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[ExtremeTJ]

Do these work on a 2004 TJ?

[chrisjones]

Don't really know much about them, but I'd have thought that it would be down to panel size/battery capactity.

Can't see anything else making much of a difference.

Considering the size of panels you can buy for charging handheld GPS and mobile phones etc.  I'd have thought you'd need a fair old photovoltaic to charge a Jeep battery though.

[Anonymous]

To my knowlege, they will JUST keep a battery topped up with natural discharge, I think it was maplin that quoted ~ 170 of the ones you see regularly on Ebay to charge a car battery in 12h or something like that.

Give you a rough idea, on the yachts I used to work on, they used to have a couple of ~4x3' panels as a top-up and you still had to run the engines for about an hour a day to top the batteries up.

EE

[ExtremeTJ]

Not to charge it from flat Chris, just to keep it topped up, it's just now I have a company car and the TJ is lying in the drive for days on end not being driven. I had this problem before and I ended up handing back the company motor and just using the truck for work.....................goes down a treat especially on a monday when you have been froading at the weekend.

[chrisjones]

Then I can't see anything special about a TJ that would mean you can't use one.

Think I'd just take the truck for a quick spin every couple of days though.

Having said that if ya' battery's going dead after 3 or 4 days it's loosing more charge than it should,more than a trickle charger is going to be able to cope with I'd have thought.

[ExtremeTJ]

I know, I am just wondering if something could be draining the battery, I dont think it is the winch as I have a seperate cut off switch for that.

[Anonymous]

I remember mike saying about an IOD fuse you could pull (Ignition Off Draw) that might help. CB would be another culprit I'd check for.

You should be pulling less than 10a with the ign off. in which case, most multimeters have a 10A current port to check the draw.

So..

make sure ignition is off (And the winch)
Pull a lead off the battery (I'd use Pos, but I think you can use Neg too)
Put the meter on the lead you have pulled off and the other lead between the meter and battery terminal (note that if using Pos, both leads will be pos, if Neg, both leads will be neg and there is no polarity to worry about)

This should give you the draw. now start pulling fuses until it goes to 0. you may find that if the draw is less than 1A you may be able to get a much better reading using the standard amp meter connection and not the 10A connection on the meter. That will at least let you know the circuit that it's drawing from.

Don't forget to remove the meter and reconnect the lead before turning the ignition (or anything else) on. 10A is not a lot at 12v.

EE

[MK1]

10A is not a lot at 12v.

I'm not sure about that ED.

A 10A draw equates to 120w of power. what is gonna use that with the ignition off? Also if you think about a typical 60A/h battery then 10A is too high.

[Anonymous]

I was talking about turning things on with the meter in place, I think just the IGN coil may draw more than 10A Turning the Headlamps on will certainly take you to the limit. more to re-enforce taking the meter out first.

EE

[MK1]

 

[Anonymous]

Okay, in a nutshell, you leave the meter "In Circuit" and try starting the engine, fuse will pop in the meter and all stops....

Leave the meter in, and turn the headlights on with the IGN on, Fuse will pop.

Even turning the radio on loud may pop the fuse with a decent radio!

You're only putting the meter in with the IGN off and seeing what draws power while switched off.... Make sure you REMOVE the meter before trying anything else as you'll pop the fuse in the meter....

EE  

[MK1]

How does that help detect a current draw with the vehicle parked up?

[Anonymous]

Because you are looking for Ign off draw... ie, a draw when everything is turned off... therefore the current should stay below 10A and not pop the fuse in this state... but REMEMBER to remove the meter before trying to turn anything on.

[Bat Fastard]

Richard,
Does your battery go completely flat or just not enough to turn the motor over?
I know the battery is quite new and has not had a lot of abuse.
I would make sure the terminals are clean as are the posts.
Check they are tight also.
Give it a proper charge and see how you go.
It does not take much to degrade a 12v connection, and a bad connection stops full charging and full output.

A solar trickle charger will not do any harm..... and it is another toy to have.

PS you have the same CB as mine and I have to disconnect it or it does flatten the battery.

[Anonymous]

also remember that you'll need a permanent live to plug it too, the fag lighter on a TJ is ignition controlled so you'll get nothing to the battery when the jeep is turned off.