$20 Solar Battery Maintainer
I had one of these el cheapo gadgets laying around. So when we left a car in the garage for a few months while away, I plugged it into the cigar lighter and set the panel near a window. That lighter...
Forum Discussion
A while back I bought a 15 watt solar panel to keep my tractor battery charged. It was manufactured by Coleman, the lantern/stove people so I figured it was probably a decent unit for the really cheap price they were asking.
I put it on the tractor and checked the battery voltage a couple of days later to see how it was working, and the voltage was lower than when I started!
Pulled out the VOM and checked the output leads from the solar cell, ...and the polarity was reversed.
I'm guesing that the factory cranked out hundreds or thousands that were wired wrong and wholesaled them off to a discounter.
Reversed the leads and everything works fine.
I put it on the tractor and checked the battery voltage a couple of days later to see how it was working, and the voltage was lower than when I started!
Pulled out the VOM and checked the output leads from the solar cell, ...and the polarity was reversed.
I'm guesing that the factory cranked out hundreds or thousands that were wired wrong and wholesaled them off to a discounter.
Reversed the leads and everything works fine.
