solar trickle charger and alternator - Page 2 - Toyota Yaris Forums

BailOut · 03-05-2009, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingdood

so just to be clear

when a solar trickle charger is used, the car battery is always fully charged, the amperage output of the alternator doesn't need to be increased, the engine doesn't need to work harder, and fuel is saved....correct?

Correct.

Shroomster · 03-05-2009, 05:23 PM

last I checked, unless there is a parasitic drain the battery is only actively engaged in the power circuit during starting

the alternator is supplying the power for everything else there after.

silver_echo · 03-05-2009, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingdood

so just to be clear

when a solar trickle charger is used, the car battery is always fully charged, the amperage output of the alternator doesn't need to be increased, the engine doesn't need to work harder, and fuel is saved....correct?

honestly, that depends on how much power you use when you run the car... it actually takes about 40 amps just to RUN a car... let alone the stereo, wipers, headlights, heater/ac, etc... however, in a perfect world, when you run nothing but the car, you might save gas, but with anything in life, you probably will not save a noticable amount of gas... also, the battery will be charged when you go to start the car, but it will use some power to start the car...

scape · 09-27-2009, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cali yaris

ah, cool, thanks.

I didn't know that the mechanical resistance increased or was variable.

electric motors are awesome like that :D

this might be of interest to some hypermillers...
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post109942
this guy just got a deepcycle bat and a switch to kill the alternator, he trickle charges the battery at home, some how ends up on top

TLyttle · 09-27-2009, 11:50 PM

Probably not a lot. Now that we have all these major advances in electronics (lights, sound systems, etc), alternators don't have much work to do as before. If you dumped the water pump off that belt and converted it to electric, you would gain quite a bit, but I doubt if you would notice the difference...

cali yaris · 09-28-2009, 02:32 AM

Quote:

If you dumped the water pump off that belt and converted it to electric, you would gain quite a bit, but I doubt if you would notice the difference...

did that.

talnlnky · 09-28-2009, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLyttle

Probably not a lot. Now that we have all these major advances in electronics (lights, sound systems, etc), alternators don't have much work to do as before. If you dumped the water pump off that belt and converted it to electric, you would gain quite a bit, but I doubt if you would notice the difference...

I gotta disagree with that.... the only thing that I will give you credit for when it comes to decreasing the load on the alternator is when people put in LED's to replace bulbs... some OEM's do that on certain lights... but usually you have to pay an arm & leg to do it aftermarket style.

Stereo's are no more efficient than they were 10 years ago.... and if you go back 25 years ago people were putting in smaller systems, and thus a smaller load.

The past 25 years has seen more and more electronics go into cars just to keep them turned on.... There is a ton of overhead spent electrically on computers....

Compare a domestic car from the 70's to a modern car.... Check the amperage draw while they are turned off... the 70's car will show about a milliamp due to a clock needing power... the modern car will be 5-20times that. That's when its turned off.

Furthermore... alternators in modern cars aren't built with as much headroom as they were 20+ years ago.

Things are getting harder.

1stToyota · 09-28-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingdood

hi,

I was thinking about buying a solar trickle charger to increase my FE, but then I realized that it wouldn't make a difference if the alternator for the Yaris was not load sensitive (alternator still runs when the battery is fully charged).

Does anyone know for sure if the alternator for the Yaris is load sensitive?

Is it a smart charger that knows to not overcharge the battery and shut off the charging cycle when it senses a fully charged battery? Unless you have a parasitic drain I wouldn't worry about it because most batteries I test show a surface charge on the battery even though they've been sitting for hours. If I connected a battery minder charger to the battery it'd just shut off because it'd see a fully-charged battery.

BailOut · 09-29-2009, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1stToyota

Is it a smart charger that knows to not overcharge the battery and shut off the charging cycle when it senses a fully charged battery?

Every solar trickle charger that I've seen uses a voltage-sensitive diode to prevent overcharging.

1stToyota · 09-29-2009, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BailOut

Every solar trickle charger that I've seen uses a voltage-sensitive diode to prevent overcharging.

Then it's probably not taking enough charge to get all goosed out about. You can charge a battery all day long at 15.5 volts but soon as you kill the power it'll drop back off to around 13 volts or less, so I can't imagine a solar powered battery minder being able to do much with an already fully charged battery...I assume the battery is in good condition, the charging system is working properly and no parasitic drainage.

basslover911 · 10-10-2009, 07:04 PM

Being a super hypermiller, yes this would work.

Over at ecomodder, the consensus of completely removing the alternator is of a gain in mpg's of 10%. yes those are real numbers tested in very effective ways.

So yes, that would work. BUT, I doubt solar panels (with their MAX current efficiency of only 16% could make enough power to replace the power needed).

Then what happens when its cloudy outside? If you only drive at night? etc etc etc

jambo101 · 10-11-2009, 06:40 AM

Dont those solar trickle chargers plug into the lighter socket? if so is the circuit still active when the car is turned off?

AlexNet0 · 10-11-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambo101

Dont those solar trickle chargers plug into the lighter socket? if so is the circuit still active when the car is turned off?

yes some plug in, some connect to the batter directly.

and no, when the key is off, the cigarette lighter circuit is not active.

basslover911 · 10-11-2009, 11:08 AM

For it to be beneficial it would have to be on the whole time (nothing major, a simple $40 charge controller online and a wire lead to the + and one to the - side of the battery and your done)... otherwise it would be a barely any help if you just have it while driving. The sun needs time and unless you ALWAYS drive between 11am and 2pm... your not getting the best of things.

Covering the whole roof/hood of my yaris is one of my objectives combined with a deep cycle battery on my way to completely remove the alternator- then I can remove the a/c and water pump pulley AND the crank pulley and replace those with electric motors (except the crank pulley, of course)

1stToyota · 10-12-2009, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by basslover911

For it to be beneficial it would have to be on the whole time (nothing major, a simple $40 charge controller online and a wire lead to the + and one to the - side of the battery and your done)... otherwise it would be a barely any help if you just have it while driving. The sun needs time and unless you ALWAYS drive between 11am and 2pm... your not getting the best of things.

Covering the whole roof/hood of my yaris is one of my objectives combined with a deep cycle battery on my way to completely remove the alternator- then I can remove the a/c and water pump pulley AND the crank pulley and replace those with electric motors (except the crank pulley, of course)

I'm not sure, but if I was going to toss the alternator, I might also just trash the A/C while I was at it...the same pink wire that goes to the ECU also tees off to the A/C amplifier

...OR I'd just be happy with what Toyota engineered and not make life anymore complicated.

Sabretooth · 10-12-2009, 04:02 PM

Honestly, wtf has the Prius done!?

Now everyone wants Solar power on their car!!!

10-12-2009, 04:02 PM	#34
Sabretooth 37HSSV View User's Garage Drives: '11 Mazdaspeed 3 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: St Cloud FL Posts: 1,395	Honestly, wtf has the Prius done!? Now everyone wants Solar power on their car!!! __________________ 07 Toyota Yaris Hatchback -sold- 11 Mazdaspeed 3 -SRI/TIP, 3 inch TBI, Custom FMIC, Tuned by Cobb Accessport, HKS ssq2 BOV, Upgraded HPFP- Clean stock look... Killer performance.

03-05-2009, 05:23 PM	#20
Shroomster '07 to '12:2 wipers to 1? View User's Garage Drives: '12 5-door LE & '14 5-door LE Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,999	last I checked, unless there is a parasitic drain the battery is only actively engaged in the power circuit during starting the alternator is supplying the power for everything else there after.

09-27-2009, 11:50 PM	#23
TLyttle Drives: 07 Yaris sedan Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Keremeos BC Posts: 986	Probably not a lot. Now that we have all these major advances in electronics (lights, sound systems, etc), alternators don't have much work to do as before. If you dumped the water pump off that belt and converted it to electric, you would gain quite a bit, but I doubt if you would notice the difference...

10-10-2009, 07:04 PM	#29
basslover911 Drives: Future Yaris! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 38	Being a super hypermiller, yes this would work. Over at ecomodder, the consensus of completely removing the alternator is of a gain in mpg's of 10%. yes those are real numbers tested in very effective ways. So yes, that would work. BUT, I doubt solar panels (with their MAX current efficiency of only 16% could make enough power to replace the power needed). Then what happens when its cloudy outside? If you only drive at night? etc etc etc

10-11-2009, 06:40 AM	#30
jambo101 Drives: yaris 08 sedan Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Montreal Canada Posts: 1,286	Dont those solar trickle chargers plug into the lighter socket? if so is the circuit still active when the car is turned off?

10-11-2009, 11:08 AM	#32
basslover911 Drives: Future Yaris! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 38	For it to be beneficial it would have to be on the whole time (nothing major, a simple $40 charge controller online and a wire lead to the + and one to the - side of the battery and your done)... otherwise it would be a barely any help if you just have it while driving. The sun needs time and unless you ALWAYS drive between 11am and 2pm... your not getting the best of things. Covering the whole roof/hood of my yaris is one of my objectives combined with a deep cycle battery on my way to completely remove the alternator- then I can remove the a/c and water pump pulley AND the crank pulley and replace those with electric motors (except the crank pulley, of course)