Who cares who said what first? What are we, 12 years old? That fact is right up there for all to see.
I’m not sure why, but when I agree, disagree, or flag a post, my avatar appears at the bottom of the post, while others remain anonymous. At least nobody can claim I’m doing anything untoward. When I disagree with anyone or flag a post as off-topic, everyone knows it was me.
It seems to depend on which outlet you plug into whether you get power to the battery. You need to be in the front console power outlet. As said, power needs to be regulated not to overcharge the battery. Overcharging would cook the battery.
Does anyone else have experience with pre digital age wiring diagrams? Although wires were difficult to trace, the relationship of components and bundled harnesses could be understood. Diagrams today only depict the function of components and the color of the wires. A quick understanding of the circuit in question can be depicted but the actual wiring is much more complex and interconnected than the diagrams show.
@RodKnox
I’m afraid I don’t follow you
I’m familiar with old-school wiring diagrams . . . I’m talking about physical books
I’m also familiar with factory wiring diagrams online
“The actual wiring is much more complex and interconnected . . .”
Please elaborate. I’ve usually had pretty good luck when using ETMs
@RodKnox … Isn’t the wiring not shown on the wiring diagrams only for the wiring inside the modules; i.e. on the printed circuit boards & the like? All of the physical wires running through the wring harness are shown aren’t they, with the wire color and AWG? Or do you mean there are wires in the harness running around the car that aren’t shown in the diagrams?
Same issue with a 2007 but only 3 days… was gone for a month prior so I tried the tender and had the same experience with the radio etc. after some reading I found that my center console outlet is not powered without the key.
The solar tender will not be a solution for my monthly extended work trips…
I suggest you find an “always hot” wire under the dash and install a connector under there that’s out of the way but easy to reach.
That’s what I’ve done on my car with a 10 watt panel that sits on the dash.
If you can’t DIY a shop that installs aftermarket alarms or sound systems can do it.
Heh heh. Oh well 7 years, it’s water under the bridge. Just confirms that even given 7 years to read the posts, they don’t always get read first. Same as owner’s manuals I guess.
Actually that has not been anything I’ve thought about but outside or wiring a new outlet, I suppose a booster would be good to have on hand but constantly boosting a dead battery will not be good for it. I remember shutting my computer down before vacation and then coming home and finding the thing on. What happened was the power went out and when it came on again it triggered the on button for the computer. Switching to a power supply takes care of that.
I still stand by that comment 
I suspect many owner’s manuals aren’t even removed from the plastic wrapping . . .
A solar battery tender will work fine in your application. You just need to connect it directly to the battery. It’s pretty easy. You put the solar charger on the dashboard where the sun can shine on it, you run the power cable out the door and under the top of the hood, and connect it directly to the battery terminals. It shouldn’t be a thick cable, so it shouldn’t damage your door seal. Nonetheless, I always ran my power cord out the door at the bottom, keeping it away from the door hinge so it doesn’t get damaged.
By running the cable to the battery by threading it through the top of the hood lid near the windshield, closing the hood shouldn’t damage the cable.
With a fuse at the battery end, please! Perhaps 2A for a 10 watt panel.
Otherwise, you might come back to a pile of ashes.
I don’t think you can buy the attachment for the end of the cable that doesn’t have a fuse. My solar trickle charger came with two of such attachments, one to permanently connect to a battery, and one with large alligator clips. Both had fuses.
Yeah, but a DIYer could extend the cord with plain wire.
Then the fuse ends up in the middle of the run.
For safety, the fuse needs to be as close as possible to the battery.