Re: Remote Car Battery Voltage Monitoring

[Frank Olson <Use_the_email_links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert Green wrote:
> "BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:TblPf.2595$pV5.325@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>>I have a car at a second home that sits for months without use and a
>>marine battery that sits in a small sailboat to power a bilge pump and
>>lights. For the boat, I found a flexible, waterproof solar panel at West
>>Marine that keeps the battery fully charged. In 4 years I've never had
>>to charge it with anything else. For the car, I use a Battery Tender Jr.
>>to keep the battery "ready-to-start" and it works well. Rather than
>>monitoring the battery's condition remotely, in both cases I just use
>>the chargers and never have to worry about it. If the car has a lighter
>>socket, power outlet that's always on you can just plug it in that way.
>> http://tinyurl.com/k9w56 shows the Battery Tender Jr. and you can buy
>>it for under $30 at places like Pep Boys.
>
>
> I just bought a solar panel that plugs into the dash.  We'll see if it
> works.  The van doesn't get a lot of sun where it's parked and the rear
> windows are all heavily tinted so mounting it back there won't help much.  I
> may still have to go with some sort of detachable umbilical because I need
> to be able to charge his scooter while it's in the van, since he still walks
> from the van into the house with his cane.
>
> Thanks for the info.  Hopefully the dash charger will do the trick.


Hi Bobby:

Make sure the dash charger is putting out more current than the "on
board electronics" require.  If, for instance, your total current draw
is greater than the dash charger can supply, you're going to wind up in
the same situation (dead battery).  Additionally, (and at night time)
the current draw on the battery is going to go back to "normal", and the
charger may not be powerful enough to "keep up".

I found this in a "Froogle" search:

http://froogle.google.com/froogle_cluster?q=mounted+battery+chargers&pid=4854524895284469150&oid=2589900813912983575&btnG=Search+Froogle&scoring=mrd&hl=en