My wife has a short journey (about a mile) to and from work, and the car battery doesn't really have time to get charged enough even to replace what it uses to start the engine.
Has anyone used a solar powered trickle charger? Are they any good?
I know that "walk" or "get the bus" are alternative solutions, but as the car is all paid for I don't think I would win that argument!
Thanks in advance.
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Well the ones that use the car lighter are no good for those cars that disable the power to the lighter when its switched off!
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Good point! thanks.
I'll just go and check up on that.
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Hi
Unless its a Peugeot or Citroen where you can decide if the socket &/or radio works without the key by moving there fuses in the fuse box.
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The lighter only works when the key is in and turned to I or II. So the alternative would be to wire something permanently!
I'm not an auto electrian but I can change a light bulb, and did once add a boot light to my old Nova (back in the days when a light in the boot meant it was nearly top of the range !)
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A quick forum search shows these previous discussions:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=14038
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=14040
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Surely the car gets some other use, not just 2 miles per day?
Not wanting to seem rude, but that sort of mileage is not going to prolong the life of either the car or your wife!
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Hi,
They're designed to top up the battery over long periods, to replenish the small charges taken for the alarm, the clock, the backup supply to the radio and so on. It won't be powerful enough to supplement inadequate charging when the car is running (because it's not running long enough).
Better in your situation (IMHO) to sit in the car for an extra 30 seconds with it idling...
Cheers,
Mark
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Given that your wife only drives a mile each way, can she not alternate her route to work sometimes? Leave that bit earlier and take the long way to work.
Driving it this short distance will not let the engine warm up at all. Oil could become emulsified, exhaust will rot in 5 minutes, etc etc.
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Thanks for the links back to earlier discussions, very useful. I will investigate the connection to the battery option. £15 to £20 is not bad and although it won't recharge the battery from flat it should make things a bit easier.
For the last few months I have taken Mrs Fs car to work - 18 miles each way, mostly motorway and A roads, to give it a blast. That would tend to keep it going for a week or so, less in damp weather.
I haven't noticed any problems with the oil or exhaust. When we had the Nova that used to go through exhausts every 18 months or so - all that lukewarm acidic stuff condensed in the pipe and stayed there, I suppose.
Thanks for your help - well informed as ever in this forum.
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i brought a solar charger,about the size of A4 paper...i have 2 cars one of which suffers flat batterys due to little use,the charger is of little help on that car
id say take the car on a 20min ride weekly and save the ££ for a decent or slightly larger battery next time
btw..the 20min ride will do the car good,everything needs to get hot once in a while
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It's interesting that you didn't find the solar charger made much difference. Come to think of it, I can't remember ever seeing a solar panel on anyone's dashboard, and surely of they were any good then you'd see some at least once in a while.
If the problem is that short runs mean that it doesn't get charged up then does the battery capacity make a difference?
As things stand I don't mind taking SWMBO's car to work once in a while, it's easier to park and I definitely agree that it seems to drive better afterwards.
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As you didnt state what car/date.I would assume its fairly new.as most cars start within around one turn I doubt you would have a prob with battery.Alternators are these days very efficient.and so charge up very quick.problem will lye in the fact engine wont reach normal operating temp.would recommend a good run of around 20 miles at least once a week.
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For the record its a Daewoo Matiz, just over 5 years old, and the battery looks tiny compared to others I have seen.
It tends to start first time. I just checked the coloured dot on the battery and it shows black, which is about half charged according to the label.
It looks like there is a consensus of opinion here in favour of using the car regularly for longer runs. Also good practise, like switching lights off before the ignition should help.
Thank you, everyone.
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