Quote:
Originally Posted by drmiller100
I think you'd be money ahead to set up a relay to where the alternator only charges when the your foot is on the brake pedal, or when the voltage drops below some set number - maybe 12.0 or something.
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Thanks Dr. Miller for your point about the alt and the design of the battery. That's what I thought people would say, but I wanted confirmation. I understand about the relay you mention too. And I considered it. But I rarely use my brakes with the car running. I have an alt cutoff switch, partly thanks to your input. I want to run the alt very rarely if at all and charge from the grid and the sun. I figure it might be worth $120/year to me to run this way if I can learn to do it properly. I intend to drive this car for many years more (11 years already).
I'm not looking for "money ahead" from each mod. I am motivated by the learning and the experience and seek only to more or less break even on the mods/hypermiling in total, over time. Separately, learning to maintain and repair the car myself is part of the deal and saves me cash. Next to payments on a new used car, this is cheaper, more entertaining, and more interesting.
Anyone have a recommendation for a charge controller? I really need that. And how might I wire it alongside the grid plug-in supplied by the Odyssey on-board charger?