ernieb

That’s a worry, particularly if it goes faulty just out of warranty!

The panel is very unlikely to go higher in voltage that 21v or so unloaded and as agreed the battery presents a massive regulation all by itself. Although I had considered a panel based on the original post on the subject the way my car is parked and the tinted glass really prohibits its use. None the less interesting for those who could use a suitable powerful enough panel (current) and may not be able to use the car to give it a charge boost from a 20 min drive.

Interesting concept and I can see the appeal. I’m on my third Subaru the previous two being Forresters. Thanks.

What is the scheme?

I think that typically most car alternators charge at a max of 14.5 v (ish), if it were to run up to 18 v plus it would boil the battery. As you suggest the low charge rate from the panel and probably higher impedance than the battery would give a high level of protection. I also think that an AA branded product is safe to use. Ernie

@SebP10, many thanks for all the effort you’ve put into this project, match appreciated. I've looked at some of the reviews of the AA solar charger on Amazon and others and a few suggested the voltage is very high and unregulated, one even said it blew the port circuit and caused damage to the panel. I’m always wary of some of these reviews and personally I’m not convinced as once connected the battery would act as a massive capacitor and be its own regulator. Any thoughts? Ernie

Thanks for the explanation, fully understand now. It’s so easy when your locked in your own bubble to record what you see, we all do that. I just appreciate the effort. I looked through my rear screen today and agree it’s looks pretty dark. However, after I’d shopped and was home I was opening the boot and looked at the carrier bags through the glass in the boot, cover not extended, and was surprised how bright and clear they looked.

Thanks again for the effort. I usually drive onto my drive and reverse off. The rear of the car facing SW and has a clear view of the sky until late into the day, In fact the front garden and the house is very hot on even just a bright day. These panels are meant to work with light rather than specifically the sun so in theory should function quite well. Not sure I follow your conclusion as you say that the panel produces 70ma on the parcel shelf so based on your estimate of a need to recover 80ma this would be reasonably good and boost the current when the cloud lifts. Your car orientation is similar to mine so would probably work well enough. i, like you, enjoy little technical projects it keeps the grey cells burning longer? as an aside my car is due it’s 2nd year service so I contacted the dealership and talked to the owner. He’s furloughed the staff till further notice and takes the calls and try’s to resolve warranty issues etc., though the Subaru dealerships that remain open. He said that Subaru UK will not enforce the time limit Usually associated with getting a service done during the course of the pandemic. The dealership will contact me to book a service once they are operational. Nice bloke he appears in the current Subaru magazine with a guys who was buying something like his 20th Subaru! thanks again. Ernie

Thanks appreciate the info and the offer of giving the system a test through the rear window, appreciate that.

Thanks for the link. Would the cable length be long enough to connect from the back window shelf. It’s the way I park the car and the sun direction?

That’s interesting, do you have a link for the one your purchased. ive only been doing a very short run to the supermarket so yesterday went out to top up the fuel, full tank less likelihood of water etc., and then did a longer circular route home to warm the tyres and charge the battery. The charger under lockdown may be a good idea for me also.

Sounds good

I purchased mine from Amazon a couple of years ago and that model is no longer available. It’s 18000ma with 800A peak starter current. It can charge phones etc., and spec’d for up to a 5ltr car? It was about £85 but to me worth every penny for the peace of mind and sits easily under the drivers seat with loads of room to spare. I’ve started a neighbours 2ltr automatic in the middle of winter with snow and ice all over the car. I firstly tried a standard 12v battery jump starter I had in the garage it did not even turn the engine over. The Lithium Ion starter was then tried, the car did not hesitate but fired first time. I brought in the other day as I’m hardly using the car except for the weekly shop which is only a few miles away and I wanted to be sure it would be fully charged if I needed it. Plugged it into a USB port and it started to charge but was complete in less than an hour so has held the charge remarkably well.

I have to say that coming the the Subaru XV forum from the Yeti one I was on with Briskoda was a real shock. The Yeti forum would post hundreds of posts in a week and was incredibly proactive. It’s non the less good to have some activity to share experiences of the car we opted to buy, the XV is a good car overall.

Sorry no experience although I have fitted some aero bars which I modified from my previous Skoda Yeti. Very quite even at motorway speeds.

Sounds like it’s a seal cracked so you should be good I think.

I now carry one of the lithium ion battery packs, small but very effective. I not, as yet, had to use it for my car but has worked very well on a couple of neighbours cars during the winter. I just keep it under the drivers seat it remains charged and ready to go for ages.

Should be covered unless it’s a hole in the condenser due to a stone or something similar.

As far as I know that many modern cars with an auto gearbox rev limit in neutral, 4k is normally the limit.

I’m getting an indicated 39mpg but checking against the pump records that’s about 35.6mpg. I do use the ACC a lot when on the motorway.

Agreed, seen it on YouTube. The boot space pretty restricted and not a great deal of battery range. The boot space on the pure petrol XV is not great in my opinion, the hybrid version (UK) it is more or less level with the door sill and from what I see of the PHEV it’s much more restricted. When I’d originally talked to the Subaru dealer about the new chassis design he’d indicated that there would be space for batteries in the floor pan but does not seem to have been correct. i guess any amount of battery to recover energy from breaking etc., is worth having but at what cost? I’ve just received a £2k offer from Subaru UK against the purchase of a new XV. Not likely to go for that right now.

I agree although I’ve driven the current hybrid model before it was launched on a test day. Appreciated the extras and the punchier feel to the drive, but no hybrid range, just a “mild” hybrid. I wonder how much heavier a PHEV XV would be and how on earth they’d fit a decent battery without a major impact on boot size. There is no doubt in my mind that the current all wheel drive might at some point have to be sacrificed for an electronic variant to reduce weight and and facilitate electric motors. Controversial I know but maybe provoke a wider discussion?

That’s a pain in the BTM, sorry can’t help with that one.

Very much cleaner than mine right now but exactly the same car. It’s one of the only cars fro many years that I’ve been able to drive for a few hours and get out feeling like I’d be happy to drive further. Enjoy

@kash0613 let us know what your first thoughts are when you’ve had a drive?