My bad Stuart S! I will delete the post. Whoops!

 

Nope, it's your bad only if you intended to do it. It's only human to make misteaks!

 

A permanently fixed Solar Charger
Though it's been months since the last post here, I find it the right thread rather starting a new,

The story: just got a 2014 XK and since I work from home, there will be long intervals of not driving her. Additionally, she will be parked outside, far from an outlet; except during some months I travel to Europe, where she will be in storage.
The theory: a Solar Charger for daily and a Trickle Charger for the month(s) long storage times. The later is an easy choice as well documented: a trickle charger like CTEK 3300. For the Solar option, I wanted something convenient and avoid the hassle of disconnecting / connecting every time.
The design: a NC (Normally Closed) relay at the Socket Accessory Rear plug at the Luggage Compartment - LH side, letting power flow from Solar to Battery and upon ACC power ON, to cut it off. So no physical disconnect.

Ancillaries Schematic with Relay for Solar Charger
The execution: I had a regular (40A - a bit overkill) automotive relay with socket ( ), got a with O Ring Terminal Harness and a fuse and a decent (under 10W - to avoid a regulator, with a protective diode and an led to show status). The polarity between 85 & 86 is not critical, when power applied from the ACC_PWR when I press the ignition button, the coil in the relay will pull the blade and disconnect the pins 30 - 87a. With ACC_PWR off (lock the car or about 20mins after shut off, the coil will return to NC (30 & 87a) and will keep the sun power flowing. The panel's internal diode will stop the car's battery flowing to the panel.
I made an optional cable with an standard 2 pin adapter on one end and 3x 1/4" (6mm) female spades on the other, connecting to the Rear Socket just the Ground (Black - N) and ACC Power (Red/White - WR) for easy disconnect to other projects in the future, Also, even disconnected, with an NC relay, power will flow. The included accessory socket cover can be taken off by pressing the (hidden from view) tab and pulling up. Then slide the spades in the positions as shown till they lock in the tabs about 1/8" (3mm) before the lip.



The result: in the compartment:



1. The Accessory Plug
2. The Relay
3. From the Solar Panel
4. My optional connector
5. SAE connector between the Solar Panel and the Harness,
Battery Power is from the Remote Battery Terminal on the floor of this compartment (under a rubber boot) and Ground at the post to the left of the connector. Note: I opted for this ground since it's near and the Amperage flowing limited. Follow Jaguar's recommendation and use the Ground Post on the floor of the spare tire compartment for Jumper Cables.

I have a Battery Tender Junior, in use for years in the winter on my motorcycle. But as a perk, I found a CTEK 3300 on ebay, chopped off - no terminals and the selection button non functional, for $20! Well, there are easy instructions online to open it up, clean the micro-switch and I added a SAE connector at the end to match the polarity of the harness above. One shot, two birds and easy to swap during the really long lay ups. Though both the CTEK and the Powoxi panel have polarity protection, better check twice with your multimeter before soldering your connections. The color coding on the schematic above corresponds to the relay cabling but once more, verify with what you got and... check polarity. I am not responsible for frying a Panel, a CTEK, fuses or your battery!



The panel sits on the rear shelf with Velcro, the cable runs behind the top of the left seat to the left luggage carpet panel and the led is clearly visible with the hatch closed facing straight up. Not perfect conditions even if the rear of your car faces south but you don't need much either. Starts yellow and some - unknown and relative to the sun shine - time later, gets green; unlock the car and gets red! Every new day I went to start her, it was green.




PS: This forum has been an invaluable help for me so far. I wish this post will help someone decide his/her options. With your help, I came up with couple more improvements, including a carplay on the ash tray and an OBD2 gauge to show Coolant Temperature.