With our Sentra, I just ran the maintainer wire through the driver's door near the mirror, through the fender opening and over to the battery.
Solar battery maintainers with cigarette plugs?
- Thread starter Elkins45
- Start date
With our Sentra, I just ran the maintainer wire through the driver's door near the mirror, through the fender opening and over to the battery.
There is nothing special about having an OBD2 hookup option. I mean you can get an OBD2 connector and wire any panel up to it... OR, tap into the wire behind it, so your diagnostic port is still available for use and without a connector sticking out the front if in a location where your legs might hit it while in the vehicle. "Usually" the OBD2 diagnostic port pin 16, 12V wire to the battery is always live.
If you want to wire something through the firewall, there's also the option of just drilling a new hole, slide the wire through, then put your own rubber grommet on it, and seal with neutral cure RTV or whatever when finished if the grommet doesn't make a weather tight seal.
If you want to wire something through the firewall, there's also the option of just drilling a new hole, slide the wire through, then put your own rubber grommet on it, and seal with neutral cure RTV or whatever when finished if the grommet doesn't make a weather tight seal.
Many years ago I used to store two of my vehicles for the winter here in northern Minnesota: a 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham and a 2010 Ford E350 cargo van. Both being rear wheel drive I did not want to use them on slippery roads, and I was preserving the Cadillac by keeping it off salty roads.
I bought some car lighter plug solar panels from Amazon and plugged them in… both vehicles had always live outlets so these would work.
Faced them both south, plugged the solar panels in, did my winter storage routine with Sta-Bil and dryer sheets, and left them for 5 months.
They both started up immediately come Springtime and the batteries in them were in good shape, not needing a charge. So the ones I got were pretty good at maintaining the batteries (both AC Delco from my local Menards).
Take my experience for what it’s worth.
I bought some car lighter plug solar panels from Amazon and plugged them in… both vehicles had always live outlets so these would work.
Faced them both south, plugged the solar panels in, did my winter storage routine with Sta-Bil and dryer sheets, and left them for 5 months.
They both started up immediately come Springtime and the batteries in them were in good shape, not needing a charge. So the ones I got were pretty good at maintaining the batteries (both AC Delco from my local Menards).
Take my experience for what it’s worth.
I have 2 cars with solar panels on the dash, connected through the OBD port.
One is a 10w panel with SAE plug. I bought another SAE connector, added an inline fuse, a switch, and the OBD2 connector. There was no drain without light, so I didn't add a diode. The windshield reduces the panel output a lot, and it doesn't charge as much as I would like. If I were to make another setup, I would buy a bigger panel and add a cheap charge controller.
One is a 10w panel with SAE plug. I bought another SAE connector, added an inline fuse, a switch, and the OBD2 connector. There was no drain without light, so I didn't add a diode. The windshield reduces the panel output a lot, and it doesn't charge as much as I would like. If I were to make another setup, I would buy a bigger panel and add a cheap charge controller.
