12 V socket and solar trickle charger

[Katm]

On 7/30/2022 at 11:52 AM, philip42h said:

Just put your foot on the brake pedal and press Start - just as you do everyday to start the car ... that part is easy and 'automatic'.

Basically, the auxiliary battery is charged from the traction battery while the car is in Ready mode whether or not the car is actually moving. During term time you'll be having more than enough Ready time to keep the auxiliary battery fully charged.

And that will see you through Christmas, Easter and half-term breaks without you worrying about anything at all. If you really do lay-up the car and go nowhere at all during the long summer holidays you might have a problem after six weeks or so - but if you go shopping and on a road trip or two you will have nothing to worry about.

If you are still concerned, it would be worth investing the smallest possible 'jump-start' pack, charging it up, and knowing how to connect it. I keep telling myself that I should but never quite get around to it. The battery pack doesn't need to be massive (there's no starter motor to power) - just enough to allow the car to go into Ready mode and you are away again.

Hi, is there a jump-start pack you recommend (or at least won't kill me)for the Toyota CHR Hybrid - despite having the trickle charger plugged in, it has still ran out of batter!  I am at a bit of a loss but accept that over Christmas and the New Year it has hardly moved.   Thanks!

[philip42h]

51 minutes ago, Katm said:

Hi, is there a jump-start pack you recommend (or at least won't kill me)for the Toyota CHR Hybrid - despite having the trickle charger plugged in, it has still ran out of batter!  I am at a bit of a loss but accept that over Christmas and the New Year it has hardly moved.   Thanks!

I use a Noco Boost Sport - the link is to Halfords but there are other suppliers (and other jump start devices that will do the job). This is a modest sized unit but more than enough to get a Toyota hybrid into Ready mode (and save having to call out a breakdown service).

Is your trickle charger a mains or solar powered device? If the later, I don't recall seeing any sunshine over the past few weeks so it is unlikely to have had much opportunity to charge your Battery ... 😞 

[O.W.L.]

Just a note - the solar chargers don't need sunlight, just daylight. You can tell when the AA one I have is receiving sufficient daylight, as a blue light illuminates on the device. No idea whether other makes have this or not. It has the blue light coming on all through the daylight hours.

[Cyker]

They also are unlikely to keep a 12v charged indefinitely, just slow down the discharge, unless it's high summer and you are in direct sunlight!

One thing to note with solar is a lot of the light frequencies they work with are filtered out by most modern car glass, to stop the interior degrading as quickly, so their output efficiency will be worse than if they're outside, and lower than what they're rated at.

[Chrisg99]

On 4/3/2022 at 9:10 PM, Spo2 said:

Hi all

The 12v socket in C-HR :

1. Is it live after the car is off and locked? 

2. Is there a time delay function which makes it off later? 

Was thinking about a solar battery maintainer via 12v socket. Any recommendations for a litre CHR which has battery in the boot? 

The AA one that is generally for sale plugs into the OD socket under thew steering wheel.

[Roy124]

I have solar powered lights in my garden.  Two ran out of juice in December after dark and 6 hours on.  It had been particularly dark grey days.

I don't have a solar charger for the car but I do have a jumper pack.