Hi all, When not on the road, my America LT is securely stored in a lock-up garage which has no access to mains electricity so, if I don’t use the bike for a week or two, the Datatool immobiliser drains the battery. I’ve taken to removing the battery & charging it at home but I think the only long term answer is to install a solar panel charger like the Optimate… http://www.quadbikeswales.co.uk/opt...caravan.html?gclid=CMCo4vuYzNECFQoA0wod11AMzw. My only concern is whether the solar charger will supply enough power to replace that consumed by the Datatool system. Has anyone with a Datatool system fitted to their bike used the Solar Optimate charger throughout the winter months &, if so, was it able to maintain the battery charge level… Thanks in advance for any comments ..
Tapped 'solar battery charger' into google which threw up many options which cost less than the one you mention. But ... which work well and which don't is anyone's guess. I've thought about going down the solar charger route myself. Still might!
Thanks Steve, I have a cheap (£15.00ish) solar panel charger connected to an old 12v car battery which provides lighting inside a vented storage container. It works very well but the lights that the battery powers are only used a few times a year so the solar charger has plenty of time to top up the battery. I'm all for keeping the cost low & I could cobble a budget system together myself but in this case I would prefer to have some type of warranty against it damaging my Bike's electrical system ...
I've got an Oxford Solar Optimiser I recently bought off Ebay for £35 which fits in to a clear pocket on the front of the Oxford bike cover. No idea yet if it will live up to it's positive reviews, but there are lots of good reports.
Brother has this set up with a cheap solar panel from maplins It works ok during summer but in winter it struggles to put more in than the alarm takes out
I have the oxford one too. I have adapted it so I can connect it to my optimate plug. Kept in the window of my oxford cover, not in a particularly bright spot. Last time I checked the battery was on 75% charge. Haven't ridden the bike for a week so will check charge tomorrow. Trouble is I don't know how to check that there's a charge running to the battery to make sure all wires and connections working
I pleasantly amazed that you guys have enough sunshine over there to consider solar. Good on you all, much respect. Solar is common over here in the Arizona desert. Edit to add - We do have to clean the panels frequently due to dust fallout to maintain peak efficiency even here.
Hi Desertspeedy, Yes, we do have sunshine over here, in fact its clead blue skys across London right now. Only problem is the temperatue is about 4 degrees ... With any luck me & the missus will be soaking up some of your sunshine later in the year when we ride the Skyline Drive / Blue Ridge Parkway ...
Ok, here's an update. Got my tiger out from under the cover. Had been on solar charger for about 7 days, tested the battery 12.25 volts, wouldn't start. Alarm is not fully on. So methinks there isn't enough coming of the panel or it's not connected to the battery properly and not charging. I won't be able to ride over the next 4 days so will not connect it to the charger and see what sort of Reading I'll get then.
To check if the solar charger is working would it be possible to check the voltage across the battery terminals before, during and after being on charge? Works for me with a small 6v/12v charger which has no indication of whether or not it is actually working. Incidentally, while looking at the various options available for solar chargers, I came across one being sold for £20 or so by the AA. Seemed like a decent piece of kit, but then again I do not pretend to know much about things electrical.
Come ride the Arizona desert. The Coronado Trail has many more curves than the Skyline or even the Dragon's Tail.
Ok. I left Tracey over the weekend without the solar charger on and the battery read 12.5 volts. Tested the panel, its facing a shed in the front pocket of my cover, the voltage from the charger read between 8 and 9 volts moved the cover up so the panel was facing the sky and it read around 13-14 volts. Tomorrow I shall take a reading from the battery in the morning leave the charger pointing to the sky and see what it reads in the afternoon
12.4v at battery in the morning solar panel plugged in and loading 13-14 volts at the end of the day battery 12.45 v. Plugged mains optimate in and immiediaty battery reading 13 looks like you need bright sunshine to charge battery. I'm bored with it now,
Thanks Crispey, your technical input / investigations have ben most useful.. From your tests it does look as if the Optimate solar route is not going to be enough so maintain the bike battery charge when the bike is not in use for more than a week or two in the winer months so I'm now going to good look at their Battery to Battery set up.. http://tecmate.com/products/tm500/ I have a sound 12V 130Ah battery which should provide enough power to keep the bike battery topped up for a month or two before needing a recharge itself..
Hey no worries! Something I wouldn't have done til you brought it up. I use the oxford one so maybe optimate is better but I'm not sure this one will even maintain the charge let alone top it up unless it's placed in Colorado. But then we don't have these problems with battery discharging for no reason in the summer
