Solar RC car

A rc car with two solar panels strapped up top for charging power. (Sorry no images) video coming soon. This is my first Instructable so be as honest as you can be

Step 1: Scavenge the parts

The first thing is to get the parts. You will need:

-Scavenged chargeable rc car (the bigger the better)
-two 12 volt solar panels (flexible is best)
-1-2 diodes (two if you recharge the controller battery)
-(optional) panel for controller that is close to its voltage
-(optional but recommended) old computer fan whatever size works

Tools:

-soldering iron
-solder
-wirestrippers
-duct tape

Comments

[solar car]

im also going to build a car thats solar powerd. would it be hard?

[epierce]

My solar powered electric trike actually has almost 1500 miles on it. The panels produce 15 watts at 24 volts. This will charge the batteries but will not run a 450watt motor. Hope that helps.

[solar car]

im building a solar powerd car for a show at a elmentry school...any tips?
nice car by the way

[marianhanna]

good

[frdmrckr]

Fans for Cooling, things got very hot sitting in the sun, was afraid of the battery pack getting damaged

[noor_karzon]

Why the fan?! What is the purpose ?!

[heavydeath]

how did u run the energy straight in to the car u didnt use rechargeble batterys

[starwarsfan]

he probably just hooked it up to the motor with no batteries

[frdmrckr]

The batteries were originally rechargable. I just threw a diode in and ran the solar panels to the same terminals the battery pluged into. It did charge them decently. That way if i did run into shade it still ran.

[Mr.NHRA]

I guess i should have read this b4 i made my solar hummer. Its basically the same thing because neither of ours runs directly of solar.

[frdmrckr]

well i also did run it without the batteries too. The batteries were a 9 volt rechargeable pack. The panel was 12 volts but the amperage was a little lower. it ran fine without them. Just the shade killed it...

[handywomanparty]

the fan is for cooling down the engine but he or she should of not used it because it is a small car and im not sure if it would get heated that much but if im wrong fell fre to correct me

[frdmrckr]

I used the fan to cool down the whole system. Sitting in the sun it got very hot and i was afraid of causing damage due to heat. its not needed

[2muchfreetime]

Great Idea! I'm going to try it with a frame rather than a whole car body. It might solve the speed issue. How much did your solar panels cost?

[the tech head]

now solar panels are cheap

[ReCreate]

They can cost from 60 to several hundred dollars

[frdmrckr]

Free. They were donated to me from a friend

[ReCreate]

Wow,A friend Gave you that?

[PCvsMac]

God bless your friend... I was going to do something like this but a bit more simple...

[Gary1995]

 i thought that r c care for a second was a ps3 with wheels

[knight2067]

Dangerous, but I might try with a r/c helicopter... Probably should keep the battery pack fully charged in case of cloud.

[ReCreate]

An RC helicopter Would not be able to hold it up,at all

[deathpod]

Radioshack sells small superlight silicone panels that put out .5v. I'm gonna try to afix an RC copter  with some to trickle charge the battery in flight.

[Glockenator]

the tag on that cable makes no sense

[stallionspirit8]

incredible instructable!
i have a school project to make one similar to this, and i was wonderingwhere you could get similar, cheap solar panels.
Thank you!

[Junkyardmaster14]

what is the size of the solar panel?

[santi]

where i buy the solar panel

[ReCreate]

You Can buy them somewhere for (If your really lucky) 60-300 bucks

[thepaul1993]

what is the fan for?

[ReCreate]

Wasting Electricity,We don't want it to go faster than 0.00000001 MPH

[gamefreek]

how fast dus it go. i bet is slow as hell
if you like R/C cars go tohttp://www.hpiracing.com/

[juanvi]

could you add pics of the nection of the solar panels with the car and diode, please?

[brightwhite]

thought I would post my instructable

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building_a_Solar_Powered_RC_car/

[FreshPineSent]

(removed by author or community request)

[FreshPineSent]

/sarcasm

[knarx]

Finally featured. I am glad to see this.

[neardood]

sorry, I don't get the comment on the far right in the first picture. I'm definately no spelling bee, but please can you at least proof read you're work? No hard feelings as its you're first

[neardood]

I get the controller, but not the car.

[neardood]

is teh fan for charging?

[Sandisk1duo]

Batteries don't like heat

[Dantex]

Why don't you enter "Discover Green Science Fair for a Better Planet" challenge. If you enter you got my vote!

[frdmrckr]

i will right now then thanks

[Patrik]

Nice! Any idea how much juice the car needs, versus how much the solar panels provide? How long do you need to charge, vs. how long does it take to discharge? Will this actually move, running on just the solar panel?

[frdmrckr]

The battery on the car is 9.6 volts. The panels put of 12 volts each and there both in parallel. It takes maybe about 15 to charge and runs close to 20 minutes. Yes it runs with just the panels but it tends to be slow and if it hits any shade it stops and I have to put it back in the shade

[frdmrckr]

i meant put it back in the sun

[TheWelfareWarrior]

I've thought about doing something like this... whats the rated wattage of the panels?

[PCvsMac]

Usually you can tell by how many strips there are. Usually 0.3V each strip

[frdmrckr]

Sorry but I don't know and I forgot what wattage was.

[TheWelfareWarrior]

what is the purpose of the fan? Don't solar panels work better if they are flat on top of the car?

[frdmrckr]

I had a problem with over heating when sitting the sun for long periods of time but now it doesn't. As for the solar panels they just ended up like that. I didn't plan that.