Solar trickle charger?

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madmanbob
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Post by madmanbob »

bxbodger, love your comment about the output of the alternator. I always thought that the alternator only worked when there was enough battery power to start the engine in the first place!
Perhaps you leave your car running 24/7 and never switch the engine off, in which case you are, of course, correct.
2000 Xantia HDI 110 Exclusive which lives in the Dordogne. Previous: XM Diesel, C3 HDI 92 bhp, CX DTR Turbo2, BX TZD Turbo, CX D, GSA, GSA estate, 2CV
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Post by AndersDK »

madmanbob wrote:bxbodger, love your comment about the output of the alternator. I always thought that the alternator only worked when there was enough battery power to start the engine in the first place!
Perhaps you leave your car running 24/7 and never switch the engine off, in which case you are, of course, correct.
The alternator will start charging if there is just the slightest power left on the battery - even if the battery is down on 2-3 cells.

This is because the exitation voltage only needs to be a few volts for the alternator to start feeding back some real power - and then the system is self containing. As long as there is rotation on the alternator that is.
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Post by madmanbob »

But the car won't start with the battery too far down so the alternator cannot start charging without the engine running. The original question was asking if a solar charger would help keep the battery topped up without the engine running, and it will.
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Post by AndersDK »

Ah well -
The egg or the hen -
I see your point mmbob :wink:
Anders (DK) - '90 BX16Image
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Post by pantherd90 »

Got the charger fitted, can't say it makes all that much of a difference. I'm getting nice quick starts, but then I should be. Still it makes me feel strangely green..
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Post by BonceChops »

Has the radio stopped losing its memory though? That was the only reason you wanted the charger in the first place and some of us thought you had a volt drop problem on the radio supply that had nothing to do with the battery's state of charge.
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Post by pantherd90 »

No, but to be fair I had also bought it to keep the battery fresh, since my Xantia is left standing for fairly long periods and I've got through batteries slightly faster than I might have liked in the past.

The radio continues to lose its memory as I've said i the other "Xantia electrics thread". Even though I managed to patch a fresh 12v line to it from the cigarette lighter.
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Post by mezuk04 »

Your car is only an SX, isnt it? and a Mk1 at that?

If your not convinced its the dodgu electrics, just get one off Ebay, you cant grumble at a tenner really. And then sell the knackered one as being knackered 8)
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Post by pantherd90 »

It's a 93 Mk1 LX TD.

The battery is fine as are the mechanicals and compared to the high milage ebay ones it's pretty good at 75k. The only problems are electrical niggles.
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Post by mezuk04 »

Ah the LX models (I believe that had a slightly lesser stereo in it to the SX) therefore if that is true then they will be even a little cheaper on Ebay.
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Post by mezuk04 »

@ Panther:

Might be worth clicking 'Profile' at the top right of the screen, and scrolling down to the 'Signature' box and simply adding the past and currents cars you have driven (Citroens of course).

I can see you have already used the Signature box to add your Citroen banner so may be worth just adding in your current car to.
Volkswagen Golf 59' 1.6TD S :(
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Post by pantherd90 »

Radios are surprisingly costly on eBay, about £30 inc P&P for one. Very little difference in price between the 2020s (what I've got) 3030s (SXs) and 4040s (Exclusives I suppose).

Have sorted my signature :) The less said about the last car, the better.
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Post by mezuk04 »

Excellent :lol:

You have to keep checking, I sold mine for about £5 last year (without code)

But I have seen ones go for less than a tenner, sometimes there can be 5 at once, and none for another month or so.
Volkswagen Golf 59' 1.6TD S :(
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Post by pantherd90 »

I'm tempted to buy one without a code, but only if I know the costs involved in getting a fresh code for it..
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Post by mezuk04 »

You can get software off the web do unlock stereo's, but I imagine with older stereos they tend to be a bit hit and miss.

Citroen would be able to unlock it for you but its whether or not you can find a dealer who will do it free for you (someone has had that once on here) or just how little it will cost.
Volkswagen Golf 59' 1.6TD S :(
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