Solar Car Battery Charger

[cyprusmax47]

A quality battery good maintained has a lifespan of 4-5 years. If the car
stays without charging 3-4 month the battery will be more likely dead....
In hot Summer month batteries loosing 1 amp per day.
Max

[2QuarterPints]

I have no mechanical knowledge so I am taking the advice of the dealer who sold me the car. He told me that the on board computer would continually reset itself for quite some time after a flat battery, and would not start whilst doing so. Right or wrong, I think a small financial investment to keep the battery charged is worth the outlay. When the time comes for a new battery I will have it fitted by the dealer who, presumably, will have the knowledge required to do it seamlessly.

[2QuarterPints]

I called into Nicolaou's this morning and got just what I wanted for €65 so thanks very much for the tip Max. As a bonus, we never knew the shop existed before, and what a fantastic place it is. Seemed to stock every electrical component/gadget anyone would ever need.

Thanks for all of the help and advice everyone.

Dave

[cyprusmax47]

Dave
In order to have best result,try to avoid that there is shade on the panel like from the screen wiper etc.
Best angle towards Sun is 30 degree but less in Summer is also OK.
Good that Nicolaou Electronic has got it in stock now, perhaps as I asked there several times for it without success.
Yes they have quite a good variety of components. I bought several 12/24v fans and PV panels for one of my projects.
Max

[PaphosAL]

A quality battery good maintained has a lifespan of 4-5 years...
Max

I have to politely challenge that statement, Max. The oem GM battery on my Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTI (which I purchased brand new in late October 2004) is still going strong!

In fact I had it checked out a few months ago at a local Auto Electricians (poor starting issues) and they spent ¾ of an hour thouroughly testing all systems with three different kinds of meters and concluded:

1. The battery was as good as new
2. Ditto for the Alternator (phew!)
3. My issue was likely being caused by one or more of the 4 glow plugs being kaput.

He refused to take any money for that verdict, would you believe?

Cheers- AL (Happy owner of a 12½ year old battery in good nick, LOL!)