Seeking best plan for a solar panel battery maintainer hookup.

[Ryom]

I have a 24 hybrid and it has an AGM battery and at this point I have had no problems with it. Sometimes it sits for a week and sometimes a day and no battery problems. Some days a few short trips and no battery problems. I did purchase a portable jump starter just in case and have never needed it so far. Don’t overthink this because most people ( but not all) here report problems not good things.

I have a 25 Hybrid and recently took a week long vacation. No problem starting it up after it was sitting for the entire week.

The app allows scheduling recurring remote starts, you can have the vehicle run for 5 minutes every few days if you're really concerned about keeping the battery charged.

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[heady]

It's not that they stay hot forever but stay hot for up to 90 minutes OR until the 12v soc drops to 12.1v. (= faster to get to sleep time) if nothing is drawing current the cig port is turned off sooner. Also the manual says to not charge battery using the cig style port, use the jump points.

In that case it would make sense to run an always on connection to the dash location, charging through a switched connection won't work of course, also pretty easy and quite functional to add such a connection too; good for dash cam parking monitoring and many other tasks including a solar charger. You could add a standard 12V power socket, Anderson power pole panel mount, DC barrel jack, whatever you'd prefer really. It's a shame they neutered the 12V socket, even my relatively new Ford van has the always on power point.

I wouldn't try the remote start for battery maintenance, it it's far too short a duration to float a battery properly, and you lose the benefit of holding the battery at float for long duration, which is what really prevents sulfation. The plug in battery maintainers are best at 24/7 for the cells, and solar would be the next best to give you hours per day on float. Any time a battery is sitting, it's sulfating, slowly but surely - and the more discharged, the faster it degrades. Below 12.4V at rest the batteries begin to age significantly faster, and for every 10F above room temp the natural self-discharge rate of lead acid chemistry doubles.

 

[gzmn5m]

I have a 2023 Lariat hybrid. I have the battery tender solar charger, which comes with an inline fuse. ( https://a.co/d/dDjHIHU ) I ordered the battery tender unit because I have always had good luck with them. There are others that are cheaper and/or have higher amperage ratings if you want to search and look at customer reviews.

I originally hooked it up thru the OBD2 port, which stays active even after 90 minutes. ( I ordered this one https://a.co/d/7GSkoLz but there are probably others that have a 2 pole connector and you can eliminate the cigarette lighter plug and wiring that comes with the battery tender.)

I just put the solar panel on the dash or used the suction cups inside the window and above the sunscreen that I use when it is sunny/hot outside. I don't drive my car much at all during the week (retired) and seldom during the winter. It worked great in the summer, less reliably in the winter. If you drive a good distance every weekend you should be fine, especially if you are on a sunnier climate (I'm in Michigan).

Eventually, I ran a different connection direct to the battery under the back seat. I got tied off unplugging the things from the OBD2 port when I was driving, or because the OBD2 connector hung down and hit my leg. I found a you tube video that showed how to access the battery and it was straightforward. ( ) I only had to remove the battery access cover. I connected the negative lead to the stud on the floor where the negative lead of the battery is grounded, and the positive lead to a bolt on the positive connector. Connecting the negative lead on the stud that grounds the battery insured that you are on the correct side of the Battery Monitoring Sensor ( will give you a bunch of information about the sensor and why placement of the connection on the current side of the sensor is important, also on why it is necessary). It was a bit difficult to get at the stud, but with deep wall sockets, extensions, and some long reach forceps I managed to get it connected.

I did drill one small hole in part of the plastic surround to run the wire out from under the seat, and then ran it up under the mats and past the console side of the driver's seat.

Hope that helps.

BTW, I have heard but can't confirm that the 2025 hybrids have fewer issues with the 12 battery draining, so you might want to try it for a while before you spend money and time. I used my Maverick for about a year before I bought the solar charger.

 

[gzmn5m]

I have a 2023 Lariat hybrid. I have the battery tender solar charger, which comes with an inline fuse. ( https://a.co/d/dDjHIHU ) I ordered the battery tender unit because I have always had good luck with them. There are others that are cheaper and/or have higher amperage ratings if you want to search and look at customer reviews.

I originally hooked it up thru the OBD2 port, which stays active even after 90 minutes. ( I ordered this one https://a.co/d/7GSkoLz but there are probably others that have a 2 pole connector and you can eliminate the cigarette lighter plug and wiring that comes with the battery tender.)

I just put the solar panel on the dash or used the suction cups inside the window and above the sunscreen that I use when it is sunny/hot outside. I don't drive my car much at all during the week (retired) and seldom during the winter. It worked great in the summer, less reliably in the winter. If you drive a good distance every weekend you should be fine, especially if you are on a sunnier climate (I'm in Michigan).

Eventually, I ran a different connection direct to the battery under the back seat. I got tied off unplugging the things from the OBD2 port when I was driving, or because the OBD2 connector hung down and hit my leg. I found a you tube video that showed how to access the battery and it was straightforward. ( ) I only had to remove the battery access cover. I connected the negative lead to the stud on the floor where the negative lead of the battery is grounded, and the positive lead to a bolt on the positive connector. Connecting the negative lead on the stud that grounds the battery insured that you are on the correct side of the Battery Monitoring Sensor ( will give you a bunch of information about the sensor and why placement of the connection on the current side of the sensor is important, also on why it is necessary). It was a bit difficult to get at the stud, but with deep wall sockets, extensions, and some long reach forceps I managed to get it connected.

I did drill one small hole in part of the plastic surround to run the wire out from under the seat, and then ran it up under the mats and past the console side of the driver's seat.

Hope that helps.

BTW, I have heard but can't confirm that the 2025 hybrids have fewer issues with the 12 battery draining, so you might want to try it for a while before you spend money and time. I used my Maverick for about a year before I bought the solar charger.

Sorry, did this on my phone. Noticed several typos/fat fingers. Hopefully it makes sense

 

[MakinDoForNow]

In that case it would make sense to run an always on connection to the dash location, charging through a switched connection won't work of course, also pretty easy and quite functional to add such a connection too; good for dash cam parking monitoring and many other tasks including a solar charger. You could add a standard 12V power socket, Anderson power pole panel mount, DC barrel jack, whatever you'd prefer really. It's a shame they neutered the 12V socket, even my relatively new Ford van has the always on power point.

I wouldn't try the remote start for battery maintenance, it it's far too short a duration to float a battery properly, and you lose the benefit of holding the battery at float for long duration, which is what really prevents sulfation. The plug in battery maintainers are best at 24/7 for the cells, and solar would be the next best to give you hours per day on float. Any time a battery is sitting, it's sulfating, slowly but surely - and the more discharged, the faster it degrades. Below 12.4V at rest the batteries begin to age significantly faster, and for every 10F above room temp the natural self-discharge rate of lead acid chemistry doubles.

Amen.... I have 2022 with about 4800 miles, (the backup doesn't get driven much), the lariat (both are hybrid) has 40,100 miles, which had the OEM 390cca battery replaced with a bad cell at 35 months of age. Took in for test near end of 3/36 warranty with 29k+ miles. Replaced with 470cca MAX series battery. Drove the backup for about 8-9 days while new battery was on noco g5 getting it's initial 100% float followed by optimization. I leave hood up with noco on jump posts so I can check 12v soc without even unlocking door if wanted. After the 3rd day I will open driver's door and shut it without even getting in then lock the truck, ( just in case the new battery installed or charged routine will repeat and if so maybe the BMS will update a table with battery conditions. The battery learn is apparently delayed some so the noco has some time to float and optimize before learn happens several times in a row, who knows what a young whippersnapper programmer who has seen how to charge in a textbook has programmed. Gotta adjust charge routine for number of service days battery has seen.). Back to the standby with the original 390cca 12v. It has been about 5 weeks since it has seen noco. Yesterday after sitting 6-8 days 12v was down to 12.1v, I drove 14.5 miles into town parked for 3 hours and drove home opened hood and locked truck (Did Not put noco on). I just went out and my jump post reading after sitting 26 hours was 12.8 volts. Ford does claim the battery is "enhanced". This is why I believe it's more the bms or programming. My battery soc will drop about 0.1 v per day. I am thinking I may see if I can set up the truck to ready status for five minutes per day and see if that would keep 12v at more than 12.5v or wherever. Seems like I read auto start cannot happen more than 2 or 3 times without being driven.
Have a good day.

 

[commadorebob]

I don't have a hybrid, but if you are going to be driving every weekend, I don't know if a battery maintainer is necessary. I drive my truck mostly only on weekends and I don't bother with a maintainer. Given they should all have AGMs at this point, I'm not sure you should waste your time.

That said, they sell some cheap ones at Harbor Freight. They have a built in regulator to keep the solar panel from turning into a power draw at night. It is only 100W, but for what you are trying to do, that should be plenty.

 

[Daveinva]

Again, really appreciate all the helpful feedback here on the thread. I figure I can play chicken with the battery for a while and hope for the best, but it's great to have options if I start to find myself in annoying land.

 

[Ryom]

I wouldn't try the remote start for battery maintenance, it it's far too short a duration to float a battery properly, and you lose the benefit of holding the battery at float for long duration, which is what really prevents sulfation.

It's more about making sure your vehicle will start after extended sitting than battery maintenance, if you don't have float chargers. Keeping it topped up that way will be better for the health as well than jumping it after extended sitting.

 

[sunglint]

To add to some of the responses...
Check the diy solar forum, one of the best resources on the net (like this site is), guaranteed someone else is doing what you want, and already made all the mistakes. There is an entire section on RVs, and at least one other Maverick owner was talking about doing this. Will Prowse runs the site and has an excellent youtube channel.
A Victron MPPT charge controller will cost less than $100 and it's about as good as it gets. Figure out how much solar panel you can get, then get the controller that fits that voltage. The new CIGS solar panels are flexible, expensive and nearly indestructible, hobotech (another great YouTube channel) shot one 5 times and still got 90% Rated power. You can get them with tape that will stick at highway speeds, and they will literally protect your truck from hail.
I feel sure that the windshield will block a lot of the energy. I tried one of the new Harbor Freight 100w panels, they seem quite tough, but do NOT buy their charge controllers, they're older PWM and have dismal performance. The panel was decent, there are better but HF is so easy to get to. I haven't tried it yet with the Victron I bought but I have high hopes. I'm pretty sure that I can get 200w of solar panels using CIGS, add the charge controller and a DC breaker.

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