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Old 04-10-2019, 07:52 PM   #1
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Solar Panels and Battery

On our Forest River Forester we have solar panels which work great. Just wanting to know if they will continue working, charging the battery, if the main electrical switch to the RV is turned off?
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Old 04-10-2019, 08:30 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by rhamilton View Post
On our Forest River Forester we have solar panels which work great. Just wanting to know if they will continue working, charging the battery, if the main electrical switch to the RV is turned off?
All RVs are wired differently. Turn off your switch and see if the battery voltage changes while it's charging with solar. I have mine so that it charges with the battery disconnect off. I also don't want the solar supplying power to the RV if the battery disconnect is off.
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Old 04-10-2019, 08:55 PM   #3
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All RVs are wired differently. Turn off your switch and see if the battery voltage changes while it's charging with solar. I have mine so that it charges with the battery disconnect off. I also don't want the solar supplying power to the RV if the battery disconnect is off.

Thanks,


I will check that out, since my RV is parked at home. Switch is on now, and I'll turn it off after checking the batter voltage, and then re-check the voltage after a week or so. Thanks Again!!!
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Old 04-10-2019, 09:40 PM   #4
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Thanks,


I will check that out, since my RV is parked at home. Switch is on now, and I'll turn it off after checking the batter voltage, and then re-check the voltage after a week or so. Thanks Again!!!
Wait until full sun and check with and without the switch on. Can figure it out immediately.
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Old 04-11-2019, 12:38 PM   #5
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It is my belief, based on what I’ve read (and two personal cases of damaging a controller) that one should always disconnect the panels prior to disconnecting the battery that is being charged.
In my case now the controller is hooked up to charge the house batteries directly with no real need to disconnect.
I have damaged two controllers by blindly disconnecting the batteries for whatever reason. This is solved by disconnecting the panels first.
Maybe by now there is circuitry built into the controllers that will prevent damage when batteries are disconnected first or connected last. It’s an easy thing to forget.

Craig
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Old 04-11-2019, 01:26 PM   #6
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Forester solar

My solar panel on my Forester 2017 3011DS charges the battery with the battery switch turned off. I’m using a 45 watt Zampsolar panel and it keeps the battery at 100%
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Old 04-11-2019, 02:57 PM   #7
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Depends on how you're hooked up.

Integrated solar is likely to be on the "wrong" side of the disconnect switch. This would be ZAMP an the equivalent. Your situation may vary depending on the whims of the RV manufacturer, but if the wires disappear into the body of the RV and connect to a portable panel/charge controller, it's likely that they will tie in on the wrong side of the disconnect.

Better: aftermarket installations should and typically do connect directly to the battery. Solar runs in parallel to the RV's connection to the battery. No muss, no fuss. No switches, no transfer switches needed. The coach disconnect is on the right side of the solar connection to enable you to charge the battery while the coach is disconnected.

Furthermore, there's no conflict with the solar panel pushing power at the converter/charger system while the battery is disconnected. The battery serves as a "load" and buffer on the solar output, and without it, your solar is feeding its output, say 7 amps or so, straight at the "wrong" end of the converter.

If you need to remove the battery, all cables are disconnected from the battery simultaneously. All you need to do is ensure that the solar charge controller output isn't still unintentionally connected to the coach feed cables so that solar is not pushing power to the coach's converter/charger. This is a natural condition of removing several separate wires from a battery, and you'd have to work at it to make a circuit between the solar and the coach circuit. Use a clothes pin to secure the solar panel cables to the side of the battery box an let the rest hang free.

Connecting solar straight to the battery is the best way to ensure your solar is always charging and conditioning the battery. It's also usually the shortest path with the least loss.

If you like your factory solar connection (ZAMP or other), bear in mind that it has no charge controller. Find the wiring and reroute it straight to the battery. Safely terminate the ends of the wire that disappear into the walls on the way to the converter and forget about them. While you're at it, you can add a first class charge controller in your baggage bay near the ZAMP connector. That'll set you back less than $50. This creates a "set it and forget it" system that won't give you any headaches and no worries about trashing your converter if you forget to disconnect solar when you disconnect the battery from the coach. If your suitcase panel has a built-in charge controller you can opt to use it (and not install a new one in the coach) or bypass it and rely on a good one that can handle several panels if you upgrade in the future.
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Old 04-11-2019, 03:43 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rhamilton View Post
On our Forest River Forester we have solar panels which work great. Just wanting to know if they will continue working, charging the battery, if the main electrical switch to the RV is turned off?
What system do you have ? I have a 200 watt system waiting to be put on. On our old RV I had the output of the solar controller right to the batteries. No problems.
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Old 04-11-2019, 05:01 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by trumpetmood View Post
It is my belief, based on what I’ve read (and two personal cases of damaging a controller) that one should always disconnect the panels prior to disconnecting the battery that is being charged.
In my case now the controller is hooked up to charge the house batteries directly with no real need to disconnect.
I have damaged two controllers by blindly disconnecting the batteries for whatever reason. This is solved by disconnecting the panels first.
Maybe by now there is circuitry built into the controllers that will prevent damage when batteries are disconnected first or connected last. It’s an easy thing to forget.

Craig
That is correct for many controllers. According to Victron, as long as you force the voltage to either 12 or 24 v you are ok with theirs but others have other requirements.
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