Solar charging

It'd be mounted outside so no problem there

Entrance to the car is via electronic solenoid though. Plus I wouldn't be able to switch the alarm on which means invalidated insurance.

I need to think about this a bit more I think. And check what the actual current drain is.

Reply to
Carl Gibbs
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Fair enough, but then you have to worry about the thing being properly weather-sealed. Also (and this probably isn't really a concern for you) you get UV-degradation of the silicon in the panel, giving a gradual degradation of performance over several years; this is one of the main reasons that photelectric cells basically never pay for themselves.

Ah, forgot about the funky door button thing. How do you get in with a flattery? An external 12V jack? You could always fit a builders van style hasp and padlock to the door...

Aye, good plan. I might also look at getting a deep cycle battery, possibly someting like the optima things that Burgerman used to flog. It'll still discharge, of course, but it won't lose capacity as quickly as a result, and the v.low internal resistance means that it'll still start the car even when damn near empty. I don't think they're cheap, mind.

Reply to
Albert T Cone

There is a way, but if I told you I'd then have to kill you ;)

I will look into it. Thanks for the heads up!

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

Is there room for a second battery somewhere you could have on an isolator? I have also seen in the past batteries with a seperate section used when the main part goes flat... no idea of name or make though.

HTH Mitch

Reply to
Terminal Crazy

2 Odysseys will fit where a normal battery would go. Put in a 4x4 dual battery isolator and you're golden. One is out of the circuit with the car off and is only used for cranking.

Fraser

Reply to
Fraser Johnston

Please don't. They are over hyped and over priced. You can get a battery with a longer warranty for a lot less money from Halfords. And no lead acid of any type likes being run totally flat. Although some types can cope slightly better than others.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Quite a lot better. I'm not at all sure that it's enough of a margin to justify the cost, but if it happens a lot it might be worth it from a ease-of-life standpoint.

Reply to
Albert T Cone

I'll look into it.

Car was dead again today, and that's after being hooked up to a proper trickle charger (was supposedly fully charged Sunday evening). Took a longer route to work (still only about 5 miles or so though) and this afternoon it wouldn't start again. Reckon it might be new battery time anyway.

Still can't find my multimater though grrrrr

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

Get a clamp meter on the alternator. Mine would quite happily put out 20 to 50+ Amps with everything on but the load was virtually the same so sod all was going into the battery. Mitch

Reply to
Terminal Crazy

Surely there must be an owner's club etc which can give you an idea of just how long it can be left unused? I'd expect a minimum of two weeks. And the car charging system should recharge the battery to about 90% in short order. When I use the SD1 for work it's only about a 4 mile drive through town - and in the winter lights etc on both ways - yet the battery is fine.

Think you need to find that DVM and check the charging voltage. And get the battery tested. A decent electronic battery tester will give the battery condition and capacity even although it's not at full charge. Even Halfords should be able to do this for you. They cost over 100 quid so not really practical for most to buy for DIY use. Although I do have one. ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

That's not much of a test because if the battery is charged it won't be taking any current. You need to measure the voltage at the same time. And DC clamp meters are pretty inaccurate at small currents.

If the battery is low but otherwise good you should see about 14.4 volts with the engine running at a fast idle. If the battery is good and fully charged this should be about 13.8v. With a faulty battery it could be well outside these figures. Switching on a heavy load like headlights etc may alter these figures depending on the max output of the charging system.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

As I've said before it's a common problem that TVR's can drain a battery in

1-2 weeks if left unused. The usual solution is to keep it hooked up to a battery conditioner. TBH I think I might just end up getting the garage electrified to save the hassle.

Feel free to pop round then :) My other half is borrowing a DVM from work on Monday as i suspect mine is in the SD1 (unless I find time to pick mine up at the weekend). But a new and uprated Varta battery can be had for £72 so not too bad, and since I can't find any evidence of a change in the service history I may get one anyway as starting always seems a struggle even when the battery is behaving.

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

Check all cable connections especially ground connection on block for dirt/moisture & tightness .

Reply to
Terminal Crazy

Right, solar idea is shelved. Speaking to a friend of mine who used a similar panel to what I'm looking at for a wireless internet transmitter on top of hill with absolutely no obstructions and said it was crap. He needed one twice the size to keep the wee transmitter going. Instead I'm putting electricity out to the garage and I will buy a proper battery conditioner (damn car is getting expensive!).

New battery arrived today. £70 from the bay, so I'm happy with that.

Saturday is the day for TVR electrickery as I will take the car to my Dads, get it up on the ramp, replace the battery, check/clean connections and have a play with the multimeter.

And in amongst there somewhere I'm going start putting the SD1 back together. I'm loaded up with Hammerite and other goodies so the first job will be to give the floorpan a paint to help protect it. Then the interior can finally start going back in. Woo!

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

Think you're right. Everyone seems to recommend these panels - but haven't actually used one. My calculations say you'd need something about

1 x 1 metre to cover a quiescent drain of 80mA over a 24 hour period on a dull winter day. And mounted externally.

Lidl do a very nice SMPS charger for about 13 quid - comes up maybe 4 times a year. They were on sale recently, and some larger stores may still have them. They switch automatically from a max (approx) 4 amp charge to a maintenance one. They also attempt to recover a deeply discharged battery by pulse charging it. I'm intending building one into the SD1 since they're so cheap and light. I've got a weatherproof mains connector to fit to the car so it's only a question of the tuits.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Got a brand new Halfrauds maintenance charger of the Bay for a tenner, so pretty happy with that. Other Chim owners recommend them if you don't want to shell out for a Ctek / Accumate. Come with some ring terminals which you can permanently mount on the battery to make things a bit easier. Might also rig up a ciggy socket to this lead as TVR very kindly put the standard one in the drivers door which is particularly useful for plugging stuff into.

And the new battery has made a world of difference. Starts so much better now, both from hot and cold. The old one was clearly well passed it's best.

And the Chim also went and passed it's MOT today, so I'm a very happy boy!!

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

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I use a couple of these,

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use them on new cars in America to keep the batteries charged while awaiting a sale.

One on the Elise 24 hours a day which has kept the battery fully charged while it's off road for the winter and one on my daily during the winter which I only do two miles a day during the week. It doesn't fully charge the daily during the week but it's enough to maintain enough charge through the week to start it by the end of the week.

I'm in north east Scotland so I'd have thought that large panel you're looking at would be more than sufficient to maintain the battery unless it's already dead.

Reply to
Homer

The ever so cheap Lidl one has a maximum output of approx 4 amps - and being a clever device will charge a battery quicker than some which claim to have three times that. When the battery is fully charged it switches to a maintenance charge and can be left like that indefinitely. All this for much less than one of those posh maintenance only chargers that some sell for a vastly inflated price. They are only a few hundred millimap wall wart with a few added components. So should sell for well under a tenner.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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