fit solar cell to vehicle, to charge battery

You can buy them at most automotive stores. Many just plug into the cigarette lighter and sit on your dashboard.

Do all automobile cigarette lighters work if the key is not in the "acc" or "on" positions?

Ken

Phrederik wrote:

Nope. Mine (Civic del Sol) does not.

you'd have to check your individual vehicle. some vehicles cig circuits shut down when key is 'off'

Your battery charges as you drive, why do you need something like this? Unless you are planning on not driving for several weeks.

Approximately 9/18/03 16:44, D Lawrence uttered for posterity:

That is one purpose, particularly on vehicles with rather high key off current drain due to all of the computers and such that need keepalive.

Another is for folks who like to use the accessories a lot and don't think walking home is much fun.

Another is for hooking a computer system up to the vehicle for power, but not needing to run the engine.

Another is RV's.

Fairly common accessory for RV's, and for an auto, a small unit can be stuffed near a non-tinted window or under a sun roof to keep a small charge to the battery of a parked vehicle.

| I have one that sits on the rear panel

When in darkness, does it draw current from battery, i.e. does the reverse of charging battery ?

No. That could happen if the solar cell were damaged by an impact or water.

A good thought is to get a battery that is appropriate for your use. A deep cycle gell cell (or two) might be a good choice for all those acessories. Personaly I have run my stereo (just over 800 watts) my 55 watt ham radio (with about 10% transmit time) and my laptop (runing through a 200 watt inverter) for just over 24 hours, and started the truck with out any problems. I was running an Exide Orbital Deep Cycle at the time. A GOOD battery will be a big help.

~Brian

VW ships new cars with a solar battery charger to keep the battery charged while it's sitting on the lot. Aftermarket slar charges can be had for $10 pretty easily. I have 5 of them on various vehicles that see occasional use.

snipped-for-privacy@shaw.ca wrote: