Solar Panel

[DuckWon]

We bought a 2015 Sunseeker class C motorhome in 2916.

it is a 2650S-CDW. When we bought it one of the stickers by the door said it was “solar ready”. The sales people at the dealer did not say anything about a solar panel and did not know what the switch down by the floor, at the entrance, was. Located by the switch for the awning and it was a “toggle switch with a green cover” that turned it off when you pushed on it.

As it turns out the motorhome has a solar panel. We found out when we got it home… so we figure the “green switch” has something to do with the solar panel… but we don’t know what. We have been using the unit quite a bit … but are planning an extended trip so figured it was time to find out. There was no literature with the unit about the switch or the installed panel.

With the switch in the up position the batter indicator did not change and when in the down position … the same thing there is no change….

so we’re hoping that you might be able to shed some light on this and hopefully have some information.

thanks

[Duckogram]

I have 100w solar and no switch. But I do have a solar charge controller. Unless your solar is just a little battery maintainer, you have one too. That will tell you whats what with the battery.
Your controller and panel will have a name on it. You will need to go to the manufacturers website to learn more.
So what is the battery indicator you are referring to?
Did you purchase you unit new? If not, that mystery switch could be anything. I have not seen FR units that utilize a switch with a safety cover.
I see this is your first post in over two years. It’s a good practice to post photos. That way the gang can see what you are talking about even if you use terms that may not reflect specificity.

Edit: Quack

[sask]

I have a 2013 2650s cdw with factory solar.

Mine was based on ZAmp products.

The panel is roof top 40 Watts.

There is a safety style toggle switch with cover down at the stairwell which disconnects the panel from the charger.

Mine had 2 chargers in the battery compartment. They are quite small and colored black. I had 2 batteries in the stair well and I was a bit confused as to the 2 chargers. After some thinking and head scratching I realized that one of the chargers was routed to the chassis battery and one to the coach batteries.

I believe that the chargers are zs-6aw. No display. Supposed to be 3 stage charger.

Behind service panel to access the water heater bypass switches I also found a Samlex battery guard which prevents the coach batteries from being drained below a certain voltage.

One my system, the switch is on in the down position. It used to have a system maintenance label.

On some sunseekers the solar ready may mean that there is a solar port near the entrance door that allows an external solar panel to be plugged in... typically the panels sit on the ground.

If you have the same configuration as mine, the 40 watt panel will not do a lot of heavy charging. Since there are 2 charge controllers each using the output from the panel, there will be even less for the coach batteries. I would call this configuration more of a battery maintainer rather than something that would charge last nights usage.

I assume that you mention the battery indicator lights on the convenience center panel. A 40 watt solar panel will not change the readout on that panel.... it would take quite a while to recharge the batteries. You could disconnect the charger from the battery and use a voltage meter to verify if it is sending energy to the battery.

I have since upgraded to separate 150 Watts solar panel and better charge controller which I use to charge 3 group 24 coach batteries. This configuration will pump some energy into the batteries but not likely enough for a full evening and night of use. I would have to double or more of that capacity to have a chance of long term off the grid.

I use the original 40 watt to maintain my chassis battery.

Toggle


You can see the 2 zamp charge controllers at the top of step well


And the battery guard

[namusmc]

Originally Posted by DuckWon

We bought a 2015 Sunseeker class C motorhome in 2916.

it is a 2650S-CDW. When we bought it one of the stickers by the door said it was “solar ready”. The sales people at the dealer did not say anything about a solar panel and did not know what the switch down by the floor, at the entrance, was. Located by the switch for the awning and it was a “toggle switch with a green cover” that turned it off when you pushed on it.

As it turns out the motorhome has a solar panel. We found out when we got it home… so we figure the “green switch” has something to do with the solar panel… but we don’t know what. We have been using the unit quite a bit … but are planning an extended trip so figured it was time to find out. There was no literature with the unit about the switch or the installed panel.

With the switch in the up position the batter indicator did not change and when in the down position … the same thing there is no change….

so we’re hoping that you might be able to shed some light on this and hopefully have some information.

thanks

You may want to take a photo of the actual panel and any manufacturer's information to determine the output capacity of the panel. The term "solar ready" doesn't mean much.