Bought my used camper last year and a solar panel was already installed when I got it.My last camping trip I ran the heater overnight for two nights with no problems and was camped under trees so doubt there was much charging during the day. Got home and and after several days figured the batteries should be recharged. Measured the voltage on the two batteries in parallel and it was 14.46 Volts. I then switched off the main 12v battery switch figuring the batteries should be sufficiently recharged. Then I measured the battery voltage and it was still reading 14.46V, I was expecting it to drop down. So is it normal to hardwire the solar panels directly to the batteries rather than going through the 12v disconnect switch? Or perhaps there is a way to turn off the collector panel via its controller that I am not aware of or is it safe to never turn off the charging panel?Any help is appreciated.

On my TC the solar panels charge all the time through the charge controller. That way the batteries are always in tip top shape. No danger of ruining them if your controller is working properly. If you don't have AGM (sealed) units then just keep an eye on your water levels.

14.4 v will shorten the battery life. Typical maintaining voltage is 13.5V

Camper has two RV deep cycle type batteries in parallel currently.

What controller do you have? Generally there should be no switch between controller and battery. Panels should be disconnected first.

It has a MPPT Solar Charge Controller.

Solar Charging | Good Sam Community

sbryan
Explorer II
Jul 11, 2019
On my TC the solar panels charge all the time through the charge controller. That way the batteries are always in tip top shape. No danger of ruining them if your controller is working properly. If you don't have AGM (sealed) units then just keep an eye on your water levels.
Kayteg1
Explorer II
Jul 11, 2019
14.4 v will shorten the battery life.
Typical maintaining voltage is 13.5V
Oregun
Nomad
Jul 11, 2019
Camper has two RV deep cycle type batteries in parallel currently.
time2roll
Nomad
Jul 11, 2019
What controller do you have? Generally there should be no switch between controller and battery. Panels should be disconnected first.
Oregun
Nomad
Jul 11, 2019
It has a MPPT Solar Charge Controller.
toddb
Explorer
Jul 11, 2019
If it's not a programmable controller then you may want to replace it. The blue sky controller that came with ours was boiling the batteries as well.
Oregun
Nomad
Jul 11, 2019
Here is the datasheet on the controller. It has a float mode so maybe the batteries arn't fully charged yet.
2oldman
Explorer II
Jul 11, 2019
There is nothing 'normal' if the previous owner installed the solar. What is the wattage of the panel? Some panels are so small as to be worthless.

Also, we don't know the age or health of your batteries. Old, low on water.. whatever.. these thing contribute to them never getting charged.
time2roll
Nomad
Jul 11, 2019
Batteries were not considered full charge yet by the controller. Maybe they are full charge. Some controllers will drop to float immediately when a set voltage is reached. Some will hold the set voltage 2+ hours before dropping to float. The best controllers adjust the hold time based on charge level.

Does the manual shed any light on the actual charging profile?
otrfun
Explorer II
Jul 11, 2019
May want to disconnect the batteries entirely for about 6-12 hours (to let any charge voltage dissipate) so you can get a more accurate (SOC) voltage reading, or just use a hydrometer. With the solar controller (or any load) connected to the battery, any voltage reading is going to be suspect in terms of determining the battery's SOC.

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