BatmobileX

I leave my car in Florida and come back once a month for a weekend at a time. I currently use a solar panel in the windshield to keep the battery charged. It's worked pretty well, although the heat has started to warp the device. In addition, I'm concerned about salt and sand etc. (I live near the ocean) harming the car. I'm considering buying a car cover to a) keep the inside cool and hopefully stop the warping of the solar panel; and b) protecting the paint, etc. from sand and salt damage. All of the car covers I've seen completely cover the car, windshield included. Does anyone know of a car cover that leaves the windshield exposed? I have searched all over Google and no luck.

Barry2522

Nobody would make a car cover with the windshield exposed .As far as charging the battery ,a good battery will last more than a month without being used . I dont see the need to keep a charger on it if you use it every month . Maybe just disconnect it when you leave .

BatmobileX

LOL I would not know the first thing about how to disconnect a battery, but you do bring up an interesting point. Does anyone know how long you can keep a 2010 RX350 without starting it and not have a dead battery?

ColAngus

If you want the inside of your car to be as hot as possible, leave the windshield uncovered and drape a blanket over the rest of the car!
Abandon this idea, immediately.

My guess is about 3 months; BUT, that will wear the battery out much faster and lead to its death in "only" five years rather than 10... Who cares, they're $100...

salimshah

Check out trickle chargers.

Safety requires monitoring the charging. You can buy cheap ones around $5.00 and have it on timer to charge 2 hrs a day. Just make sure that the battery does not go dry {heat and excessive charging are the culprits]

Salim

BatmobileX

I think you missed part of my post. I already have a solar panel and it works great. I'm trying to keep the car cool and also protect it from the elements. I'm trying to find a windowless car cover.

mcomer

Create and attach a pocket for the panel with heavy clear plastic to the outside of the car cover
and slip the cord though a small hole to reach the battery. Panel can now go anywhere such as
the roof to get better rays.

lexusrus

I'm just worried about the solar charger over heating UNATTENDED AND CATCHING ON FIRE.

mcomer

Call Enterprise Rent-A-Car and find out who made the cover with open windshield they used in their ads 5 years ago...LOL!

lexusrus

I've seen car covers with factory cut little window with hard plastic sewn in at the top center near the rear view mirror area for people to put their parking decals to be seen at a glance. So this may work for the solar panel charger? Just need to secure the solar panel to the windshield at the small opening?

Still I'm worried about risk of fire should the solar panel charger malfunctions unattended?

ColAngus

The main issue is that you have no issue. The battery will not discharge in only one month. Stop using your solar charger and buy a car cover.
The second issue is that even if you found the magic car cover (without a windshield covering), the temp inside the car would be even higher than without the cover.
The third issue is that there is no issue that a small solar charger will catch fire atop the car cover. (You should be more worried about it getting stolen).
Hope this helps.

tus

If power is available I would ditch the solar charger and get a plug in battery tender. I use them on my seldom driven cars and have 2 batteries that are around 10 years old and pass the load test every spring.

Over the years I've found that car battery life is more a function of how many times and how deep the things get cycled. If they're always kept at near full charge they last quite a bit longer. My personal record is the original AGM battery in my 91 Miata that lasted 21 years. It was always on a tender in the winter and got driven at least 80 miles a day 5 days a week as my DD.

As far as a car cover goes, I'm not a big fan of having one on a car that is stored out doors. The problem is any condensation and moisture that happens to get inside a water proof cover will stay there since there will be little if any airflow. Things will start to corrode. The worst examples of this are cars that are outside and on gravel, dirt, or too close to any water (like the ocean) with a water proof cover on it.

lexusrus

Who would have guessed a Samsung Galaxy S7 or any cell phone exploding and catches on fire? How about the airlines prohibits putting ANY lithium batteries in checked luggage?

I just don't like to leave things like that in a car unattended.

I have left my cars a month at a time in airports. The only time I find my battery is dead is bc all the noise and vibrations set off my car alarm and drain my battery. So I try to park a little further away from all the commotions.

BatmobileX

Hope it's okay to resurrect this thread. Well I have news. After 5 years of leaving my car outside in FL with my solar panel in the window, coming back in town every few months (actually almost a year went by during COVID), I have found that the solar panel works great to keep the battery charged while I'm away.

BUT, there was a glitch. It really has nothing to do with the solar panel itself but more about keeping the car parked under an oleander tree for long periods of time (safest place around my condo because leeward side and concrete wall offers some protection from hurricanes. I came back after a torrential storm and found the inside of the car had an odd smell and the floor wet and upon starting the car, the check engine light and traction light came on.

Long story short, the sun roof drains had gotten plugged with the oleanders and other debris, and the water couldn't escape and ended up shorting out the electrical system. So right now it's in for repairs and mold remediation and I am adamant THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. I will keep the car covered but again wondering about the solar panel and this time I happened upon this product that allows for a built-in window anywhere you like.

http://www.carcovers.org/window/

Has anyone used such a product for any reason, such as for license plate, etc? Any thoughts? Thanks.