i have a solar panel trickle charge for autos. and I want to plug it into cigarette lighter.?
my cigarette lighter only works when the car is on. if I plug in solar panel to lighter when car is turned off which means lighter is not functional will the electricity generated by solar panel reach the battery through lighter.
April 7th, 2010 at 3:05 am
HI
NO it won’t get any charging power with the key off. YOu might want to try and install another lighter plug to plug in the charger to… its purity simple just two wires one to hot and one to ground.
good luck
Tim
April 7th, 2010 at 3:34 am
the energy from the panel will reach the battery when the car is on but not off, when it does, it will be negligible compared to what your alternator is putting out, compare that most solar dash trickle chargers put out about 190mA(milliamps) of current ,compare that to 40 Amps,or 40,000mA! from the alternator. If you want to use the solar panel, you will need alligator clips and connect directly to the battery, charger panels have diodes that prevent the panel from drawing power at night. trickle chargers are meant just to “float” the battery, that is, keep it from discharging when the auto is off for long times. bigger solar panels will charge the battery but very slowly, a 5 watt panel will put out about 350 mA, it will charge a mildly discharged,not dead battery, in about a full day of sunshine.
April 7th, 2010 at 4:27 am
no it will not, you can wire it directly to the battery but install a fuse though. you want to protect your solar panel if something happens, like a short circuit.
April 7th, 2010 at 4:33 am
No, because the circuit is not completed. You could wire it to the battery or find a circuit you can tap onto safely.