Solar Confusion

Nimzero · 11-02-2015, 11:29 AM

Hey Gang! I've got two Renogy 100w 12v panels tied into a SkyBlue 2000E MPPT controller. At a recent get-together, some of the gang helped me see my panels were sending power to the controller via turning on the little kitchen fan and the refrigerator - we could see the digital display change showing power draw (?). Anyhoooo, I went to my mancave yesterday to check on my sanity and tried to run the water pump on the Extra Van Battery ....and nada, tried to turn the little fan on and again, nada. Any thoughts? I am no electrician but it seems the "trickle" charge is not trickling....

Viejo · 11-02-2015, 12:23 PM

Do you have a voltmeter on the house system?

If Yes - what does it read?

If No - get one! and report back.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EV ... 1_1&sr=8-1

You can't manage your batteries blind and waiting for the lights to dim will kill them.

While trouble shooting your solar, can't you run an extension cord from the house to your shore power connector to keep the battery up?

Scalf77 · 11-02-2015, 03:33 PM

What does the charge controller tell you?

Voltage ? Status of the LED ?

Did you have the battery fully charged before leaving it on solar?

What loads are left on if any?

I have attached charger manual also.

Nimzero · 11-02-2015, 10:36 PM

Hey there thanks for the responses. I will inspect and provide answers! Thanks again.

Nimzero · 11-17-2015, 05:59 PM

Ok, finally received my volt meter from China and when plugged into the front two cig lighters it reads 12.5. When plugged into the other three - 1. above the solar controller 2. by the sink 3. hidden behind the drivers seat near some (obsolete) "Game" RCA connectors and 3 prong plugs were showing 13.8.

I called SMB West and Peter said they would not have built the van without a converter/inverter/charger, however my original build sheet shows the Trip-lite 1000w inverter. (No charger).

I ran shore power to the van and charged it over night with no charge holding to the house battery - I realized there was no charge in the house battery as soon as I would try to run the radio, a light, or power up the generator.

Further, I ran the generator for two hours and the battery had a brief charge because the radio played on the Extra battery switch.

There is a power cable coming out of the house battery and a ground to the chasis. The power (red) cable gets lost up towards the hot water heater (propane). I could not follow it because it goes into the van back there.

The solar must only be charging the starter battery presently? The alternator must be charging the house battery? The generator does not charge the house battery???

BTW - the house battery is newish purchased from SMB and installed by them in February of this year.
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I need an electrician.

Thanks for any help.....OB-1

**daveb** · 11-17-2015, 07:37 PM

I'm kind of lost by your post. By seeing the year of your build I'd guess there would be a battery isolator between the alternator and the house battery so when the engine runs the house battery gets a charge. So if that is working correctly, with the engine running you should see the same voltage (maybe a little less) at all the 12v power ports in the rear.

With solar you should also see about 12.8 v or higher provided everything is working OK. If you have a bad house battery it is possible that it might pull that voltage down. Probably not so with the alternator charge.

Are you sure there is no charge button on your inverter. It is possible it doesn't but you need to make sure.

Running the generator would do nothing unless they tied it into a charger or is the generator itself has a 12v charger on it and is tied to the house battery. But it would be unsafe to wire it into the inverter w/o a transfer switch and it doesn't sound like you have that. What kind of generator is it? Some have built in transfer switches. Generally the generators that SMB installs powers the 110 AC sockets and an inverter/charger or converter/charger and isn't tied directly to the 12v system.

I'd first start the vehicle and see if you get voltage at the rear 12v power ports. If you do have about 13 volts there then power is getting back there through the isolator. That means the house battery should be getting a charge voltage but the only way to tell would be to check voltage at the batteries lugs themselves while the engine is running. It's very possible you simply have a bad battery connection somewhere.

If you don't get a charge voltage at the battery then there is an open point and you'll have to run it back to where it comes from. There could be lugs or power standoff points that may also be loose. A loose connection might prevent the battery from fully charging and/or from sending power back to the rear power ports after the vehicle is shut off.

Kind of hard to guess without more info.

Nimzero · 11-17-2015, 09:38 PM

Daveb - thanks for your response. I went out to my smb this evening in the dark to see if there was a charge through checking the 12v plugs. They were all at 12.9 the front two on the dash board were 12.5v. The rear lights were working so I tried turning over the onan 2800 watt generator through the house battery and when I pushed the switch the generator clicked the light turned off, and the plug in volt meter dropped to 8v then down to 2v then 0.0 and finally went out. (it is an LED)

It was dark and I don't know squat about this stuff. Sorry the prior message was disjointed and cryptic.

An aside - I went out to Joshua Tree a month or so ago and my electric refrigerator worked for 2 days.

I don't understand how the house battery appear to only charge via the alternator and the van running. The solar and the shore power don't appear to help. So what is a camper to do??? Keep driving I guess

**daveb** · 11-17-2015, 10:27 PM

That is almost a classic "poor battery cable connection" sign.
If you have 12v or higher at the rear 12v power port and you apply a heavy load (like starting the generator) and the voltage drops off like you're saying... I'd suspect a poor connection in the loop. If you have access to the house battery and the voltage reads about in the upper zone of 12 volts at the port, test voltage with a voltmeter at the battery lugs (not the cable lead clamps). Start the generator and see if it drops the voltage at the rear power port. Then go back to the battery and test it off the lugs and see if the battery voltage is normal. If the battery is low (below 12v) hook a 10a + car charger to the battery and charge it overnight. Repeat the test the next day. If the battery drops off again when testing directly off the lugs it's time to pull the house battery and have a load test done with something like a carbon pile tester. Most shops have them.

Just a small bit of corrosion that you can't see can cause a poor connection. Also check the ground(s). It's also possible the battery cable itself can be bad. Like I said at the last post, there might be a terminal standoff where the charge lead from the isolator, the 12 fuse box, inverter, solar, and the house battery all connect at one point. Other than the house battery lugs, the main 12v tie point (if there is one) would be the next place to look for a faulty loose connection if the battery holds a charge.

Hopefully your battery is OK.

Nimzero · 11-23-2015, 03:05 PM

daveb!!! You were right. I wiggled every damn red wire and found one hidden under a nut wrapped in wire housing that was loose. This wire went from this post with 4 red power wires to a TCMS Interface that plugged into a receptacle under the bench seat. Once I removed the top two wires that were tight under a nut I found another nut that held the suspect wire and one other. I tightened it down reset the other two, tightened their nut down and Vallah! The generator started under the house battery switch, the lights stay on and the 12v outlet appears to be working. Still not entirely sure what charges my house battery. Must be the solar but there is only one set of wires going into the controller.

**daveb** · 11-25-2015, 09:25 PM

Glad you found it. That can be a feat in itself. I'd suspect that the generator can also charge the house battery while running but you'd have to have a schematic to look at to know for sure.