I have a 1995 325i convertible that gets part time use. It sometimes sits and the battery starts to wear down. Over Christmas I received a solar panel trickle charger for the car. It can plug into the cigarette lighter of the car to keep up the battery charge. Will this mechanism work in this car? I am wondering if the battery will receive charge when the power is off in the car, or will the circuit to the lighter only function with the car operating?
Plug something in when the car is parked with no key in the ignition and see if it gets power. Was it one of these? http://batterytender.com/5-watt-solar-panel.html I don't know all the ins/outs of battery charging or how a battery gets overcharged, but from their product description it would appear some means of not overcharging the battery is significant.
Until about 2007, most, if not all, BMWs had live doob-lighter circuits even when the key was off. That's why I have to manually turn off the Valentine 1 when I park. It's also why the Battery Tender works by plugging it into the lighter socket. The Battery Tender, for one, is a "smart" charger; it will not overcharge the battery.
Yes - the one I received looks very similar. I'll have to plug something in and see if it gets power. Thanks!
I'll take a look and see. The one I have also will not overcharge the battery. If it doesn't get power, I wonder if there is a work-around for that?
Plug your charger into this: http://batterytender.com/products/accessories/female-cigarette-adapter.html Connect that to either of these which you can connect to your battery: http://batterytender.com/products/accessories/ring-terminal-harness.html http://batterytender.com/products/accessories/alligator-clips.html Coming from one place, I assume these all would have compatible connectors. If yours won't overcharge the battery, then you won't need one of these: http://batterytender.com/products/accessories/battery-tender-solar-controller.html
