Forum Discussion

moonlitsouls's avatar
moonlitsouls
Explorer
Apr 14, 2021

Solar charge controller confusion

Ok so I got an additional solar panel mounted today and I also swapped in my lithium battery. It was discovered that the SCC is actually wired directly to the main breaker panel and not the battery , thoughts? Not sure if this is normal



Battery one and two on the SCC are being wired directly to the main panel and they wrap around here to battery positive and negative

it’s independently fused in the back



  • so do you have a charge controler, all that looks like is some one who didnt know what they are doing wired the panel directly to the battery, unless the panel is one that has a built in controler like a portable kit. either way I would disconect it an do it right if there isnt a controler. I also see bare striped wire that isnt covered by the conectors.

    Steve
  • moonlitsouls wrote:
    Ok so I got an additional solar panel mounted today and I also swapped in my lithium battery.


    Edit your post and add” width=800” before the last img for each picture. Otherwise, the post makes the text almost unreadable when it makes it tiny due to the way rv.net resizes a post.

    Btw, it affects all posts on the same page not just yours.
  • StirCrazy wrote:
    I also see bare striped wire that isnt covered by the conectors. Steve
    X2 With that poor quality alone I'd want to do a in depth understanding of your setup.

    If you are saying the output of the CC goes to the panel lugs which are also connected to the battery then that can be OK. However a very important aspect is the total wire length and size which effects the amount of loss in the wiring. There is a general guideline of 3% maximum loss.

    Plus it's not clear if you have adequate fuse protection for your setup.
  • jimh425 wrote:
    moonlitsouls wrote:
    Ok so I got an additional solar panel mounted today and I also swapped in my lithium battery.


    Edit your post and add” width=800” before the last img for each picture. Otherwise, the post makes the text almost unreadable when it makes it tiny due to the way rv.net resizes a post.

    Btw, it affects all posts on the same page not just yours.



    Thanks
  • CA Traveler wrote:
    StirCrazy wrote:
    I also see bare striped wire that isnt covered by the conectors. Steve
    X2 With that poor quality alone I'd want to do a in depth understanding of your setup.

    If you are saying the output of the CC goes to the panel lugs which are also connected to the battery then that can be OK. However a very important aspect is the total wire length and size which effects the amount of loss in the wiring. There is a general guideline of 3% maximum loss.

    Plus it's not clear if you have adequate fuse protection for your setup.



    It’s been a real process trying to figure out everything that was done to this camper. There is absolutely no fuse protection within the system whatsoever which is a huge concern to me. The people I went to today who told me they were proficient in installing solar panels had no clue what they were doing, but I was desperate to get my inverter and my additional panel installed so I could get off the grid. Down the line I plan to upgrade all the components and design a system that’s up to my standards

    Yes the battery one and two slots on the back of the controller were wired directly into the panel battery slots , I hadn’t seen that before so I was confused
  • 3_tons's avatar
    3_tons
    Explorer III
    “ Yes the battery one and two slots on the back of the controller were wired directly into the panel battery slots , I hadn’t seen that before so I was confused ”

    In concept I don’t see a problem - depending on battery location I suppose it may have made for an easier install??
  • 3 tons wrote:
    “ Yes the battery one and two slots on the back of the controller were wired directly into the panel battery slots , I hadn’t seen that before so I was confused ”

    In concept I don’t see a problem - depending on battery location I suppose it may have made for an easier install??



    Ok great just wanted to check with you guys to make sure this was alright
  • 3 tons wrote:
    “ Yes the battery one and two slots on the back of the controller were wired directly into the panel battery slots , I hadn’t seen that before so I was confused ”

    In concept I don’t see a problem - depending on battery location I suppose it may have made for an easier install??


    as long as it is coming from the solar controler it is fine, just clean up some of the crimp jobs or leave them and just watch if you get your hand near them. my original question was did they run strait off the panels or from the controler. if from the controler all is good. just a different place to tie in as long as the wire size is adiquate. I know I couldnt fit both sets of wires in mine as I have the battery ones maxed out other wise that would have saved me 6 feet of solar cable ;).

    Steve
  • Spoke to progressive dynamics today and they most deff do not like the way this was installed. Those ports for Battery positive and negative are not designed for two wires like that , im going to change it
  • I wouldn't change the way the SCC is wired. It's a waste of time and energy. Either way, the power from the SCC gets to the load and to the battery. They got the wires to fit in the holes, so what's the problem? You said "it's independently fused in the back" What is independently fused? The solar panel to SCC, the SCC to fuse panel, or fuse panel to battery? I agree with fixing the exposed conductor. Maybe trim off the frayed ends that didn't make it into the hole.