I have 2004 Mckenzie Starwood 5th wheel. They are now out of business. I see solar wires labeled in the battery compartment and the manual also states its pre wired. However I can't find where they come out to the roof. The manual states you remove the vent shroud from the inside of the rear vent and reach in 4-5 inches. I believe the vent shroud to be the little covering inside the rv that hides the hole cut-out etc. I removed that. Once I removed it all I see are the layers of the rv wall. 1 layer is foam insulation. 1 layer is inside ceiling and then just inside the inside ceiling layer I see a 3-4 in aluminum framing all around it. There is no way to reach inside 3-4 inches and grab any existing wires without cutting a hole in the framing. I would hate to do this and then find they really aren't there. Has anyone ran across a similar situation in looking for your wires?The text in the manual made it sound simplistic. Open the vent Schroud and reach in 4-5 inches to find your wires. Any help is greatly appreciated. I opened the ac vent cover too thinking maybe I was not understanding the definition of rear vent. Nothing there either except the ac duct work.

could you bend a coat hanger with a hook on the end and fish around in there?

I'd be tempted to look for an inexpensive wire tracker on Amazon to locate that pair of wires.

Just some guesses for you:Are you removing a vent shroud while standing on the rooftop? I would expect the solar wiring to be accessible while standing on the roof since that is where the solar panels would go. So I would see if the directions make sense while standing on the roof and looking at the various vent covers up there.If there are multiple vents on the roof, try one that is closest to the battery compartment first.And don't forget to check under the refrigerator roof vent cover.They could be referring to a vent for the "attic space" on your roof.rv plumbing and attic ventsGood Luck.

My 5vr is factory pre-wired for solarWire to connect to solar panel is inside A/C Unit........under the shroud on roof.

The wire tracker idea sounds interesting. I will look into that. Tomorrow, I will unscrew the front vent, maybe the manual was wrong. I will get on the roof too and look inside the kitchen vent. I really want to try the low-hanging fruit stuff first. I will check on the roof around the AC unit too.Here is what the manual says:"...Four wires run from the battery compartment to the rear overhead vent and are coiled just to the front of the vent within the ceiling/roof cavity. To access the wires, remove the inside vent shroud. Facing forward, reach inward four to six inches to find wires."Here is a pic of the inside view of the rear vent. There is no easy way to see the wires, without cutting a hole. Maybe the manual is wrong? or do you think its behind the aluminum framing? If I look closely between the vent walls, I can barely see the plywood on the roof, so even if I took off vent from on top of the roof, I don't think I would see any more then what I am seeing from inside.Actual picture of from the manual.

Where are my solar panel wires? | Good Sam Community

11 Replies

kp_utah
Explorer
Aug 22, 2015
Here is the wire toner i used:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008G8KE90

Amazon - put in search: B008G8KE90

BTW, I will be drilling a hole as suggested right where it is, and plugging w the satellite cap as suggested. I am just waiting for my solar connectors to arrive to do the job.

Thank you everyone for all the help. This forum, plus some great videos on youtube have helped tremendously!
Harvey51
Explorer
Aug 22, 2015
I would appreciate you linking to the wire toner that worked so well.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Aug 19, 2015
I would poke and plug right there. Get a Winegard satellite cover plate and drill from the inside up a 3/4" hole. Feed the cables out and then using some Dicor caulk and screws you will have a roof sealed up nice and tight.
kp_utah
Explorer
Aug 19, 2015
I ordered a wire toner. It arrived today. Well... What the manual said was no where close to where I found it. It was just inside the front most speaker, which is in the bedroom above the fifth wheel hitch area. The toner worked great. I was able to pull out about 6 ft of cabling. That area is a few feet from anything else. So I now have the delima of poking and plug a hole to the roof right there or trying to fishing it to a better location. Or re-running it from the battery location.
Any suggestions?
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Aug 09, 2015
Assuming we are looking forward it appears they have intentionally left a gap in the foam above the framing. Are you able to fish anything in there to see if there is a hollow space behind that gap. I would just push something like a coat hanger in there straight back and gently to each side to see if a space exists. If it appears that there is, I would start pulling out the foam where the gap is and it should open to the space where the wires are located. Worst case, if there's nothing there you can just use some spray foam to fill the space back in.
westend
Explorer
Aug 09, 2015
Using a wire fishing device (bent coat hangar), slide it between the aluminum framing and the ceiling panel. Try to fish the wires out. You may have to place a spacer between the ceiling panel and the framing to observe or fish the wires.
kp_utah
Explorer
Aug 09, 2015
The wire tracker idea sounds interesting. I will look into that. Tomorrow, I will unscrew the front vent, maybe the manual was wrong. I will get on the roof too and look inside the kitchen vent. I really want to try the low-hanging fruit stuff first. I will check on the roof around the AC unit too.

Here is what the manual says:

"...Four wires run from the battery compartment to the rear overhead vent and are coiled just to the front of the vent within the ceiling/roof cavity. To access the wires, remove the inside vent shroud. Facing forward, reach inward four to six inches to find wires."

Here is a pic of the inside view of the rear vent. There is no easy way to see the wires, without cutting a hole.

Maybe the manual is wrong? or do you think its behind the aluminum framing? If I look closely between the vent walls, I can barely see the plywood on the roof, so even if I took off vent from on top of the roof, I don't think I would see any more then what I am seeing from inside.

Actual picture of from the manual.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Aug 09, 2015
My 5vr is factory pre-wired for solar

Wire to connect to solar panel is inside A/C Unit........under the shroud on roof.
eb145
Explorer II
Aug 08, 2015
Just some guesses for you:

Are you removing a vent shroud while standing on the rooftop? I would expect the solar wiring to be accessible while standing on the roof since that is where the solar panels would go. So I would see if the directions make sense while standing on the roof and looking at the various vent covers up there.

If there are multiple vents on the roof, try one that is closest to the battery compartment first.

And don't forget to check under the refrigerator roof vent cover.

They could be referring to a vent for the "attic space" on your roof.
rv plumbing and attic vents

Good Luck.
Ed_Gee
Explorer II
Aug 08, 2015
I'd be tempted to look for an inexpensive wire tracker on Amazon to locate that pair of wires.