This is a total newb question but...I just purchased a 100W solar suitcase to use on my 2 12V batteries.I know enough about electricity to know I don't know what I'm doing and don't want to do anything wrong.I have looked on line and it says I can hook it up but it says to do so on the "lead" battery....which one is the lead batter?Do I just pick one and that's the lead battery?Do I hook up the negative to one battery and the positive on the other?Please help my ignorance...

Connect in parallel as show.Top battery is "lead"For reference only, ignore the A/H, as shown. Yours will be different

What You have is a fine way to introduce yourself to Solar ,many of Us began with less. If You have 2 x 12 Volt Batteries they are connected to each other in Parralell ...Positive to Positive and Negative to Negative. The Lead Battery is the one that has the Positive feed attached to the Fuse Panel!If You have 2 x 6 Volt Batteries they are connected to each other in Series! Positive on One to the Negative on the Other. This results in One Large 12 Volt Battery. In this case the Lead Battery would be the One whose Positive Terminal is connected to the Fuse Panel. In either case be sure that The Wire from the Solar array is connected + Positive to +. And the Legative is connected to the - Negative or Ground to the Frame!May I suggest that You Google Search " The 12 Volt Side of Life"

Dakota98 wrote:Connect in parallel as show.Top battery is "lead"Maybe I don't have my batteries hooked up correctly... I have the negative from the trailer going to one battery, and the positive from the trailer going to the second battery... of course neg to neg and pos to pos from one battery to the other.

bcarroll wrote:Dakota98 wrote:Connect in parallel as show.Top battery is "lead"Maybe I don't have my batteries hooked up correctly... I have the negative from the trailer going to one battery, and the positive from the trailer going to the second battery... of course neg to neg and pos to pos from one battery to the other.Your batteries are hooked up correctly, and you should hook up the clamps from your solar panels at the exact same locations as the trailer terminals are hooked up on the batteries. Duplicate it and you will be fine. Positive red goes on one battery terminal of the first battery, and the negative black goes to the second battery and it's negative terminal.

robatthelake wrote:What You have is a fine way to introduce yourself to Solar ,many of Us began with less. If You have 2 x 12 Volt Batteries they are connected to each other in Parralell ...Positive to Positive and Negative to Negative. The Lead Battery is the one that has the Positive feed attached to the Fuse Panel!If You have 2 x 6 Volt Batteries they are connected to each other in Series! Positive on One to the Negative on the Other. This results in One Large 12 Volt Battery. In this case the Lead Battery would be the One whose Positive Terminal is connected to the Fuse Panel. In either case be sure that The Wire from the Solar array is connected + Positive to +. And the Legative is connected to the - Negative or Ground to the Frame!May I suggest that You Google Search " The 12 Volt Side of Life"Thanks for the feedback... I do have + to + and - to - between the batteries (I did get that much from the 12v side of life when I got my second battery), but to hook up the portable solar panels to the battery is where I'm in the dark at.For all I know it doesn't matter and I'm making a bigger issue of it than it is. :)

Solar panel to 2 batteries... | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

bcarroll
Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
Dakota98 wrote:
Connect in parallel as show.

Top battery is "lead"

Maybe I don't have my batteries hooked up correctly... I have the negative from the trailer going to one battery, and the positive from the trailer going to the second battery... of course neg to neg and pos to pos from one battery to the other.
robatthelake
Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
What You have is a fine way to introduce yourself to Solar ,many of Us began with less.
If You have 2 x 12 Volt Batteries they are connected to each other in Parralell ...Positive to Positive and Negative to Negative. The Lead Battery is the one that has the Positive feed attached to the Fuse Panel!

If You have 2 x 6 Volt Batteries they are connected to each other in Series! Positive on One to the Negative on the Other. This results in One Large 12 Volt Battery. In this case the Lead Battery would be the One whose Positive Terminal is connected to the Fuse Panel.

In either case be sure that The Wire from the Solar array is connected + Positive to +. And the Legative is connected to the - Negative or Ground to the Frame!

May I suggest that You Google Search " The 12 Volt Side of Life"
Dakota98
Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
Connect in parallel as show.

Top battery is "lead"
For reference only, ignore the A/H, as shown. Yours will be different

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Solar panel to 2 batteries...

13 Replies

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