On 12/02/2012 18:31, M.Joshi wrote:
Hello all,

I'm thinking of connecting a 12V 10W solar panel permanently to my
vehicle battery as I am not using it very often.

The battery keeps going flat in the cold weather.

What I wanted to know is if others have done this and whether there is a
danger of damage leaving the panel connected when starting the car?

The panel I am thinking of purchasing off eBay has a protection diode
built-in.




As others said, I wouldn't consider it. I tried using a similar sized
panel to maintain a car type battery running small lights in a stables
once. I had a clear view of sky, and carefully mounted it at the optimum
angle, and it still only gave a small fraction of the theoretical output
most of the time. Built in trickle charger is a much better bet.