Cool Mods - Thread restored 10/18/2012
My daughter was getting a little warm in her bunk during our last camping trip, so I decided to put her a fan in to keep the air flowing. I had been wanting to add a 12-volt fan to the main livin...
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Hello, there was a discrepancy between the voltage my solar controller was displaying and what my hand held voltage meter read at my battery bank. I installed a voltage meter as I couldn't figure out why. I used 8 gauge wire and only have about a 12 foot lead from the controller to the the batteries. And having spoken to a few solar experts they all had the same opinion-- "sometimes that happens".
Anyways, it was a simple install. I ran 4 wires down along side my solar cables going to to the batteries. Installed the shunt on the negative terminal, moved the existing negative leads to the shunt. The whole job took me about a couple hours.
I cut the hole with box cutters. Then I color coded the voltage meter for the corresponding wire. Then fished the wire down under the trailer.
Then I mounted the shunt on a sheet of plywood, and labeled it.
Next, I moved all the negative leads from the battery to the shunt, and connected the green wire from the monitor to the shunt, then connected the yellow and blue wires (from the monitor) to the "unshunted" side.
Next, I installed the red wire from the new voltmeter to the positive side of the battery bank.
Finally, I popped the new voltage meter in the hole (it has small tabs to ensure it stays in place.
As you can see there is a slight difference. This meter has a LED light and a low voltage alarm. Wiring it in this configuration also monitors amps and voltage used.
It's a simple project. It only took a couple hours, the hardest thing was cutting out the hole. I got the voltage meter from Amazon for about $20, and the sprinkler wire from the remnant rack at home depot for $5.
Anyways, it was a simple install. I ran 4 wires down along side my solar cables going to to the batteries. Installed the shunt on the negative terminal, moved the existing negative leads to the shunt. The whole job took me about a couple hours.
I cut the hole with box cutters. Then I color coded the voltage meter for the corresponding wire. Then fished the wire down under the trailer.
Then I mounted the shunt on a sheet of plywood, and labeled it.
Next, I moved all the negative leads from the battery to the shunt, and connected the green wire from the monitor to the shunt, then connected the yellow and blue wires (from the monitor) to the "unshunted" side.
Next, I installed the red wire from the new voltmeter to the positive side of the battery bank.
Finally, I popped the new voltage meter in the hole (it has small tabs to ensure it stays in place.
As you can see there is a slight difference. This meter has a LED light and a low voltage alarm. Wiring it in this configuration also monitors amps and voltage used.
It's a simple project. It only took a couple hours, the hardest thing was cutting out the hole. I got the voltage meter from Amazon for about $20, and the sprinkler wire from the remnant rack at home depot for $5.
