[Driver]

I was at a car dealership last week and noticed small solar panels suction cupped to the windshield and plugged into the 12V lighter socket to maintain the battery while stored. Would these be of any use on an Insight or is the 144V sytem independent of the 12V system?


Thanks in advance!

 

[Rick]

They are used to keep the 12 volt battery topped off. If you are storing a car for a long period of time they do counteract the drain the battery see's from the computer and other small draws that are always there. One problem with putting these on an Insight is the fact that the 12 volt socket doesn't come alive until you turn the key to accessory so it wouldn't do anything unless you hooked it directly to the battery. As far as the 144 volt pack, I wouldn't mess with it. The car keeps track of the SOC by monitoring what goes in and out while the car is running. If you were to change this while the car is sitting then you would mess that up and start experiencing many SOC recalibrations.

 

[Aaron Cake]

You could blanket every horizontal surface on the Insight with solar panels, and after sitting 8 hours in direct sunlight, you might have enough juice to get you 500 feet.

 

[Armin]

solar panels not working

And, for the record, if plugged into the cigarette lighter, they don't do anything for the 12V battery either. The cigarette lighter is disconnected from the battery, unless the ignition key is at least in the "accessory" position. If it is, other accessories will draw more current than that little solar panel can produce.