[b1shmu63]

Friday I was surprised to find that my radio had turned itself on while I was away. This happened twice! OK, now I'm asking myself; is the radio covered by the warranty? Then I notice the time on the radio clock. That's funny there is no key in the ignition. :idea: I pull out the small solar panel that I have plugged into the 12 volt outlet near the shifter. The clock goes off. :roll:

Lesson 1.

Don't plug a solar charger into the 12 volt outlet because when the car is turned off the solar panel will not charge the battery.

Lesson 2.

If you ignore lesson 1, expect to find either a dead 12 volt battery or your Insight singing its heart out when the sun shines!

 

[Rick]

That solar panel won't do you any good anyways, the 12 volt outlet doesn't get any power unless the keys on anyways.

 

[b1shmu63]

That was Lesson 1. :wink:

I plan to do an extensive solar mod in the future, but have some study and circuit design to do first to do first. This "simple solution" was certainly a failure. Rather than charge the battery, it actually ran it down!

 

[bretthans]

Sounds like maybe your PV needs a diode to keep the battery from discharging into it. If the battery voltage is higher than the output of the PV (like when it's dark out) and you have no diode, the current will go the wrong way.

 

[Delta Flyer]

b1shmu63,

Do you remember the radio on Close Encounters of the Third Kind