Member - Brenton W (SA) replied:

Hi Carl

I hope your batteries havnt been left flat for too long, i did with mine and and the battery was stuffed, deep cycle batteries need to be kept charged up.
I ended up changing my solar panel for a 130 watt one, also a small yamy geb set with a 25 amp ctech charger all works wel now keeps the beers cold !!!
hope that helps.
Brenton

Member - Josh (VIC) replied:

Deep cycle batteries when flat take a huge amount to charge, usually over a long period. Best charged with a 240 v charge on trickle charge. Could take a couple of days to charge. We had similar problem with ours, it took 2 1/2 days to get them back up on trickle charge. Can damage bats if trying to charge to quickly.

Josh

Mandrake replied:

Is there a controller / regulator between the solar panel and batteries ?

Also as stated above a new type CTEK charger / conditioner may bring the batteries back - but it will take a while if it does manage it ..

Rgds

Steve

Member - Sigmund (VIC) replied:

Yeah, you need a smart charger and one that suits the battery type. Ctek or Orcharge are good.

On the other hand it may just be coincidence and your batts are dead :-{

ABR - SIDEWINDER replied:

Carl your solar regulator would need approx 8V to activate so that may not work for you.

The car should bring the voltage up to a point where the solar regulator can take over but you actually need a good charger to try recover the batteries. (They may not recover) The cars regulator will not allow you to push the 14+ volts into those batteries that they need to re-charge.

I suggest you buy a good charger and if that does not work you will need new batteries. Look for one with PWM or a Desulfate step in the program.

Regards

Derek from ABR

Maîneÿ . . . replied:

Beach Dweller,
First things first.....

Why not take both batteries to a battery dealer and get them tested ?

If they are stuffed you will know, the dealer may put them on his HUGE battery charger, by normal standards, and recharge them for you if they are OK ?

Maîneÿ . . .

The Beach Dweller replied:

Thanks to everyone who helped you are all great ... managed to get 8v via a trickle charge into the batteries and the solar has taken over and charging nicely. back on the road soon for part of Terra Australis Take Two .. follow my blog: http://web.me.com/thebeachdweller .

thanks again and look forward to catching up somewhere in this great paddock

The Beach Dweller