commuting with it (60 miles mostly motorway commute).

It was parked up for 5 days this time, drove it on Monday and this morning, stop/start still won't activate.

 

So I was thinking if I permanently wired one of those 12v solar panel trickle battery charger. I can keep the car parked for longer and not having to worry about draining the battery. Stop/start will also activate when it should so saving fuel and generate less pollution at traffic lights.

Sounds like the battery is struggling to hold a charge and needs replacement.

At least that’s what I’d do.

1 hour ago, wyx087 said:

 Its battery is over 5 years old

 

52 minutes ago, Ryeman said:

Sounds like the battery is struggling to hold a charge and needs replacement.

Totally agree that the battery isn't in the best of health, if we get another "Beast From The East" another battery might be the only option, but I'd rather change it now than wait.

The Mercedes C coupe I had previously was 10 years old and still on original battery. Though no stop/start and been driven everyday, but at 9 years old, it sat on the driveway for over 40 days in dead of winter while I was holidaying in Australia. Started straight away when I got back zero hint of battery dying.

 

Why does everything this VAG car needs replacing: water pump, timing belt, gearbox oil, battery.........

Well my previous car, a 2000 VW Passat 4Motion would last for ever unused as well - well almost, but progress has entered the equation and now my 2011 Audi S4 with its very expensive AGM  large battery lies sleeping in the garage while we tend to use my wife's 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI 110PS - and so I invested in a CTEK charger unit, and as soon as that car has cooled down after being used, it gets its CTEK connected to it and switched on.

 

Solar charger - I had an issue with a mildly discharging late 2009 Ibiza SC, so until I fought things out with the local SEAT dealer and beat them into submission over it just being a BCM S/W issue, I bought an AA branded solar charger from the AA for very little money as I am a member, I was completely disappointed with its performance as it did not help much, I even tried using it just inside a large porch window to charge up a smallish, HillBilly battery that I have as a standby for my jump starter pack - same thing - completely under whelming performance.

 

So, what was the problem:- either a very low "typical" current output, and/or in real life situations, direct sunlight is not reaching the panel for very many hours a day.

 

I got to the point that as I was roughly dropping 5AmpHours a day with this mild discharge, so to feed back in enough to replenish that loss, I would, by the actual performance of that solar charger, need one that claimed to be good for 200/300Watts - and mine was only maybe 60Watt rated by the manufacturer. These figures are just estimates to give you an idea of what rating of charger would be needed - I was just being a bit naïve believing grabbing even a small one would help a lot.

 

So do a bit of checking before wasting even a small chunk of money as I'm sure that there will be a suitable enough solar charger out there and if you find one, I'd doubt very much if it will annoy the car's smart charging system.

 

Edit:- the trouble is, the earth tends to move about a bit and likewise the sun, so as soon as the sunlight stops striking these cheap solar panels through the sloping front/rear windscreen, the voltage output drops off like a stone.

Edited 22 January, 20197 yr by rum4mo

9 minutes ago, rum4mo said:

So do a bit of checking before wasting even a small chunk of money

 

Thanks for your detailed response. This is exactly what I'm trying to avoid, because I hate wasting money, even if it's less than £20.

 

So the solar charger is not enough to even maintain the charge in the battery? Actually charging the battery is, of course, asking too much.

55 minutes ago, wyx087 said:

The Mercedes C coupe I had previously was 10 years old and still on original battery. Though no stop/start and been driven everyday, but at 9 years old, it sat on the driveway for over 40 days in dead of winter while I was holidaying in Australia. Started straight away when I got back zero hint of battery dying.

Older cars tended to have only a very small number of electronic modules that are permanently powered (often only the engine ECU) but newer cars have many more (even my Elegance spec Octavia with no extra options has 15).

 

These all place a continuous small drain on the battery, over the years when left for several weeks this leads to the battery being discharged to a point where it can never regain its full capacity or starting current capability.

 

This isn't a Skoda or even VAG thing, it's caused by both extra legislation requiring more electronically controlled safety features and us all wanting more "toys" on all cars of whatever make.

Good point, well put.

 

I am currently investing getting an new AGM battery fitted. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

 

But I still would want to know: Would a solar charger able to at very least prolong the amount of time between needing to take the car out for a drive?

1 hour ago, wyx087 said:

But I still would want to know: Would a solar charger able to at very least prolong the amount of time between needing to take the car out for a drive?

Probably - when I owned a motorhome I used to put a solar panel on the top of the dash whenever it was parked up and not charging from the mains.

 

The panels claim to generate between 5W and 10W which amounts to around 400mA to 800mA, which is quite a lot more than the quiescent drain of any modern car.

On 22/01/2019 at 10:31, rum4mo said:

and mine was only maybe 60Watt rated by the manufacturer.

 

Wow, did you connect it to a house roof panel, Lol.

 

On 22/01/2019 at 11:12, wyx087 said:

But I still would want to know: Would a solar charger able to at very least prolong the amount of time between needing to take the car out for a drive?

 

I use a 4 watt solar charger, connected via the 'permanent live' 12v lighter socket.

I hang it up in the rear passenger window, off of the grab handle, with a hook. It gets a fair bit of sun if it is bright out. i just pop it on the seat when driving and hang it up when finished. It is a folding type and think i paid possibly £16 iirc.

It does seem to keep the battery topped up on my vehicle within periods of no use, but will not supply enough charge to actually charge a battery.

I also use a battery charger now and then if  done number of short journeys, especially in cold temperatures.

 

If your vehicle is in the shade all the time then probably not worth the purchase imo. If garaged, then a mains trickle charger will help your battery last years.

 

Oh yeah, i wouldn't bother with anything less than 4 watt either. 

 

Edited 24 January, 20197 yr by Tilt

Thanks. Good amount of information here.

 

When parked on the driveway, my car's front windscreen is southward facing, so if I put it on the dashboard it should get maximum amount of sunshine. I am considering to wire it into the fusebox and fix it on the dashboard.

 

Stop/Start have kicked in yesterday. 5 days of parked up in winter means 3 days to get S/S back. 

But I'll be connecting up a borrowed mains trickle charger over this weekend to see if it can restore the battery a bit. If not, new battery time and save any headache for next 4-5 years.

3 hours ago, Tilt said:

 

Wow, did you connect it to a house roof panel, Lol.

 

 

I use a 4 watt solar charger, connected via the 'permanent live' 12v lighter socket.

I hang it up in the rear passenger window, off of the grab handle, with a hook. It gets a fair bit of sun if it is bright out. i just pop it on the seat when driving and hang it up when finished. It is a folding type and think i paid possibly £16 iirc.

It does seem to keep the battery topped up on my vehicle within periods of no use, but will not supply enough charge to actually charge a battery.

I also use a battery charger now and then if  done number of short journeys, especially in cold temperatures.

 

If your vehicle is in the shade all the time then probably not worth the purchase imo. If garaged, then a mains trickle charger will help your battery last years.

 

Oh yeah, i wouldn't bother with anything less than 4 watt either. 

 

Well I think that my guess of a "60watt" solar charger was way off the mark then, it is hiding up in the attic and with my major disappointment of the average level of amp hours coming out of it - that is where it will stay.

 

Edit:- the AA does not seem to offer any figures on any on line adverts, but what is probably a similar one from Halfords claims to be 6Watt, and I'd think that that is the maximum peak output in direct clear sky sun light.

Edited 24 January, 20197 yr by rum4mo