[Azimov]

A couple of last thoughts here. One way to make your solar Zip more versatile would be to include a buffer cap. This should be in the 1F range and hooks directly to the positive and negative battery terminals the same as the solar array. This buffer cap will fit into the body cavity of the car and will add almost no weight to the project. The reason for this is that sometimes your car may run under a chair or the branches of a potted plant and find itself in a shady spot. With only the solar cell for power, it's dead as a doornail and you have to go fetch it. With the buffer cap, the car will feed off the capacitor for a second or two allowing you to get back into the sun. A diode should be placed on the negative rail to ensure that the buffer caps power doesn't feed back into the solar array. But, to be honest, I'm not sure this is needed. I've built many solar projects this way without the diode and have never had a feedback problem. But, the experts recommend one. Your car will behave a bit differently with this cap installed however. You will need to place the car in full sun for a minute or two until this cap fills up. Then, the car will behave normally as it sips juice from over the top of the cap while the cap remains full. When you hit a shady spot the solar output drops and the car runs off the cap until you get back into full sun.