Confusion About 12V Disconnect

Geo*Boy wrote:
Check the 30 amp fuse between the controller and the battery, pull it clean the contact points and reinsert the fuse.

I would like to do that but having a hard time figuring out which panels in need to remove to get easy access to all these wires , see above post , I wanted to quote you but don’t know how

towpro wrote:
most installs the solar controller will charge the batteries even with the battery switch turned off.
The battery switch being off will remove all the load from the batteries and allow the solar to keep them topped off.

If you saw a spark, that is caused by load, so I bet you found your problem with the loose connection.

Ok so I did some tinkering with the SCC today

I tested the wires labeled “solar panel + and -“ and there is no voltage coming from them

I also tested the white and black battery wires (black was connected to battery + and white -)

there is full 13.6 volts coming from those wires (despite the fact the 12v disconnect was enabled)

I believe this implies there is a missing connection between the solar panels and the charge controller

I have an additional solar panel I need installed as well as my inverter so I’m going to take this to a local RV guy who’s interesting in installing my parts

it’s my first week in the RV and I’ve only begun scratching the surface with electrical and solar maintenance, as much as I want to save money, I think it’s smart I hire a pro. When I upgrade the system down the line maybe I can tackle that

Check the 30 amp fuse between the controller and the battery, pull it clean the contact points and reinsert the fuse.

most installs the solar controller will charge the batteries even with the battery switch turned off.
The battery switch being off will remove all the load from the batteries and allow the solar to keep them topped off.

If you saw a spark, that is caused by load, so I bet you found your problem with the loose connection.

CA Traveler wrote:

moonlitsouls wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
Typically the CC bypasses all battery switches. I installed a switch on the panel side and a CB switch on the battery side of the CC.

so you're saying the solar charge controller works completely independently of the 12v system? but the wires i disconnected from the SCC were for "battery 1 +" , if i used the 12v disconnect then why did the battery have power ? unless it was still receiving power from the panel , but in that case , then why the 0.0 amp reading , smh

Solar charges the battery and IF the house is connected to the battery then solar will also supply power to the house. The house charger and loads also influence the CC charging.

Your post suggested to me that your CC bypasses your disconnect switch. Some RV appliances like a smoke detector do not have a switch to disconnect from the battery. If there is a full battery disconnect switch then that is equivalent to removing the battery cables.

Some/many CCs require disconnecing the panels first then the battery and reconnecting the battery first and then the panels. For this and maintaince reasons it's often desirable to provide CC switches

That's why I installed a toggle switch between the panels and the charge controller, beats going up on the roof.

moonlitsouls wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
Typically the CC bypasses all battery switches. I installed a switch on the panel side and a CB switch on the battery side of the CC.

so you're saying the solar charge controller works completely independently of the 12v system? but the wires i disconnected from the SCC were for "battery 1 +" , if i used the 12v disconnect then why did the battery have power ? unless it was still receiving power from the panel , but in that case , then why the 0.0 amp reading , smh

Solar charges the battery and IF the house is connected to the battery then solar will also supply power to the house. The house charger and loads also influence the CC charging.

Your post suggested to me that your CC bypasses your disconnect switch. Some RV appliances like a smoke detector do not have a switch to disconnect from the battery. If there is a full battery disconnect switch then that is equivalent to removing the battery cables.

Some/many CCs require disconnecing the panels first then the battery and reconnecting the battery first and then the panels. For this and maintaince reasons it's often desirable to provide CC switches

read the instructions to troubleshoot and this is what it says (im dealing with both of these issues)

Controller does not charge batteries/Controller shows "0.0" amps charging
Troubleshooting steps:
1. Ensure batteries are not full, charging amps will drop to near zero if batteries are full (meter the batteries, don't trust the display from the controller)
2. Ensure solar panel is clean and is in direct sunlight. An obstructed/dirty panel will yield poor results
3. Check input voltage at controller from solar panel (~18V based on solar panel rating)
4. Check wiring from solar panel to batteries
5. Check for any fuse in-line in the system
6. Perform a hard reset on device. Disconnect all four wires from back of device and let sit for 15 minutes - reconnect all four wires and recheck
7. Replace controller

Moon Symbol on Solar Controller

If there is a moon symbol appearing on the controller then the controller is not seeing voltage coming from the solar panels. The first step here is to remove the wires on the back of the controller coming from the solar panel. Use a multi-meter to measure across the two leads. In sunlight, you should see between 20-18 volts. (this number maybe lower on cloudy days). If you do not see this voltage at this point the next step would be to check your panels and work your way back down to the controller with the multi-meter.
Put the meter across the leads of each panel. The voltage should be very similar (20-18 volts based on the type of day). If one panel is lower than this then there is an issue with the panel. If all are the same then trace the wires back to the controller with the meter and determine if there is a connection issue.


Moon Symbol on Solar Controller

If there is a moon symbol appearing on the controller then the controller is not seeing voltage coming from the solar panels. The first step here is to remove the wires on the back of the controller coming from the solar panel. Use a multi-meter to measure across the two leads. In sunlight, you should see between 20-18 volts.

Does anyone know which two leads they are referring to?

CA Traveler wrote:
Typically the CC bypasses all battery switches. I installed a switch on the panel side and a CB switch on the battery side of the CC.

so you're saying the solar charge controller works completely independently of the 12v system? but the wires i disconnected from the SCC were for "battery 1 +" , if i used the 12v disconnect then why did the battery have power ? unless it was still receiving power from the panel , but in that case , then why the 0.0 amp reading , smh

Typically the CC bypasses all battery switches. I installed a switch on the panel side and a CB switch on the battery side of the CC.