During last tank I installed a solar panel to charge the battery (*) through a solar charger :
The voltmeter is connected to the consumer connections of the solar charger. The switch is between the solar panel and the charger.
The engine was off for several hours when the picture was taken and the sun at its highest.
The solar panel :
This one is a low cost panel that is only 13W in amorphous silicon, so I can't hope having more than 7-8W... here the charge was varying between 0.4 and 0.5A, ie between 5.2 and 6.6W.
Yes the glass is dirty
I tried to remove the old sticker but it's very sticky and stinky
When I drive, the solar panel is lowered and blocked with the baby seat
While driving with the voltmeter, I have been able to see that when I'm FASing the voltage is going down more slowly and at bump start it is going up more quickly, even if the power delivered by the panel is so small compared to the 4 * 15A * 12V = 720W that are used by the heat plugs during the 8 seconds they heat up at each FAS and each bump start...
This is more a geek project, but now I can say my car is a
- diesel - momentum - gravity - solar hybrid
(*) the battery was changed last autumn by a "mild hybrid battery" (OEM in some stop&start German diesel) : a 70Ah AGM one.
Have fun,
Denis.