Solar charger on OBD2

CanJIm · January 30, 2021

Does anyone know if the OBD2 on my 450h is live with the vehicle off? I bought a solar charger with an OBD2 connector.

Herbie · January 31, 2021

Yes it is, but you may find that the solar panel doesn't do much good. It really depends on which one you went for but some of them just can't output enough power.

CanJIm · January 31, 2021

I bought a Coleman 3.5 watt. Seemed to do okay in the summer. But now it's the winter so it has to cope with minus 20 and snow covered or frosted windshield.

Good to know that the circuitry is good. With the covid lockdowns the car doesn't get driven a lot, maybe once a week which is barely enough to keep the Battery topped up.

Thanks for your comment.

Gliderpilot · January 31, 2021

I have a long and narrow 12W panel which I tie wrapped to the roof bars when I left it for a long period in lockdown 1 in the UK.

CanJIm · January 31, 2021

Thanks, good to know. I maybe went a little light on the wattage. Roof mounting might not work too well for me because of the snow and cold. Good to know about the OBD@ connection. Where did you find out about it? I've searched all over.

Herbie · January 31, 2021

1 hour ago, CanJIm said:

Good to know about the OBD@ connection. Where did you find out about it? I've searched all over.

OBD2 is an industry standard, so no matter what car you have you can be sure it's the same as this pinout. There are some manufacturer-specific codes and connections but the basics will all be the same.