Theres some yt videos about using a solar battery charger. Apparently, some are sold without a charge controller, but do have 12 battery large alligator clips. Thoose are meant for short time use. And if you are leaving the solar charger always connected, a charge controller must be used. Without inserting a charge controller between the solar panel and the battery, you'll overcharge and ruin the battery.
minimum run time to keep the battery charged
- Thread starter DogLover
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Does this Nissan have the fuel saving charge profile that's easily defeated by cutting a wire by the battery terminal? I know their trucks do. Be worth getting one of those cigarette lighter voltmeters and tracking the charging voltage.
My F150 runs 14.5V all the time and charges the battery adequately with my 4-mile, 15 minute weekly dump runs.
My F150 runs 14.5V all the time and charges the battery adequately with my 4-mile, 15 minute weekly dump runs.
Personally I would never use anything but AGM for a DIY replacement. They cost more but they last much longer.
The exception to that statement is a U1 battery for my lawn tractor; the cost : benefit ratio just doesn't seem to work in that application.
He should walk to work. I would love to walk a mile to and from work. Fresh air a little exercise, time to relax the mind. Driving a mile to and from work is the worst thing he can do to the car other than set it on fire.
I used to have a job that was 35 miles away and when I finally started to ride my gravel bike to work it was AWESOME. Great for me physically and psychologically.
Even if it rained I still really loved it!
On Tuesday and Thursday I would always meet up and ride with the Reston bike club for another 30 or so miles.
I would do a quick sponge bath in the bathroom.
I kept a change of clothes or would just get a set of scrubs to wear at work.
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Solar is a good idea. I have a 20W panel for my boat and both batteries were at 12.7 volts after sitting for several weeks without being used. Boat has some sort of dual battery relay that allows charging in parallel. The panel came with a controller and has options in the box for alligator clips or ring terminals. Look up Voltset 20W Solar Charger on Amazon. I am not sure what the rules are here for posting links. Around $31.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
This one? $31.49 on Amazon?
Voltset 12V Solar Battery Charger - 20W Waterproof Solar Panel Kit with Smart MPPT Controller - Trickle
https://www.amazon.com/Voltset-Monocrystalline-Maintainer-Controller-Adjustable/dp/B0BWY64QTY?th=1
Yes. It might be a little clunky for the rear window but adding some foam strips should keep it in place and quiet any movement down. It does have a small amount of weight to it so some zip ties to keep it from becoming a projectile should be added. She should be able to get at least 4 hours of charging time if she park in the right spot.
A volt and amp guage added would give some more info to watch
I commuted by bicycle in Hawaii. We lived on base and I worked in Hangar 3, so it was a 5 minute ride or a 10 minute walk.
There were people in my neighborhood that drove-- the would start their cars to drive literally 3 blocks, then spend 10 minutes circling like a vulture trying to find one of the scarce parking spaces.
I've labeled home and work here with "H" and "w" respectively. Who drives this? Especially since there's so little parking in the command post lot?
It worked very well for me-- I could be at work and logged in while people who left home before me were still circling the lot looking for parking. There was that one time a faceplanted when I got on the front brake a bit too much in the rain, but other than that it was great.
Theres a small circuit board available as an aftermarket add on to trick F150 trucks to charge at a slightly higher voltage when an AGM battery is used.
That alone is proof that not all vehicles play well with an AGM battery being installed.
These charging systems are not all designed the same. And AGM batteries that are charged on a system designed for a good old flooded acid type battery might work, or might work but fail early because AGM have maximum life if the charging system puts out a slightly higher voltage.
Bottom line: an AGM in a vehicle not designed for it, may have that battery not last as long as it should. Its ambiguous in these cases as to how well it will last.
The one from harbor freight don't have a charge controller built into them. But I'm not sure the small ones make enough juice to overcharge a battery ... especially in a modern vehicle that has some power drain.
Elkins45
Site Donor 2026
I was going to suggest this as well. The Titan forums are full of people who say they disconnected their smart battery management connector to keep their batteries from being drained by short tripping. You don’t have to physically cut the wire you can just unplug a connector on the positive terminal.
If you purchase a cheap voltmeter that plugs into the cigarette lighter you can tell pretty accurately when the battery is fully charged. You'll see higher voltage immediately and it will drop to a 'float' level when the battery is fully charged. Just time that drop and you will know for sure.
I do agree with others that the battery sounds weak and a solar charger would work well for her if she can't alter her driving habits.
I do agree with others that the battery sounds weak and a solar charger would work well for her if she can't alter her driving habits.
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Do research whether your battery needs to be "coded" after replacement. I believe 2013-ish is just about the time when Nissan went smart-charging.
If this is anywhere close to BMW's system - you'll need in theory to let the car know what battery it's using, how new it is, etc. Which is the battery coding does.
Not doing it won't harm things other than in the long term, and the battery will not last as long as it could have otherwise.
An hour of solid driving with no stops this would be true but she is driving a total of an hour with multiple stops and starts so there is no battery recovery occuring with all the starts in that hour's time
This is probably her best option!
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I'm curious if the old battery just needed to be recharged fully but I understand not wanting to experiment in this situation.
The 20W solar charger I have puts out 18V the one time I checked it. Barely over 1 amp. My boat batteries were at 12.7 Volts after sitting on the charger for a month or so. Engines fired up fine.
Id go manual.
Id rig a very simple plug to a maintainer that would disconnect if mom just pulls away.
I can see the appeal of solar in a something used less frequently.
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Manual would be much ideal. But with his story is different so I offered an alternative.
