Can I charge my electric car using solar panels if it’s cloudy?

I charge my electric car at home using a MyEnergi Zappi module connected to solar panels. It works well until a cloud passes over the sun, when the power drops out and the car — a Hyundai Kona Electric — switches itself off. I then need to disconnect the car and plug it back in again to restart the process. Is there a way round this? JP, London
We checked with Hyundai and apparently the shut off is normal operation for the car. There’s no solution in the vehicle settings. The easiest and potentially cheapest way to resolve it is to have the charger wired to the mains grid and fitted with an “uninterrupted power supply relay”. This will ensure power is always going to the vehicle.
As soon as the voltage from the solar charger drops below a certain level, the relay will instantly switch across to mains power. Once solar supply is restored, the relay can be set to switch back automatically.
Alternatively, if you want to stay off grid power altogether, you could have a power bank of batteries installed in series between the solar supply and the charger. The solar supply charges the batteries, and the batteries charge the car. When the solar supply drops, supply from the batteries would continue. A system like this is more expensive but has the benefit of storing up power from the sun.
The pump is clicking off at the petrol station — but my tank is still saying it’s only seven-eighths full. The car hire place let me off, but what’s going on? MH, Sutton
I suspect the fuel gauge sensor on the car is either faulty or the car needs to be driven a bit to recalibrate it. Car fuel gauges use several sensor inputs to stay accurate. The system compares readings to allow for level differences in the tank due to sloping ground, cornering and so on. Sometimes one can go awry and throw the result. If you can’t get the display to read “full”, there’s a good chance the hire company is already aware of the problem.
Greg Carter, technical specialist, the AA
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