4x4 Action Group

... A few years ago , while traveling around the Richterveld an Isuzus KB250 alternator packed up.
... We put his 100W Solar panel on the roof and
wired it up to his battery and travelled another 10 days like that .
... Evidently another guy in a Ford also had an alternator problem recently, also in the Richterveld , and successfully did the same ....

I think it can be an effective remedy only if your fuel pump does draw too many amps and if theres not too much other electrical stuff on draw...
... Larger fuel-injection diesel vehicles with
HP in-tank pumps may not be good candidates for this alternative.

Wired to the battery how?
Via a solar controller?

100W is around 8.3Amp. For a solar panel that means you are lucky at 6Amp. You will need a few hours head start to charge. If an older mechanical diesel pump yes maybe. With new ECU common rail engines you will have limited driving time before the battery is drained. But yes that could be enough to get you to help

A few years ago I did an Aus Walvis Bay Namib desert trip. On the first day the alternator gave out on one of the guides' Land Cruiser. An older one so I guess it probably had a mechanical pump. He connected a solar panel and did the rest of the trip on this alone. The vehicle was jump started in the morning. Don't have specifics of size of panel or how it was connected. All I know is that it worked for 4 days

Mad Manny wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 11:17 am

Wired to the battery how?
Via a solar controller?

... Its best to wire it via a Solar Controllar to
limit feed current to about 14.5v (typically down from 18v on 100w panel) and 5-6A
... but most folk with Solar Panels naturally
have these...
... and dont park in the shade once back at camp ... ...
As Grips implies probably also need build up the battery charge over daylight hours at camp before travelling each day ...