aj8one Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 just purchased a 12v solar panel to keep the van ( new fiat chausson ) battery fully charged when in storage . one of those small ones that plugs into cigarette lighter. however now find lighter socket has to be live any suggestions or is it a case £12.99 for panel £60 per hour for auto electrician Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Hi Al & Julie On all the vehicles I've had the cig lighter IS permanently live - as long as you use the dashboard one, not an "extra" in the hab area. If yours isn't, then I'm afraid it probably does mean an auto-electrician. The wiring on modern vehicles doesn't leand itself to DIY, as they use this dreadful multiplexing (though why you'd want to show four feature-films at once in a car or camper I don't know :D !) Sorry not to be more hopeful. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Is your own DIY skill up to fitting a second cigarette lighter socket in the dashboard - just drill one suitable size hole and shove it in - and wire it through direct to the van battery with suitable cable via a15 amp fuse? You will then have a socket you can use whenever you want to either for charging of to run 'owt else. Or an auto electrician might well charge less for this than for altering the van's wiring - which might also affect the warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Both the cigar lighter sockets in the cab of my 2006 Fiat are only live when the ignition is on. My mini solar panel, came with crocodile clip connectors as an alternative for this scenario, which I fix directly to the cab battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj8one Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 yes ours has crocodile clip also will look into that, however when we had the PDI check battery seamed to have abox around it with only the positive visible will look at it again ( van in storage at present thanks for help alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 You only need the positive terminal to clip onto with the red crocodile clip as the negative (black) can clip onto any bare metal on the engine or in the engine bay etc to complete the circuit. There may well even be a connect point to enable jump starting without removing the battery cover- have you checked the handbook? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj8one Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 nice one alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj8one Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 how often do you find you need to use the solar panel on the van battery, every time you store the van or only if say longer than 3-4 weeks of not being used alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Never had a solar panel as I've never felt that one that cost a sensible amount of money would keep the battery topped up. As my van is in the drive it is easy for me to go outside once a fortnight and start it up and run it for a few minutes. However my vans have been on the old Ducato / Boxer base in recent years and have not been too bad on battery drain so I am not best placed to advise on the power drain habits of the X250! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 aj8one - 2009-05-11 2:36 PM how often do you find you need to use the solar panel on the van battery, every time you store the van or only if say longer than 3-4 weeks of not being used alan Whats the output on the panel and how long do you normaly leave van without using it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little-jack Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I used my solar panel with the croc clip lead supplied....until squirrels chewed through it. Paid £80 to have socket wired to constant live, which has added advantage that I can leave sat nav switched on without running its battery out when I make a pit stop. Well worth the cost imho. little jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 aj8one - 2009-05-11 12:03 PM just purchased a 12v solar panel to keep the van ( new fiat chausson ) battery fully charged when in storage . one of those small ones that plugs into cigarette lighter. however now find lighter socket has to be live any suggestions or is it a case £12.99 for panel £60 per hour for auto electricianAt £12.99 I'm afraid the panel will be a waste of space and not worth the hassle of connecting. I know, I've got one and it's useless. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 aj8one - 2009-05-11 12:03 PM just purchased a 12v solar panel to keep the van ( new fiat chausson ) battery fully charged when in storage . one of those small ones that plugs into cigarette lighter. however now find lighter socket has to be live any suggestions or is it a case £12.99 for panel £60 per hour for auto electricianAt £12.99 I'm afraid the panel will be a waste of space and not worth the hassle of connecting. I know, I've got one and it's useless. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I thought that too Peter but didn't like to say it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 It may have been "bargain of the year"! Thats why I asked about output which has not been answered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little-jack Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 So far as I can see, the output from my small solar panel is enough to replace the drain on the vehicle battery when the 'van is parked up for the winter, caused by alarm system, and any other circuits that are live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 No chance. It wouldn't even do it in high summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little-jack Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 If you dont know the output of the panel, or the current drain on the battery, how can you possibly post a reply like this, in any event, the original question posted by the contributor related to a constant live supply at the cigar lighter/ aux. socket, however as so often happens here the thread has been hijacked and bears no relevance to the original post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yrocker Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 little-jack - 2009-05-13 6:15 PM If you dont know the output of the panel, or the current drain on the battery, how can you possibly post a reply like this, in any event, the original question posted by the contributor related to a constant live supply at the cigar lighter/ aux. socket, however as so often happens here the thread has been hijacked and bears no relevance to the original post. Here Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Here we go again! If you look upon each thread as a living conversation you might well begin to understand how the topic drifts about around the central core Postings are not cast in tablets of stone and maybe some of you could show a little bit more tolerance and not throw poor teddy out of the pram again when what you see is not what you want to see. Freedom of speech is a basic fundamental of this forum and long may it continue, which it will as long as no one person dictates what can and cannot be said on any particular thread. Rant over! Ye gods and little fishes - me defending Peter - whatever next! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little-jack Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Which has what to do with the original subject matter of this thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 The reason I posted as I did was to circumvent the need to convert his lighter socket to permanent live. As a £12.99 panel would be useless. If it's a 60 Watt panel then let us know where it was purchased and I will buy some. :D In any case the panel can be connected direct to the battery via crocodile clips and save the voltage drop in the vehicle wiring. *-) And thank you Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 aj8one - 2009-05-11 2:36 PM how often do you find you need to use the solar panel on the van battery, every time you store the van or only if say longer than 3-4 weeks of not being used alan You naughty person you've highjacked this thread, oh sorry you started the thread. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philman Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 The trickle charger in Maplins at the moment is £14.99 and is rated at 1 watt. I imagine the one purchased by the OP has a similar rating. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 And 0.12 of an Amp isn't going to do much is it?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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