bp-guy Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 OK here is the problem I just found on my motorhome. I have a light inside the coach that tells me when the solar charger is active. All my batteries are just about dead so it should be pulling something from it right???? I go up top (its mounted to the A/C unit) and wired inside from there, and I see that it is cracked into about 6 pieces. Ok no big deal I have another one in the garage I can just splice the old end onto the new charger and be right back in there. I do that and check with a volt meter and I am getting 23 volts at the new solar panel end before hooking it up. I go inside after hooking it up and no light! I check all fuses and they are good. My question now is where to look and is 23 volts too much? I am not sure what the old one was rated at, it was all faded out. Thanks Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris1223 Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Yes, this is an acceptable voltage - Every 4x4 inch section creates about .5 volts, so if 16sqin puts out .5 volts, 144sqin(12x12) will put out 2 volts, and a panel 3ftx5ft would put out 30volts - you also have to factor age, quality, etc in the loop to give you +/-. The charge controller is where you get your regulation and to stop a "backfeed" (Panel using the electricity when not providing). The controllers are based on the wattage being fed to it (W=VxA) I would check the other panel in sunlight to see whats it is putting out, and if so I would look in to the controller. There are really only two parts to this system. Timmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy <--sorry had to do it..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bp-guy Posted April 4, 2007 Author Share Posted April 4, 2007 Yes, this is an acceptable voltage - Every 4x4 inch section creates about .5 volts, so if 16sqin puts out .5 volts, 144sqin(12x12) will put out 2 volts, and a panel 3ftx5ft would put out 30volts - you also have to factor age, quality, etc in the loop to give you +/-. The charge controller is where you get your regulation and to stop a "backfeed" (Panel using the electricity when not providing). The controllers are based on the wattage being fed to it (W=VxA) I would check the other panel in sunlight to see whats it is putting out, and if so I would look in to the controller. There are really only two parts to this system. Timmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy <--sorry had to do it..... The old charger was broken due to damage so I thought it was a replacement fix but it turns out it wasn't. The 23 volts was in full sunlight on the replacement panel. Where do they hide the controller in most motorhomes? Don't sweat the TIMMMMMMMMMY remark, that is the theme of my new rail being built. "South Park" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris1223 Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 The old charger was broken due to damage so I thought it was a replacement fix but it turns out it wasn't. The 23 volts was in full sunlight on the replacement panel. Where do they hide the controller in most motorhomes? Don't sweat the TIMMMMMMMMMY remark, that is the theme of my new rail being built. "South Park" It can be anywhere, but if the person(s) installing it had any sense, it would be by the converter or the battery bank. they are not really that big, maybe 3"x5" - it should be the thing with the light on it, unless your converter, charger, etc are all one unit. If there is something on the light or converter like a model number, reply with it so I can get a better understanding of your system. The converter should be the panel with your breakers and fuses on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris1223 Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 This may help a little - http://www.morningstarcorp.com/products/Su...enchTesting.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bp-guy Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 (edited) It can be anywhere, but if the person(s) installing it had any sense, it would be by the converter or the battery bank. they are not really that big, maybe 3"x5" - it should be the thing with the light on it, unless your converter, charger, etc are all one unit. If there is something on the light or converter like a model number, reply with it so I can get a better understanding of your system. The converter should be the panel with your breakers and fuses on it. thanks for jogging my memory. I totally forgot about the panel by the dinette area. I will check that out. All other fuses are good. I will let you know what I find out. Well all the fuses and circuit breakers there are not broke or tripped. But also none are for the Solar Charger either. In the front is what I believe your talking about. All the batteries come to here and there is a 5 amp fuse for solar charger in there as well. Edited April 5, 2007 by bpguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris1223 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 (edited) thanks for jogging my memory. I totally forgot about the panel by the dinette area. I will check that out. All other fuses are good. I will let you know what I find out. Well all the fuses and circuit breakers there are not broke or tripped. But also none are for the Solar Charger either. In the front is what I believe your talking about. All the batteries come to here and there is a 5 amp fuse for solar charger in there as well. This is your isolator assembly - And where your solar connects to the batteries to charge - The upper left is the isolator delay relay - Blue wire goes to the ignition source, Red and Black go to your isolator solenoid to do the switching between main and aux batteries, and the rest is just protection in the form of fuses and circuit breakers. Do you happen to have a toner(Wire tracer) avalible? There should be a small box before the "solar panel" fuse that is the charge controller. The whole setup should go as follows - Solar Panel Leads +- --------> Charge Controller --------> Solar Panel Fuse --------> Battery Bank Diagram --> http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/images/yago93-4.gif (You may not have the load terminals on you controller, but you will have solar +/- and battery +/-) I would think that the controller would be out of the elements, unlike the panel in the picture. The indicator light that you usally see when the solar is functioning correctly - where is it located? On the panel that gives you status on your battery power inside the MH, or is it independent? You have located all of the connection points - Input(Solar Panels), Output(Battery Bank/"Solar Panel" fuse), and Indicator lamp. All of this stuff will tie into a common component which will be your solar charge controller. Give me a call(702-525-7525) when you have a few minutes in front of it - it might be easier to locate it that way. Edited April 6, 2007 by chris1223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bp-guy Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 I really appreciate all the help your giving me. I will try to locate the controller. The indicator light is located on the A/C unit on the inside of the motorhome. Just a quick look up and I can tell if it is charging or not. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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