New car + Breakdown

[Hugh R]

When I get my Jazz Mk 4 EX next month it has to be parked in the street, so no chance of a mains trickle charge.  I have a car 4v. solar panel which i put on the windscreen of my current ICE car (Mercedes 2009 A160 - the car that started the Jazz methinks.) This is plugged into the Mercedes OBD2 port.

Can someone please tell me if it will still be ok to connect the solar panel via the OBD2 port?  Thanks.

[culzean]

When I get my Jazz Mk 4 EX next month it has to be parked in the street, so no chance of a mains trickle charge.  I have a car 4v. solar panel which i put on the windscreen of my current ICE car (Mercedes 2009 A160 - the car that started the Jazz methinks.) This is plugged into the Mercedes OBD2 port.

Can someone please tell me if it will still be ok to connect the solar panel via the OBD2 port?  Thanks.

Seems that the 12V battery powers the ECU, which has power on when ignition off,  so connecting solar panel to OBD port should logically charge the 12 battery,  it is one of those things you have to try... go on, you know you want to !

[Jocko]

Can someone please tell me if it will still be ok to connect the solar panel via the OBD2 port?

OBD2 is a standard and the pinouts should be the same on all ICE vehicles, hybrid or otherwise (EVs don't need an OBD port so they use different connections on the cars that have them). 16 is +12v and 4 is chassis/Ground.

[nowster]

And yet the handbook describes how to jump start the car with a dead 12v battery. Same as a conventional car.

That section has been changed in the 22MY handbook. The heading is now "If the 12-Volt Battery Is Dead"

Is that the one that's in landscape orientation rather than the portrait of the MY21 one?

[Mellorshark]

PDF download from
https://honda.co.uk/cars/owners/manuals-and-guides/honda-owners-manuals.html

[culzean]

Can someone please tell me if it will still be ok to connect the solar panel via the OBD2 port?

OBD2 is a standard and the pinouts should be the same on all ICE vehicles, hybrid or otherwise (EVs don't need an OBD port so they use different connections on the cars that have them). 16 is +12v and 4 is chassis/Ground.

You can buy ready made SAE to OBD port loom to allow either a battery charger or solar panel to be connected.

By the sound of it Hugh R already has this setup... was just asking if he could use it on his new car, the only way is to try it.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-accessories/ring-obd-power-cable-for-solar-battery-maintainers-983932.html

[Jocko]

By the sound of it Hugh R already has this setup... was just asking if he could use it on his new car,

I know that. I was just showing him that OBD2 is a standard and should be the same on his new car.

[Hugh R]

By the sound of it Hugh R already has this setup... was just asking if he could use it on his new car,

I know that. I was just showing him that OBD2 is a standard and should be the same on his new car.

Thanks everyone for your good advice. To be as clear as I can: I have not yet taken delivery of the car and don't even know if there is an OBD2 port - but when I get the car (because the 12v.battery clearly needs to be watched) I just want to know IF there IS an OBD2 port and IF I plug my solar charger into it, I would not blow the fuses, invalidate the guarantee or something far worse! 

[Bristol_Crosstar]

There is an "accessory power socket" 12V which I assume is similar to the old cigarette lighter socket, it's described on P231 of the latest handbook. It says it's rated at 180 watts (15 amps) or less.

[nowster]

There is an "accessory power socket" 12V which I assume is similar to the old cigarette lighter socket, it's described on P231 of the latest handbook. It says it's rated at 180 watts (15 amps) or less.

The difference with the socket is that if you were to put a real cigarette lighter in it, you'd probably melt the socket.

[Kremmen]

It would be nice if there was a hidden accessory power socket or 2 so we could wire in a dashcam and SatNav easily and mostly invisible.

[ColinB]

The accessory power socket isn't live when the car is switched off (at least on the MK3, assumed same on the MK4). So for battery charging with a solar panel you have to use the OBD socket, or add extra wiring leading under the bonnet.

[nowster]

The "lighter socket" is off when the car is off in the Mk4, too. I most recently used it for a cooler box which can run off both 12V and 240V.

[John Ratsey]

Thanks everyone for your good advice. To be as clear as I can: I have not yet taken delivery of the car and don't even know if there is an OBD2 port - but when I get the car (because the 12v.battery clearly needs to be watched) I just want to know IF there IS an OBD2 port and IF I plug my solar charger into it, I would not blow the fuses, invalidate the guarantee or something far worse!

Connecting a solar charger to the OBD2 socket is effectively no different to connecting the solar charger directly to the 12V battery. While the small print in the book probably recommends disconnecting the battery before connecting a charger, in reality I don't think that anyone with a modern charger heeds that advice.

IIRC the handbook recommends running the vehicle for 1/2 hour every three months to keep the batteries charged.

[BestwoodRoadie]

In reply to my first post, it went back nine to the dealers the next day, even though the battery "righted itself".
It had a diagnostic check and an update through the diagnostic result, one of these was the update to connect the telematics which were not working so I couldn't install the My Honda + process, which is, I think, now installed.
Regarding the battery I was told that I should have switched on whilst 'messing" with getting familiar withe all the tech stuff as this resulted in the flat battery.
I did a couple of hundred miles touring round Yorkshire as I was told the battery would normalise with being used like this not just short stop/start trips. All seems ok now, so fingers crossed.