Surviver76
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Solar Parts: Hard to find connector?
My Lance TC has had a bad connector in the solar roof wiring for some time now and it is time to do a good solid repair. I have tracked the problem to the connector through the Fridge Vent Cover. My camper is a 1996 so the first solar may have been installed a long time ago. This connector may be out of production. I realize there are options available such as using other types of connectors in order to eliminate the thru-vent connector, however, I would like to simply replace it with a new one. Anyone know where to find one? I guess the vernacular I am feeding Google is not being recognized. Here are a couple of shots of the work area :::1.2KViews0likes9CommentsRe: Basic Solar Panel Question
Time2Roll, Yes, I immediately took the meter as set to my rig and got 14 volts on the batt terminals of my controller. No, he did not physically bump or drop the panel. So I had believed as you say that a reverse of polarity could not fry the panel itself. Seems odd to me, metering the terminals in the junction box with full sun on the panel should be the ultimate test of the panels output right? Direct metering...300Views0likes0CommentsRe: Basic Solar Panel Question
Ok thanks. Horrible looking eh? Do you mean horrible cheap crappy junction box brand or horrible mess which it obviously is? We wanted to get to the terminals to meter them directly as I indicated. One thing: If we cut the feeds to say 18" out as you suggest and meter them, wouldn't metering the actual terminals within the box be better, more direct? If this were your panel doing this, what would you do? Thanks again.... M253Views0likes0CommentsBasic Solar Panel Question
I am full time and met another full-timer who has a solar Panel issue. He is in an older C-Class Ford and picked up a panel and got it twisted. Apparently, he reversed the polarity and tried to hook into his controller and of course something blew. I built my own solar system so offered to lend a hand in sorting things out. The panel is off the roof and so I metered the pigtails while the sun was on the panel and got a one. No good signal. So then I dug the insulation out of the junction box on the back of the panel and again let the sun on it, got underneath and metered the terminals and still got a one on my meter. My question is this. In a case such as this, is it possible for the cells to get somehow ruptured to where the panel is ruined? I never thought so but with no signal, I wonder. Then I thought well looks like some diodes or something in that junction box. If they were fried, could that cause the panel to show no signal when the terminals are metered directly? Any help appreciated.2.3KViews0likes21CommentsNeed Reviews or Any Info on 1999 Aljo 33'
Hi Guys, I found a fifth wheel toy hauler, need reviews. It is a 99' Aljo 33 foot toy hauler and looks to be in really great condition. Asking price is $6,500 "Shower/Tub combo. Stove/Oven, microwave. Roof A/C. New hot water heater. Large awning in great condition. Two 60 watt solar panels, with brand new 6-volt batteries, keeps all batteries charged for off grid camping. 4000-watt L.P. Generac generator with 475 hrs. New tires, wheels, and bearings. No leaks, no signs of ever leaking. Used but not abused. Everything works as it should. Will need tags. Clean title in hand." The age can be a problem I know and NADA shows it around 5K but this one does appear exceptionally clean and does have the solar which I love. Any guidance or advice/reviews appreciated.727Views0likes3CommentsRe: 96 Lance 3000: Systems Monitor - Battery Monitor Questions?
BFL13: First thanks for clearing that up. Nice to be able to simply connect the panel directly to the controller. As for the low batt. This is what I've been telling everyone in this string. If you read it from the start, I think you'll get your answer. At some point, my solar must have stopped working and the batt went down. This is what caused me to start metering everything. I had misplaced my meter so at first, it was chaotic being that I do not have a battery monitoring system. The old plug that lets the solar signal go through the fridge vent cover looks a bit fried and I think it came back on when I unplugged it and cleaned it a bit. Working great now. I metered 12.9 coming down from the panels and the batt was at 12.8 today.709Views0likes0CommentsRe: 96 Lance 3000: Systems Monitor - Battery Monitor Questions?
Ok just about the same time as one great response came in speaking of panel voltage meters from eBay I realized the same. While Trimetric and the like are excellent additions to any system, I was metering the power terminals from the panels & then running outside to the batt bay and metering the batt posts. So I ordered 2 of these I assume it is "legal" & safe to tap into the controllers' terminals and mount one of them on the wall next to it. I would like to tap the other on the batt posts but would very much like to run a length of wire back inside the camper to also mount the battery mon panel on the wall for frequent viewing. Do I need to consider wire size to do this or just get a similar size and feed it through appropriately? Thanks again for all the great help.710Views0likes0Comments
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