I have a solar panel that i wanted to stick on the sunroof and somehow (i will see how when the time comes) wire it to the cars electrical system like to the cigarette lighter or something; So would it be bad for the car and i would wire it to a switch or something so i could control the power...

Any insights or suggestions you can offer would help...thx..

 

What is your goal here, to trickle charge the battery when the car is not driven for an extended period of time?

If so, then yes, that would actually work just fine. The ones I have seen though charge through the OBD II port.

 

I figured it would give me a little extra length of time when i want to play music and the car is off, Instead of the battery just dying or draining it...

 

subscribe out of interest, i would like to see some results and see if it is worth it

 

if you happen to go back into the future...

 

If that solar panel can generate the 1.21 gigawatts needed for time travel, someone setup a group buy!!!

 

Dont know if you can really generate enough electricity with the panel without it being huge but I dont know too much about this

 

Get some flexible panels and install on the I35 rear sunshade, lol....

 

i was thinking he should replace the glass in the sunroof with the PV panel. that would be a pretty sweet customization. pointless sure, but sweet

 

make one that controls gas milage, then i would greatly be interested.... i can see it now.... the first solar powered max lol

 

I think the current is not enough to power the lighter, air circulation fan might work.

 

It actually does 18.8V at Max power and the current at Max power is 170mA, You guy's are cracking me up over here though...

 

that's 3w output. I bet the lighter needs more than 50w.

edit:
just checked on the internet, a cigar lighter needs more than 100w to light up.

 

ok, Now i feel stupid lol... thx...

This may sound really dumb but i thought since the car makes 12 volts then 18.8 would would be great...lol

 

Trickle charging or heat exhaust fans are the two biggest upsides for a non hybrid/electric vehicle.... Good for tailgaiting or camping when you are using the battery juice with the car off though.. Your better off making a solar umbrella that sticks out of the roof... More square footage to work with...

 

flaming comments deleted. If you don't want to contribute constructively to the discussion, keep your mouth shut.

 

how could anybody flame on this subject? people suck.. i applaud the OP for thinking of an innovative way to create more energy...

EDIT: i see you're part of the lancaster crew... are you the guy that was gonna be my 6 speed silver TE twin coming to the FDR park barbeque?

 

Yes i am wyche89 =O)

 

lol.. oh ok, cool.. yeah i ended up not making it.. prior engagements that lasted well into the evening

 

It's more important the vehicle be able to acheive 77mph.

RV guys use them to charge their (and additional) battery/s all the time. You need to make sure that you have a charge converter as well, some panels have them built into the back, many do not. Without a charge converter in full sun it will overpower the battery and warp the plates w/potential for explosion and fire.

 

88mph.
this is not practical. your car's bat will hold a charge plenty long. and this will not help you if you have a stereo playing at all...
whats the point?

 

i think he wants it more for when the car is sitting in the sun all day, it just help keep the battery charged and i presume that would increase the life of the battery.

 

None really, he's more likely to have an error or failure and actually ruin the battery imho, which is why (Edit I deleted it) posted about having an entire extra battery that was switchable, ie it would disconnect the regular bat and switch over to the extra battery/solar to power all the 12v accessories, a battery that you wouldn't care if it fully discharged. With that it would be sooooo gay but kinda cool especially for theft deterence if you switched over to the other battery/solar system to constantly power the markers, tails, and fogs when your car was parked. That second batteries lif would be crucial to not over or undercharging off the solar panels, the nicer charge controllers will cut all the draw(s) off of the system until the battery reaches back up to a minimum voltage, (as well as stopping the charge at a maximum threshold).
Having an undercharged battery is bad as well, allthough not like overcharging which will cause rapid failure, but it will still slowly sulfate if it is undercharged. The only thing I need to look up on again though is if solar arrays are better suited to regular or deep cycle discharge batteries, or neither, allthough I geuss it really depends on how much the panels will actually be putting out vs how much your going to draw and discharge it before ut will charge it back up. See, there's a lot to think about, for sure at the least you would NOT want to just blindly hook a solar panel up to your car, that would be stupid and pointless.

 

This is turning into the 4th gen forum

 

what makes you say that?

 

Because the post has been asked already and you all are just gaining posts counts and repeating what someone else has already posted...

 

I could see this coming in useful to recharge a dead battery. But since your alternator is charging your batter as you drive there really wouldn't be much functionality to permanently install this on your sunroof. I would hook it up to your house and at least try to save a little money on your electricity bill.

 

VW dealerships put solar panels in the cars windshield and plug them into the cigarette lighter to trickle charge the battery. helps the battery when the car sits for a long time.

 

doen't the cigarette lighter only work when the key is on?

 

Pointless unless you are using it because you are letting your car sit outside in the sun for a while. And i wouldn't let my car sit out without a car cover or something like that for a while. But I do have a solar panel on my boat keeping my batt. topped off.

 

Not on VW, the radios and cig lighters have constant, on a maxima yes.

 

I doubt my post was a repeat.

 

ohhh 4th gen forum! i used to hangout there...

i live for post count! it shows i'v wasted more time answering newb/retarded/stupid questions than other people.

 

If you want extra battery time to run the radio why not just buy and optima and call it a day. the next gen prius is using solar panels to run the a/c motor so it will allow the engine to run more economically saving gas. Think big!