Jeep Fixed and Going Solar, Sorta

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Evan received the PCM for the Jeep on Saturday, put it in and gave it a test drive.  The verdict is, it is now fixed and almost ready for travel.  Have one more item to look at before it is ready to pull. 

When plugged into the MH and I move the turn signal to indicate a right turn, both the rear lights blink.  Doesn’t do that when I move the turn signal to indicate a left turn.  Googled the problem, and It says to check the ground, then the bulb and lastly the turn signal switch.  Gonna do that if it ever warms enough to go outside.

So, I am on target to leave here next Tuesday afternoon.  The plan is leave after the grandkids get out of school and the parents get off work.  More on that next Tuesday.

Got a Flu shot on Monday and also worked my next to last day on Monday.  Work 5 hours on Saturday and then I will be officially retired from working for a living.  I will then live off of State Farm and the Government.

As if I don’t have enough to get ready for the journey, I went out to Amazon.Com and purchased:

1. Power Bright APS600-12 Pure Sine 600 Watt continuous / 1000 watt Peak Power Inverter. 
2. RenogyⓇ Foldable 100W Solar Suitcase Battery Charger that includes a
3. 10A built in 4-stage solar charge controller with LCD display and fully adjustable parameters setting
4. RioRand LCD Digital 7.5V-20V Voltage Panel Meter Voltmeter   

My logic for buying this is:

• Last year, I replaced two almost new 95 amp/hr wet cell batteries with five AGM 105 amp/hr batteries.  For the past year, I have kept them both charged while just sitting in my garage.
• Didn’t want to just get rid of them, so decided to use the batteries to charge my laptop and phones.
• But the main reason is to learn how solar works and make my mistakes with a small investment.

I will now have two chassis battery systems. 

1. One powered by the MH engine, land line or generator. 
2. The second will be solar powered with a battery charger back-up using the first option.

I am hoping the solar system will allow me to use the generator less often.  Last year, I used the generator for about two hours each morning to make it through the remainder of the day on battery power.  I averaged 6 amps/hr. and the major amp users were the TV, laptop and charging all our gadgets.  This year, I will not use the TV as often as Dolly did, and hopefully the solar panel can keep up with my laptop and accessories.  We shall see.  I am sure I will learn some things and that is the main reason I am doing this

Lost at cards, but watching my favorite TV program “Survivor”.

See you later.