Quote:
Originally Posted by stylus
I have a 96 Tercel, I have not done any kind of alternator mod but I do have an idea of how long my car will run with a dead alternator. My commute to work is 15-18mi each way (depending on path). I can run my car back and forth at least 3-4 days before the battery is weak enough to cause a problem. It took me a few weeks to get it all straightened out becasue I got a defective replacement alt from the parts store and I didn't have time to swap it out again.
My problem with this type of mod is that Energy = Energy. If you are not charging your battery using the alt, and you charge it from the grid you are still paying for the energy on your electricity bill instead (likely at a "cheaper rate").
Also isn't a battery charger plugged in to a car battery for 8-10hrs at a time going to waste energy once the battery is "full". Kind of like people complaining about leaving cell phone chargers plugged in 24/7 even if they are not charging the phone.
Yes I can see that if you are able to maintain the battery with a solar panel you are ahead of the game.
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If you get a good charger it will go into "maintain mode" and only give short bursts of power to keep the battery topped up. I have one of those "killowatt" appliance testers that plug into your wall and then you plug your appliance into it. I can test what the drain over a few days will be for you, because I have an on board maintainer for my CRV as it sits outside in the cold most of winter, and I rarely drive it. The maintainer works flawlessly, and in the dead of winter i hop in, and it fires right up, so I know the maintainer does its job.