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I have a 60W solar panel on the roof of the carport and simply plug the Disco into it when not driving it.
It gets a charge every day between 10.30am and 3pm and it seems to keep everything running fine.
I plug the panel into the Anderson plug on the rear bumper which is part of my Traxide system.
Based on a couple of digital volt meters I have fitted my batteries sit at around 12.6 to 12.7 volts when ever I look at them.
I get a similar effect from having an 80 watt solar panel on the roof rack of the Defender. When parked outside there is always some charge going into the starting battery. If it is sufficiently charged the Traxide connects the second battery and it is also charged.
So I can just park outside and the second battery is normally reading fully charged, at least 12.8 and often around 13.0, which means the starting battery is also charged.
Even when the Defender is under the carport roof it still gets some charge, although reduced.
The batteries are healthy. It really is set and forget.
You’re correct, your vehicle now demands 3x the power an old Falcon or equivalent would.Quote:
Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster
Even the old vehicles couldn’t cope. Had a woman who lived near work and every 3 months was back to Beaurepairs where a mate worked with battery problems. She drove 5km every day and nothing more. Over 3 months the vehicle couldn’t replenish what it took to start and would kill the batteries.
It’s not a new thing.
My D4 gets regular runs up the highway due to location, it made it 7 years on the original battery.
Long time ago my father had a Corona he drove three blocks to the shop in the morning and three blocks back at night. It needed regular charging, even though it didn't actually use much power.
I keep my SC80 permanently disconnected until I’m in a country run. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d3f422f29a.jpg
Despite what some may say it DEFINITELY causes accelerated discharging in the main battery if left connected during normal short-ish city runs. Full stop.
I use a Kick-Ass 20A 8-stage charger fortnightly to keep both the main and aux batteries charged to optimal levels.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a50262ae67.jpg
Hi Brian, not sure why you fitted the separate switch, because your SC80 came with an In-Cab module, which allows you to do what that switch does.
The difference is that, while the motor is off and the switch is set to the Service/Ignition position, the SC80 will be off and only consumes about 8 to 10 milliamperes. Your batteries self-discharge at a much higher rate.
But even with the switch set to the Service/Ignition position, when you start your motor, the SC80 connects the batteries, allowing the auxiliary battery to be automatically charged every time you drive.
Your separate switch setup is a good idea on the older SC80 isolators, when the vehicle is not being driven enough, but on the new SC80 isolators like yours, this save you having to go under the bonnet to switch the SC80 on and off.
One of a number of the new features of the new SC80 isolators, and is to save you having to remember to turn the SC80 on and off manually.
Try this with yours and you will save yourself some work.
Thanks Tim I tried that but wasn’t convinced the SC80 was fully isolated. I wanted full control over when the system was on or off regardless of whether the car was being driven or not. That’s what the engine-bay gives me.Quote:
Originally Posted by drivesafe
How do i know if i have an older or newer SC80 switch ?
Ian
Bittern
Hi Ian, I started shipping the new SC80 isolators from April 2016 and the primary noticeable difference is the older SC80s had either a green or yellow LED and all new SC80s have a red and green LED.
That BT battery module would be sucking more juice!Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianElloy