Copyright 2008 Michael Mc Grath POB 129 Hewitt,NJ 07421.

A close up of the regulator. It is a MorningStar SunGuard solar battery charge controller. You must use a regulator because solar panels can over volt your battery, damaging it. It cost $10 less than a replacement regulator for a P.O.S. ford I has to replace recently. Experts say that car regulators dont work properly for solar applications. A real tinkerer would not let that advice deter them from experimenting. However, I wanted trouble free maximum efficiency. Here's the specs on the regulator: system volts 12VDC, max soalr volts 30VDC, Rated solar input 4.5 amps,max input (5 min) 5.5 amps,min operating volts 6VDC, self consumption 6 milliamps! This thing uses PWM technology. I highly recommend it for 35 bucks. This thing put 14.38 volts into the battery under ideal conditions. This is an actual reading I made myself. It has a temperture compensation circut. That is why I mounted it near the battery on the disconnect load switch upright. It has a reverse current leakage of less than 10 microamps. No need for a blocking diode. It is completely expoxy encapsulated. It has four wires sticking out of it. Two black, one red and one yellow. It was very simple to connect. The instructions were brief and complete. It was foolproof (I should know!). Of course morons and idiots should not attempt to make solar carts.