cigarette lighter bypass

[B Ireland]

My wife has a 98 Voyager Expresso that she uses very infrequently, so much so that the battery is often dead when she wants to go out. To keep the battery at full charge I recently purchased a solar powered charger that charges the battery thru the cigarette lighter. The problem is that there is no power to the lighter unless the van is running and therefore no open line for the charger when the van is parked.
Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can solve this problem.

[gas28man]

Yes, there actually is a built-in, factory-approved solution for this problem. Refer to your owner's manual, or just look for yourself in the fuse box under the hood (on the driver's side inner fender) for the location of something called the IOD (or ignition-off draw) fuse. In my 96, it's the very last fuse in the back corner of the box, a little, red 10-amp. Your 98 should be identical, but double check the manual if you're unsure.

Pulling this fuse will reduce the draw on the battery when the van is in storage. You will still be able to start and drive the van with this fuse removed. It just disables accessories, but keeps an open circuit for driving and safety functions.

The only pain is you may need to reset your clock and your stereo presets. But what would you rather do: reset your clock and dial your own radio station, or try to get a jump start every time you go to use the vehicle?

I might add, though, that it takes a long time for a good battery to drain down from just sitting. Like, weeks to months, not days. Your problem might be reduced by putting in a fresh battery as well.

Good luck.

Rick

[B Ireland]

Tks Rick...will pulling this fuse allow me to charge the battery thru the lighter port
Brian

[gas28man]

Can't say for sure, but I doubt it, since I bet it disables the lighter port. You can check that by pulling the fuse, and plugging a device -- radar detector, iPod, whatever -- into the port and seeing if it still works. Try with both key-off and key-on and see what you get.

Good luck.

Rick

[B Ireland]

Tks for the input Rick...I went to see my friendly daeler and they sold me a bypass gizmo that replaces the relay in the fuse box for $8.00 and it provides power to the lighter port all the time without disabeling anything else. I guess there are a lot of us with this problem
Brian

[webbee]

What's the part number on the "gizmo"? If you please...

[B Ireland]

Sorry bout that...Part Name is "Relay" Part # is 82301039.

[webbee]

Thanks a bunch! I too would like to charge from a photo cell.

[acton mike]

I may be totally off the mark here but I suspect you have a parasitic power drain somewhere in the system

I do not think the power drawn by the onboard computer systems while the vehicle is shut down will drain the battery excpet over an enormous period of down time time

If I were you I would take a good look at the elelctrical system and look for the leak

[mcmotors]

wr :)

[B Ireland]

What does WR ;) mean??

[mcmotors]

I started posting then found out the anwser, could not delete and would not let me save edit changes unless there was a minimum of 2 letters, so here you have, Sorry