I don't live in a house so I cannot run a cord to my car. Years ago, my neighbor had a solar charger that he placed on top of the dash and plugged into the cigarette lighter. It kept the battery charged thru the winter.

Im sure that electronics have changed over time but can that still be done today with modern pushbutton starts??? Looking to get one for a Honda Ridgeline and Pilot. What is the alternative to keeping them changer over a long period of time??

Is your car equipped with a cigarette lighter or power port that’s “hot” when the ignition is off? If not, you’re probably going to need to do some wiring to provide that.

I have a Coleman solar battery charger purchased from Tractor Supply on an old car that seldom gets driven and it seems to be working. Amazon offers a dizzying variety of solar battery chargers for vehicles too.

It depends on the specific vehicle's circuit from the lighter to the battery and proper rated AWG wiring as well as fused protection of the circuit.

In other words, while there may be "solutions" for sale, the warranty/guaranty of the product and it's use any your specific application is an unknown. (I am not a fan of "back feeding" a circuit)

Last thing you want is an unattended situation where a "wire fire" can be the result, and no one or anything to be a failsafe.


I have several classic vehicles and all of them are "battery isolated", so even with "tenders" connected, the car's electrical systems are isolated and no risk to "wire fires". And the facility is active monitored 24x7 for any fire/smoke risks.

Stick with one of the companies that does it best
https://www.batterytender.com/solar-panels

They can work ok with plenty of sunlight, I use one on our boat when away for more than a week or two.

One thing to consider is anywhere that has enough direct sunlight to make this work will also be exposed, and subject to wind. Need to plan how to secure this.

Coming back to a fully charged battery in a boat or car that has paint/fiberglass/windows bashed all to shit isn't going to feel like a win.

^^^According to the example in the OP, he's talking about putting the solar charger 'in' the car, NOT on the car!

for keeping a battery "topped off" this seems like a good idea.