Solar battery charger

[caper7]

I was wondering if it is standard equipment the solar charger for the battery

 

[Joe_Meehan]

It was at one time. The newer cars don't usually need it so they don't give it away anymore.

 

[2004STARWARSTDI]

solar charger

I believe the 2004 Jetta was the last year they included a solar charger.

 

[Harvieux]

I was wondering if it is standard equipment the solar charger for the battery

The later production - 06.5 A5's had their 12V DC recepticles disabled when ignition switch is off. This would eliminate it's use unless you changed the plug-in end with aligator clips and hooked it directly to the battery or rewired one of the recepticals direct. Later!

 

[buckeye96]

I got one for my 05.5.

 

[R-Sixxer]

My moms 05.5/06 had one. The dealership said they usually take them out before they hand the cars over. They're more of a batter tender than a charger.

 

[Jettageek1962]

I have one

I have one but my 2006 Jetta TDI did not come with it. My prior VW Golf Gasser had one but only after I complained to the dealer that it was not there upon delivery, but I knew it was there when I test drove the car. They gave me one to shut me up, none the less I have one now for the foreseable future. Never had to use it though.

 

[CoolWhiteDude]

There were quite a lot of them for sale on Ebay a while back. A friend of mine who works for VW gave me a dozen of the panels. I donated them to WWW.THE-MREA.org during the energy fair they have each June. They were the hottest item in the auction tent. They don't produce much power. VW originally wanted the dealers to send them back but later decided the reuse cost was too high and told the dealers to throw them out. Such a waste. I use mine to charge my cell phone.

 

[McNair]

I purchased my 06 TDI in April, and it came with one. The salesman told me it would trickle charge the battery when plugged into the DC recepticle. But, Harvieux brings up a good point I hadn't thought of. My DC recepticle does not work when the ignition is off.... so how will this be of any benefit to the battery?

 

[El Dobro]

The Volkswagen solar charger I have goes through the OBDII port to keep the battery up to snuff.

 

[Harvieux]

The Volkswagen solar charger I have goes through the OBDII port to keep the battery up to snuff.

I am not aware of this OBDII unit. Would you be so kind as to post a pic along with VW part # so we can all be enlightened? Later!

 

[TDIdenver]

See here:
http://vw.oempl.us/product_info.php?cPath=50&products_id=244&osCsid=55244d8090353c87ba2c84fec28fc73d

 

[El Dobro]

Yep, that's the one. Picked it up on eBay for $14. The number on the back of it is 1 CO 915 687D.

 

[Harvieux]

See here:
http://vw.oempl.us/product_info.php?cPath=50&products_id=244&osCsid=55244d8090353c87ba2c84fec28fc73d

Thanks, I just ordered one for my 06.5 A5. Later!

 

[srptdi]

my 05.5 came with one

 

[eli]

how dare anyone buy a TDI and not drive it often enough to keep the battery charged!? harumph.

 

[2004Nick]

Solar Battery Charger

These tiny solar modules useful for maintaining starting batteries in a parked vehicle, not much else. Batteries self-
discharge at a slow rate, nice to have something to offset
that discharge if parked for long periods (in the sun) Also
available at Creppy Tire and Mall-wart.

 

[Strider]

how dare anyone buy a TDI and not drive it often enough to keep the battery charged!? harumph.

Not that hard. If my car was a dog, she'd think she lived in the economy lot at the Airport. Since I bought it, my car has spent more time in the airport parking lot than in my own driveway.

But, thankfully, the Jetta has spoiled me. Every time I go on the road and wound up with your typical rental Chevy, Dodge, or Pontiac I thank my lucky stars that I have my Jetta to go home to. (yes, I'm single.. I admit it)

I just wish I could find a non-tinted sun roof. My thought is to integrate a solar array into the sun roof cover that you can pull closed and hard wire it into the vehicle's electrical system. Of course, in the summer, I don't know if I want to think about what kinds of temperatures the cells would be sitting at.

 

[GregoryB]

my dealer asked me how many I needed

 

[theFATman]

Sorry for posting the same thing twice.. i just got 4 of these:

SOLAR BATTERY TRICKLE CHARGER VW OEM ... powering an LED from the output of a halogen lamp.
can bus obd connector icp solar panel specs = POWER (Watts) 4.0 W
CURRENT (mA/A) 275mA
WEIGHT 2.3 lbs
DIMENSIONS 15 X 10 inches without suction cups
DIMENSIONS 16 1/4 X 11 inches with suction cups
THICKNESS 1/2 inch without suction cups
THICKNESS 1 1/2 with suction cups
(DOUBLE SIDED SUCTION CUPS)

but i read that these are for CAN bus.... does that mean that my 2000 alh jetta won't accept the juice.. i.e. do i need to solder on a cig adapter or does my OBD accept power from it? i can post the pinout quick if no one knows off hand.

 

[Tim Birney]

Odd, you hint that these things plug into the CAN-BUS...?

Not the power outlet?


(VW MKVs are CAN-BUS Cars)

 

[El Dobro]

Mine says, right on the box between the plug and the solar cells, for OBDII port.

 

[theFATman]

yeah, the new ones plug into the OBD port .. but what i read was some type of statement like "for vehicles with the can bus" (i can't seem to find the page again) but what i'm really wondering is if a 2000 alh jetta has the capability to accept power from this charger if it doesn't have can bus.. (cause it doesn't right?)

now that i've researched it a bit more i can summarize what i really want to know a bit better... what is the pinout for my car's obdII port and how does that correspond with the 2 pins present on the obd plug from the charger... does my car accept power to charge things through those spots?

here is my diagram of the connector looking at it as if the pins were facing you.. and the polarity of the pins as i found it with the multimeter.

from this perspective i mean

 

[El Dobro]

I use the charger on my '98 Seville. The two pins are in the same position.

 

[theFATman]

oh ok, cool, i guess it must work then. just wasn't sure if i was going to do some damage or what.


these things produce a fair amount of power in direct sunlight too... i tested it out yesterday with a sizable 12 volt fan. (.22 amps) It spun quite fast. I think if you connected one or two to a smaller gel-cell type 12v battery and added a cig lighter female plug you'd have a pretty nifty solar charger for all sorts of devices. I think we'll use them for camping this summer.

 

[SFHGolfTDI]

not to bump ancient threads, but i'm wondering if any of you users of these things know the answer. i just got one off of ebay and am trying to determine if it works. does anything light up on the little box by the connector? is there any kind of indicator? or do i need to take a multimeter to it? thanks.

 

[El Dobro]

not to bump ancient threads, but i'm wondering if any of you users of these things know the answer. i just got one off of ebay and am trying to determine if it works. does anything light up on the little box by the connector? is there any kind of indicator? or do i need to take a multimeter to it? thanks.

Nothing lights up, just test it with a multimeter.