I have an 04 VW Jetta that came with a solar panel that plugs into the cigarette lighter. Does this charge the battery? I forgot to ask the previous owner, and it does not say on the actual solar panel.
Sorry if this is a dumb or obvious question but I know nothing of cars, and no one else seems to know the answer.
Thanks for any help.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
uh that would be a “yes” to your question. All it does is trickle charge the battery. I take it you leave it on your dash to block out the sun like a normal screen.
Its a good thing to have, but your battery wont last forever. You will still have to swap out a new battery every few years; for example if the battery is a five year battery, get a new one after about four years. Give or take a few months, its better to have a margin of safety, than to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere just because you have a dead battery.
It “trickle charges” your car’s 12v battery.
It won’t replace a substantial loss of energy from your battery, but it helps a little at keeping it topped off if you aren’t pulling too many amps while driving.
Leave it plugged in. Can’t hurt.
As others have said it is a trickle charger, but much of the other information they provided is wrong.
There is no reason why you can’t expect a full life out of a battery if properly maintained. That is if it is a wet cell battery you maintain the fluid in it with distilled water and have a charger/conditioner on it once a year. The trickle charger you have really isn’t needed unless you leave your vehicle parked for long periods of time. VAG/VW (Volkswagen Automotive Group) started sending those chargers with their vehicles so the battery did not die when it sat on a storage/auto lot before they were sold.
I honestly wouldn’t really worry about using it unless you leave it parked for long periods. (we are talking weeks).
I am providing a link on how to properly check/service your battery.