I plug in a small solar panel into the cigarette lighter socket and I measure 19 volts at the battery cables. (disconnected) but the battery ( new ) seems to be losing . I do listen to the radio. why is this not charging the battery? TIA
Quote: "measure 19 volts at the battery cables. (disconnected)"
With the battery disconnected, the voltage could be anything. What does it measure with battery connected?
With a fully charged battery, you need about 13.5V just to keep it charged for long term non-use.
I doubt that the solar cell will provide enough amps to re-charge a discharged battery.
Speedy Jim
It seems to be connected properly. How many Watts is the solar pannel? It is possible that it gives less amps than what you consume with the radio.
A typical 5-6Watt sollar pannel will provide 0.45 to 0.5 Amps to a 12V battery, on a sunny day, with the pannel perpendicular to the sun's rays. If not perpendicular it will provide less than that. A typical radio will consume a bit more than 0.5 Amps (a high power stereo system will consume much more than that).
Regards,
Bill Spiliotopoulos. '67 Bug.
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