Need Help With These Wires For Solar?

[Diesel67]

I’m adding solar to my Palomino HS-8801 and it’s solar ready… I found the wires labeled for solar, “white wires” and “orange wires with white stripe”.. The 2 wires I marked in the picture was already hooked to one of the batteries, and they come up with the other 2 wires that I was holding… I bought the camper new.

Which wires would hookup to the charge controller?…And does 2 wires need to be hooked up to the other battery? (So it will charge)…Need both to charge.

Does the batteries need to be wired together, but not parallel to make 24 volt?

I have everything.. Charger controller, panels, circuit breakers, Y-Branch connectors for 3 panels.

I just need some help with the wires and what wires go to the other battery.

Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[TitanMike]

Hard to see how your batteries are actually connected. These are group 24 --12v batteries and should be connected in parallel. Not in series as that's for 6-volt batteries in order to obtain standard 12v for RV's.

Would help to know where white and orange wires on left of first picture go.

More info needed in order to offer advice.

Where does each wire connected to each battery go, for example.

 

[Diesel67]

Hard to see how your batteries are actually connected. These are group 24 --12v batteries and should be connected in parallel. Not in series as that's for 6-volt batteries in order to obtain standard 12v for RV's.

Would help to know where white and orange wires on left of first picture go.

More info needed in order to offer advice.

Where does each wire connected to each battery go, for example.

Thanks for the reply!
The white and orange wires come down inside the wall behind the fridge from the roof and they have the wires running behind the jackknife sofa to where the batteries are. … Then an orange wire and white wire is hooked to “one battery”… Then the 2 wires comes from the battery up to where I’m holding the wires with the wire nuts.. An orange wire goes to the “left wire nut” with the other orange wire, and 1 white wire on the “right wire nut” is hooked to the battery.. Other white wire on right side is not hooked to anything, just wired together with white wire.

So, the 2 wires I have circled “orange wire and white wire“ is hooked to the left battery that has a red fuse holder.

The other battery doesn’t have any orange or white wires, it only has a red positive and black negative.. (I’m confused why the other battery wasn’t hooked up with a red/black wire?).. If it didn’t have an orange and white wire, it would just be sitting there with nothing hooked to it.

Trying my best to explain.. It will be later today before I can look at it again and take more pictures if needed.

So, from what you are saying, I need to wire the 2 batteries in parallel to get 24V?.. Just like you would do for a 24V trolling motor?

Thanks for the reply!.. I really appreciate it because this is confusing, especially from Palomino!

 

[Aussieguy]

Nooooo 24v wiring

confirm what battery voltage you get from the battery (main output cables)
the position of the 2 batteries ......mirror imaged is off putting to me ... looks so weird
and without more caffine............. stop, look and listen BEFORE proceeding

more than likely 12v system batteries should be paralleled

if it was me.... disconnect battery
turn on shorepower (converter) measure it's output volts
configure battery (put them the right way round so they look in parrallel)

use multimeter to work on the solar wiring
remove controller from wall so you can see how it is wired what colored wires are on the battery side of the controller

there are a couple of ways to connect batteries into parallel
that will be YOUR choice on which method you use
but keep things simple... especially orientate batteries the same way so I don't go more cross eyed than I already am ....
--------------------------------------
Is there a solar controller on the wall besides / near the fridge

the make and model number of the controller will help too
some are 3 wire... others 4 wire

 

[5picker]

STOP!
Your R/V uses 12v, NOT 24v. I don't know why you keep saying you want to connect them to get 24v.
DO NOT supply your R/V with 24v!

Who installed these batteries?
As Mike mentioned, it is hard to see where the cables go but from what I can see they are connected neither in Parallel (as they should be) or in Series. (no)

Better representation of your system is needed before anyone can give you pertinent information.

 

[tomkatb]

Solar ready means they ran two wires from the roof to the battery.

So you plug the panels in. However the power from the panels is out of control. Voltage all over the place. Thus you select a location in that line and put the controller in. Cut the wires and connect to the controller. Easy.

We cannot see the tops of your little car batteries. Thus cannot tell you much. There are different ways to wire batteries etc. They could be wired separately or together. Unlikely in series, but possible.

Series 24 batteries are a bad choice for solar. Their minimum capacity of Likely 30-45 or 60-70 ah. Often not enough to make a night with a compressor fridge. One 3-400 ah battery would be a good choice. But again, cannot see the wires to the batteries.

The battery is your problem. Insufficient to boondock.

We are good at batteries. Not so much about alternate wiring.

 

[JimM2109S]

Typical factory "solar ready" wiring is as Tom described above - a gland is mounted on the roof to which you can attach solar panel wiring and wires are run from the gland into/thru the interior of the camper to the battery compartment. There is oftentimes a sticker/label on an interior wall indicating that the wires from the gland on the roof are accessible at that spot on the wall.

In your picture of the connected wires and your red circle, I would think that one pair of those wires (orange wire and white wire as shown) go to the left battery (which you seem to have confirmed) and the other pair (orange wire and white wire) go to the roof gland.

From what I can determine in your picture, you have one battery (on right side in the picture) that is connected to and powering your camper? I do see a wire connected to the positive and negative terminals of that right side battery. The factory solar wires are connected to the left battery as you stated. The two batteries are not connected together.

To be able to use both batteries, you will need to attach a cable of sufficient size from the negative terminal of one battery to the negative terminal of the other battery, and another cable of sufficient size from the positive terminal of one battery to the positive terminal of the other battery. Wiring in this manner represents a parallel connection, keeps the system voltage at 12 volts and makes the amperage capacity of both batteries available. With the batteries connected in this parallel manner, the SCC will charge both batteries regardless of which battery the SCC output wires are attached to.

As for where the solar charge controller (SCC) should be located, that is your choice:

A) If there is a display on the SCC, it would typically be wall mounted so that you can monitor the solar performance from inside the camper. IF THE WIRES ARE CONFIRMED TO RUN TO THE ROOF AND TO THE BATTERY FROM THE CLOSED END CONNECTOR, you would cut the wires at the closed end connector and attach them to the appropriate terminals of your SCC (identified as solar panels and battery), then mount the SCC to the interior wall.

You could mount the SCC close to the batteries. This is oftentimes preferred, especially for a SCC that does not have a built-in display. You can use a smaller gauge wire (but still of appropriate size) as compared to what would be required for the output of the SCC mounted at a more distance location. AGAIN, AFTER CONFIRMING WHERE THOSE WIRES RUN, leave the closed end connection wires as they are in the picture, remove the ring terminals from the solar wires at the battery, attach those wires to the SCC solar panel terminals and use new heavier gauge wire of sufficient amperage capacity to connect the SCC battery terminals to the battery.

Finally, we know you are trying your best to describe in words what your setup currently consists of. Pictures are always better at explaining than words. If you can confirm any of the above and provide more pictures, we can help.

 

[Diesel67]

Thanks for the reply!
Yes, I know not to connect 2 batteries to get 24V, I just got confused from the first reply… I know everything in campers use 12V, except AC and microwave.

I know how to connect 2 batteries for 12V.
Thanks!

Nooooo 24v wiring



there are a couple of ways to connect batteries into parallel
that will be YOUR choice on which method you use
but keep things simple... especially orientate batteries the same way so I don't go more cross eyed than I already am ....
--------------------------------------
Is there a solar controller on the wall beside s / near the fridge

 

[Diesel67]

STOP!
Your R/V uses 12v, NOT 24v. I don't know why you keep saying you want to connect them to get 24v.
DO NOT supply your R/V with 24v!

Who installed these batteries?
As Mike mentioned, it is hard to see where the cables go but from what I can see they are connected neither in Parallel (as they should be) or in Series. (no)

Better representation of your system is needed before anyone can give you pertinent information.

First off.. I didn’t “keep saying” I wanted to connect to 24V.. When the first reply said parallel, I got confused… I just installed a new Minn Kota 24V trolling motor several days ago, and I had to connect 2 batteries to get 24V.

The batteries was installed from the factory.. I bought the camper new and I didn’t do anything to the batteries.. I just decided last week that I wanted to install solar panels… My plan is to buy new batteries.

No, the batteries are not connected to each other and I really didn’t pay attention until yesterday when I took the pictures…Don’t know why the factory didn’t connect each other.

I bought 2 cables today to wire them parallel for 12V.

Thanks for your reply!

 

[Diesel67]

Is there a solar controller on the wall besides / near the fridge

No solar controller from the factory.
Last night I read some older threads and a lot of people said to look for a solar controller.

Why does the factory hide the controllers? lol

 

[Diesel67]

Typical factory "solar ready" wiring is as Tom described above - a gland is mounted on the roof to which you can attach solar panel wiring and wires are run from the gland into/thru the interior of the camper to the battery compartment. There is oftentimes a sticker/label on an interior wall indicating that the wires from the gland on the roof are accessible at that spot on the wall.

In your picture of the connected wires and your red circle, I would think that one pair of those wires (orange wire and white wire as shown) go to the left battery (which you seem to have confirmed) and the other pair (orange wire and white wire) go to the roof gland.

From what I can determine in your picture, you have one battery (on right side in the picture) that is connected to and powering your camper? I do see a wire connected to the positive and negative terminals of that right side battery. The factory solar wires are connected to the left battery as you stated. The two batteries are not connected together.

To be able to use both batteries, you will need to attach a cable of sufficient size from the negative terminal of one battery to the negative terminal of the other battery, and another cable of sufficient size from the positive terminal of one battery to the positive terminal of the other battery. Wiring in this manner represents a parallel connection, keeps the system voltage at 12 volts and makes the amperage capacity of both batteries available. With the batteries connected in this parallel manner, the SCC will charge both batteries regardless of which battery the SCC output wires are attached to.

As for where the solar charge controller (SCC) should be located, that is your choice:

A) If there is a display on the SCC, it would typically be wall mounted so that you can monitor the solar performance from inside the camper. IF THE WIRES ARE CONFIRMED TO RUN TO THE ROOF AND TO THE BATTERY FROM THE CLOSED END CONNECTOR, you would cut the wires at the closed end connector and attach them to the appropriate terminals of your SCC (identified as solar panels and battery), then mount the SCC to the interior wall.

You could mount the SCC close to the batteries. This is oftentimes preferred, especially for a SCC that does not have a built-in display. You can use a smaller gauge wire (but still of appropriate size) as compared to what would be required for the output of the SCC mounted at a more distance location. AGAIN, AFTER CONFIRMING WHERE THOSE WIRES RUN, leave the closed end connection wires as they are in the picture, remove the ring terminals from the solar wires at the battery, attach those wires to the SCC solar panel terminals and use new heavier gauge wire of sufficient amperage capacity to connect the SCC battery terminals to the battery.

Finally, we know you are trying your best to describe in words what your setup currently consists of. Pictures are always better at explaining than words. If you can confirm any of the above and provide more pictures, we can help.

Thank you very much for the reply!

I took more pictures to confirm where the orange and white wires are coming from.

Yes, the orange/white wire is only connected to 1 battery on the left in the picture, and the battery on the right side only has the positive/negative wires for the camper.

“I have no idea why the 2 batteries wasn’t connected parallel to each other, and after I looked at the pictures, I noticed it.

And yes, I know how to wire 2 batteries together and still have 12V.. I bought 2 cables today.

Yes, the SCC will be mounted close to the batteries and it does have a display.

Thanks!.. Posting more pictures and hopefully this helps more!

 

[Diesel67]

More pictures showing the orange/white wires.

The refrigerator is at the end of the of the camper.. On the roof over top of the refrigerator is the solar connectors.. The wires come down and run underneath the jackknife sofa (pictured) and go to where the batteries and the fuse box is.

The 2 wires coming from the roof, and then they put 2 other orange/white wires spliced together with wire nuts, and those 2 wires go to the “left battery”.

 

[Diesel67]

The 2 orange/white wires going to the battery… The other 2 wires go to the roof to the connectors.

The 2 orange/white wires hooked to the battery on the left… (Hooked to only 1 battery.)

 

[Diesel67]

Both batteries.. These batteries came with the camper and I haven’t done anything with them except keeping them charged… I’m planning on buying better batteries.

The battery on the left has the 2 orange/white solar wires connected.


Battery on the right has the positive/negative wires for the camper… I didn’t know the batteries wasn’t hooked parallel together for 12V until after I took the pictures and looked at them again to try and figure this mess out.

I don’t know why the factory didn’t connect them parallel to each other… It makes no sense!

 

[Diesel67]

This is a solar kit that came with a 100W solar panel, solar charger, Z brackets and wiring… The kit was sent to me from TopSolar.. Also another company sent me a 100W solar panel, and 2 other companies sent me circuit breakers and a 3 to 1 Y-branch connector.

I’m probably going to have to buy a better solar charger controller… Read on the top and let me know.. I was planning on having 3– 100W panels on the camper.. Would this SCC handle that?

I think I might have this figured out after reading the post of JimM.

Where the orange/white wires are wired together, leave it like that??.. And the orange/white wires going to one of the batteries, take that loose and wire it to the SCC??.. (But wire the 2 batteries together parallel for 12V)

Then mount the SCC and run the positive and negative to the batteries?

Would appreciate if someone could let me know.
Thanks for all the replies!

 

[bikendan]

Unless you make arrangements with the dealer BEFORE you take ownership, you'll always get the cheap dual-purpose Group 24 marine battery/batteries.

In case you don't know, we have a Truck Camper section here and it's all focused mainly on Palomino Truck Campers since Palomino is the only FR division that makes truck campers.

 

[Aussieguy]

what I did

leave the wires from roof to battery area... but splice them together better (permanent splice)
so the solar panel voltage ........ is sent all the way down to battery area
my panel volts is 37v..........YOUR panel voltage will/could be probably around 20v (depend on how you connect panels together)

put solar charge controller close to battery
add disconnects / fuses as you see fit
small tiny 200w system is not required to have a fancy switch/fuse system

USE BIIGGER WIRING to connect controller to battery
find some wire that is the MAXIMUM size for the output slots in the controller
I think I put 4 gauge in mine

you got a 30amp PWM it will be good for 400w of panels
If you want more.... solar later you can easily upgrade
the solar wiring (orange white) you can put panels in series / parrallel so wires can carry more watts
increase the VOLTAGE so it does NOT / NEVER go beyond maximum volts the controller can accept
your controller max volts = 50v


yes.. get a better solar controller and wiring etc if you ever decide to go more panels
be prepared to DUMP all the stuff you already have...
get wiring controllers etc .............. suitable for the panels you want to put up

a decent solar install along with good fast Lifepo4 battery(s) will transform your camping
I never have to plug any chargers in... 740w of panels 2x 100ah battery 50amp MPPT
costs .. 400 for battery upgrade 500 for solar (150.00 per panel fro Facebook)

YOUR results will vary depending how many trees you got
if you decide to upgrade in bit's and pieces no problem
buy a good MPPT and use it even though it may be bigger than you need ....... then install more panels later... save buying it again each time you make adjustments to the system

simple formula for ball park PANEL calculation
multiply battery charge voltage (14.2) by the max amps of the controller
14.2 x 30 = 426 watts of panels

 

[Diesel67]

what I did

leave the wires from roof to battery area... but splice them together better (permanent splice)
so the solar panel voltage ........ is sent all the way down to battery area
my panel volts is 37v..........YOUR panel voltage will/could be probably around 20v (depend on how you connect panels together)

Ok, that’s a good idea to make a permanent splice!

put solar charge controller close to battery
add disconnects / fuses as you see fit
small tiny 200w system is not required to have a fancy switch/fuse system

USE BIIGGER WIRING to connect controller to battery
find some wire that is the MAXIMUM size for the output slots in the controller
I think I put 4 gauge in mine

Yes, I can mount the solar controller close to the batteries… I have some 4 gauge wire.. Thanks!

On the disconnects, I was planning on putting one near the batteries.. I also have a pair of inline 30AMP fuse connectors.. I’ll show you a picture.

you got a 30amp PWM it will be good for 400w of panels
If you want more.... solar later you can easily upgrade
the solar wiring (orange white) you can put panels in series / parrallel so wires can carry more watts
increase the VOLTAGE so it does NOT / NEVER go beyond maximum volts the controller can accept
your controller max volts = 50v

I have 2 100W panels, and I was planning on adding another 100W, possibly 2.. So that will be 400W.

And I was planning on getting a better controller… Do you have any brand recommendations?, and AMP rating?

a decent solar install along with good fast Lifepo4 battery(s) will transform your camping
I never have to plug any chargers in... 740w of panels 2x 100ah battery 50amp MPPT
costs .. 400 for battery upgrade 500 for solar (150.00 per panel fro Facebook)

That’s nice!
I bought my camper new in 2021 and wasn’t planning on camping in areas without electric, until this year when I found some trout streams where you can camp, and there is no electric.. Was planning on mounting a generator on the front of my dually for backup if needed.. But I need to build a front hitch for my truck so I can use a receiver hitch carrier and mount the generator to it.

YOUR results will vary depending how many trees you got
if you decide to upgrade in bit's and pieces no problem
buy a good MPPT and use it even though it may be bigger than you need ....... then install more panels later... save buying it again each time you make adjustments to the system

simple formula for ball park PANEL calculation
multiply battery charge voltage (14.2) by the max amps of the controller
14.2 x 30 = 426 watts of panels

Ok, when I get a better controller, I’ll get a MPPT.

When you mentioned about making a permanent splice for the solar wires, and use large wire from controller to the batteries.. What “2 solar wires” will go to the solar controller??

On this solar controller:
2 ports for solar panel wires.. Positive and negative.

2 ports for positive and negative wires going to batteries (got that covered)
And I understand the 2 ports for load if I wanted to install an inverter.

Just trying to understand where the 2 solar wires from the solar panels will be coming from, because you said to leave the 2 connected to the battery… Sorry if its a dumb question, I’ve never installed solar before. lol… And I’m learning thanks to everyone on here that’s trying to help!

Could I also splice in 2 more wires where you said to make a permanent splice?.. And run those to the controller?

Thanks for all the help.. I really appreciate it !

Next post will be another question about the circuit breaker and if I should put the inline fuse connectors anywhere.

 

[Aussieguy]

get rid of the bad connectors in one of the pics ... use a decent splice

remove the wires from battery ... they should go to the solar controller NEXT to the battery
THEN bigger gauge from the solar controller to battery

WATCH you voltage as you add panels... do not exceed rated volts on the controller
----------------------------------
study these pages ... info is oldish but still very much pertinent

RV Solar Power Blue Prints

Building a vehicle mounted solar power system? Let me help.

www.mobile-solarpower.com

solar controllers... look for gently USED ones on Ebay Facebook etc
lots of people upgrading.. so good ones are available for a decent price

I bought the cheapest one ... just to see what would happen
but people will tell you can't go past Victron

work out your panels then buy equipment to suit what panels you MAY put up there
50 or 60 amp MPPT works well for average sized trailers at a decent price
and you can add more controllers if you want another string of panels

anything bigger than 1000w solar ... you should probably start looking at 24 or 48volts

 

[JimM2109S]

....When you mentioned about making a permanent splice for the solar wires, and use large wire from controller to the batteries.. What “2 solar wires” will go to the solar controller??

On this solar controller:
2 ports for solar panel wires.. Positive and negative.

2 ports for positive and negative wires going to batteries (got that covered)
And I understand the 2 ports for load if I wanted to install an inverter.

Just trying to understand where the 2 solar wires from the solar panels will be coming from, because you said to leave the 2 connected to the battery… Sorry if its a dumb question, I’ve never installed solar before. lol… And I’m learning thanks to everyone on here that’s trying to help!

You've misinterpreted what Aussie stated (he gave great additional information for you). The "solar wires" are the orange and white wires coming from the panels. You can leave the closed end connection as is, or replace it with a crimp butt connector. Either will work.

With the wiring as it exists, you already have a path to get the energy from the solar panels to the battery area. As I had stated, you will remove the ring connectors on the orange and white wires connected to the left battery and connect those wires to the SCC panel input terminals. The picture you provided of the front of the SCC doesn't allow for identifying which of the apparent 6 terminals on the SCC are the panel input terminals. Follow their labeling. You'll now have the panel energy to the SCC.

....Could I also splice in 2 more wires where you said to make a permanent splice?.. And run those to the controller?

Yes, you can. But if the existing wires are sufficient to carry the amps from the panels to the batteries (and I expect they are for what you intend to install), why would you want to do so?