400bird
Solar Wizard
I've got a Battery Tender 5 watt battery maintainer/trickle charger.
It isn't much, but it did keep the batteries in the truck charged between uses.
Well, the integrated controller died.
The led flashes yellow/green, which isn't in the manual for this version. On newer models that means it doesn't detect the 12v battery.
It's only 5 watts, but should I be worried about it overcharging the sealed starting batteries in the truck?
I was considering making a poor man's excuse for a charge controller by adding a diode to prevent reverse current flow (battery to panel) and a zener diode to limit PV output to 14 volts.
Thoughts? Am I miss representing what a zener diode is capable of?
Here's the zener diode I was looking at:
Battery Tender® 12V, 270mA, 5W Solar Battery Charger
Input: SunlightOutput: 12VDC, 0.270 Amp DC, 5 Watt MaxDC Cable Length 60", 20 AWG14"W X 16"L X 1"H approx.Weight: 3 lbs.12V Nominal Voltage 270 mAmpsSparkproofReverse Polarity ProtectionIncluded: Alligator Clips and mounting hardwareAgency approval: CE5 year warrantyCalifornia Residents WARNING...
www.batterytender.com
It isn't much, but it did keep the batteries in the truck charged between uses.
Well, the integrated controller died.
The led flashes yellow/green, which isn't in the manual for this version. On newer models that means it doesn't detect the 12v battery.
It's only 5 watts, but should I be worried about it overcharging the sealed starting batteries in the truck?
I was considering making a poor man's excuse for a charge controller by adding a diode to prevent reverse current flow (battery to panel) and a zener diode to limit PV output to 14 volts.
Thoughts? Am I miss representing what a zener diode is capable of?
Here's the zener diode I was looking at: