My car battery goes dead if I don't start it every 2-3 days. I want to go away for 2 weeks or so.. would I be able to leave a solar battery charger hooked up to my auto for that amount of time?
I haven't bought one yet just collecting information right now.How long can you leave a solar battery charger hooked up to your auto?Its likely that you battery may just need to be replaced. Your battery should always start unless its been two months or more. If you battery was dead for a long period of time it may have sulfated in which case it will probably be cheapest to just replace it.
It may also be that your alternator is not charging it up. You can take it to a shop and see or you can measure the voltage with a cheep multimeter. It should be at or above 14v when the car is running(if not bad alternator) and 12.5v and above when the car is off( if not bad battery).
Multimeter:
http://www.aurorapower.net/products/cate
A solar charger is a good idea to make sure your battery stays topped of and never stays dead for a long time. A solar charger that costs less than $100 is not going to hurt your battery. Its power output is useful, but small compared to one that you plug into the wall. I wired a 15watt one into my old car permanently, it works great.How long can you leave a solar battery charger hooked up to your auto?I have heard that solar battery charger will over charge the battery in most cars. I would recommend disconnecting it to keep the charge in the battery. The downside to this is that you will loose the memory in your radio and computer.How long can you leave a solar battery charger hooked up to your auto?If your battery is going dead in 2 days, it's not holding a charge. Check the water level in it, or ask a friend to do so. It may have dried out.
If the solar panel is small, it might not be enough to even maintain the charge on your battery. I don't think there would be any danger of overcharge, those panels only put out about 1/2 to 1 amp anyway.
But if the battery is 7 or more years old, it would be better to go to Costco and get a new one for $50 or so, than to buy a solar battery charger. Or if the battery is new, then your car has a short in it someplace that is discharging the battery, like the rear window defroster or perhaps one of the lights. In that case, you should spend your money fixing the short.
