- First Name
- Gary
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2024
- Threads
- 18
- Messages
- 175
- Reaction score
- 123
- Location
- Costa Mesa CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2002 Ford Ranger FX4, 1969 Fairlane Cobra, 1970 2800CS BMW, 1961 Austin Healey S
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
- Thread starter
- #1
I have been working with my solar for charging when in remote wilderness to keep my refrigerator running, This is the first time I have taken a good look at the battery in my Bronco. The negative post looks like it would work on another battery but I am not sure the positive post is compatible with Optima (which has been my preference for the past 30 years or so). I did not disconnect it to investigate further but thought I would check here to see if anyone has tried other batteries.
I checked the voltage before connecting the solar and it read 12.2 V. That seemed low since the vehicle had been parked only 1 day since driving it a little over 20 miles. I don't use ASS either. I checked the voltage on an Optima that is in a vehicle that had been driven 6 miles before it was parked for 1 day. It had been parked for a week before that. It read 12.55 V. That battery is a little over 3 years old and my Bronco only has about 1,300 miles on it.
After I hooked up the solar, it got the Bronco battery to a full charge (~12.7V) in about 3 hours with the refrigerator running. The controller pretty much went into float charge after that. I disconnected the solar once the sun was not giving much energy anymore. I let the refrigerator cycle all night and in the morning the the power port had shut off but the refrigerator was still cold. The battery read 12.1 V at that point. I don't know if the battery has a low reserve or the Bronco also draws on the battery. The refrigerator does not draw that much and from what I was told is equivalent to a dome light being left on. I can usually run the refrigerator without a battery charge all day and night and still be able to start the vehicle.
I don't have room for a second battery so I need to figure out how to make one do the job like I have for many years. It doesn't look like the Ford battery up to it.
I checked the voltage before connecting the solar and it read 12.2 V. That seemed low since the vehicle had been parked only 1 day since driving it a little over 20 miles. I don't use ASS either. I checked the voltage on an Optima that is in a vehicle that had been driven 6 miles before it was parked for 1 day. It had been parked for a week before that. It read 12.55 V. That battery is a little over 3 years old and my Bronco only has about 1,300 miles on it.
After I hooked up the solar, it got the Bronco battery to a full charge (~12.7V) in about 3 hours with the refrigerator running. The controller pretty much went into float charge after that. I disconnected the solar once the sun was not giving much energy anymore. I let the refrigerator cycle all night and in the morning the the power port had shut off but the refrigerator was still cold. The battery read 12.1 V at that point. I don't know if the battery has a low reserve or the Bronco also draws on the battery. The refrigerator does not draw that much and from what I was told is equivalent to a dome light being left on. I can usually run the refrigerator without a battery charge all day and night and still be able to start the vehicle.
I don't have room for a second battery so I need to figure out how to make one do the job like I have for many years. It doesn't look like the Ford battery up to it.
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