Solar panel add on for 2017 prewired

[Gizmopilot]

Technically you can just plug a 12 volt panel in and it is protected by circuit breakers. (At least the front a frame port on mine)

It is that you can do so much better with more/better panels and a mppt controller would be more efficient and protect the batteries providing a much more optimum charge.

This is where the dealer kits comes in, but if you are more of a DIY type you can save money and do much better than the kits.

My goal is to be able to keep my residential refrigerator with power most of the time with out needing shore power or generator and that needs more than these kits offer. (Roughly 2400 watt hours a day on average 100 watts per hour)

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by Gizmopilot

My goal is to be able to keep my residential refrigerator with power most of the time with out needing shore power or generator and that needs more than these kits offer. (Roughly 2400 watt hours a day on average 100 watts per hour)

For additional Residential fridge reading...
https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...mod-47511.html

Don
My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[docdvm]

I was able to access the wires behind the sticker for the Go power controller location and took a pic. There are 2 wires )Red and brown ) that come from the roof I believe are knotted and connected and then travel down. I believe those are from the Solar roof connection. Do you agree?The red and brown wires with the blue attachments are not very heavy gauge wires!

Do those connectors terminate the wires or do they may a connection that would be safe?

[docdvm]

I do not know which wires connect to the 30 amp breakers behind the battery shutoff. I believe I found the 2 wires running near the water pump but cannot find the same gauge wire on any of the breakers.

[klassic]

I don’t think you found them.
They wouldn’t tie in a knot very well. If they actually had a connector on the end it would be huge, and no way they would use brown (if the wire even is manufactured in brown?)

They would be red and white 8ga. It will say 8 AWG on the wire.

They should (but not always) be coiled up with the cut ends tapped and have a sticker that says “solar pre wire” (something like that)

Here is a picture of the ACTUAL wire. I used a pencil so you could get a scale. See near the eraser “8AWG”

[klassic]

Looking at your last picture, I would say the beaker next to your switch is the breaker and the arcing red wire is the wire.
Where does the wire on the other side of the breaker go? I can’t see it.

[docdvm]

I believe it goes through to the space beside the battery box and then back to somewhere under the basement storage. I will follow it tomorrow and repo
rt back

[Gizmopilot]

Originally Posted by docdvm

I was able to access the wires behind the sticker for the Go power controller location and took a pic. There are 2 wires )Red and brown ) that come from the roof I believe are knotted and connected and then travel down. I believe those are from the Solar roof connection. Do you agree?The red and brown wires with the blue attachments are not very heavy gauge wires!

Do those connectors terminate the wires or do they may a connection that would be safe?

Those blue connectors look like they actually connect the wires.

Check the awg mine are 8 as well but mine are black and red yours looks black from your picture.

If you mount the charge controller in the hallway you will be limited to 30 amps to the batteries.

If you mount it by your battery disconnect and use a mppt charge controller you get the flexibility of higher voltage panels and just keep the open voltage rating lower than your controllers voltage rating and keep the amps below 30 to use the existing wiring.

Then you can go bigger wires out of your charge controller and can connect near the battery disconnect.

Did you decide on how much solar you want to install wattage?

Also did you get that tone generator from amazon you can use that to determine which wires are what for sure.

I attached a picture of my wall panels solar wire - my red cables are wire capped, I plan on connecting them when I get the panels I’m looking for I would like to get 2 400+ watt panels, I already have a victron energy 100/50 blue tooth solar controller

[klassic]

Originally Posted by docdvm

I believe it goes through to the space beside the battery box and then back to somewhere under the basement storage. I will follow it tomorrow and repo
rt back

I guess if it doesn’t go to the battery then that’s not the breaker.

Is that it? Is that all your wiring and breakers?

[docdvm]

Yes that is it. From the battery disconnect there are 2 wires on 1 pole , one from the trailer and one direct to battery breaker. Other pole goes to the trailer. I have tried to find where the rest of the wires go and so none that connect directly to the battery. I will try to find the wires in the wall in the hallway. I cannot believe that the ones I have found are the right wires just because they seem too thin. The are not 8 AWG. So I will look again.

[docdvm]

I am getting a bit frustrated
I believe that you are correct that the red looping wire is likely from the roof solar. The wires I found definitely are not the solar wires. I cannot get to the wires to see if they are connected or not unless I cut into the wall where the GoPower sticker is.
I ordered the 200 watt Renogy kit from Amazon and they only sent me 1 panel and that is all!!

Maybe I am best to get the Go Power controller install it where it is meant to be installed and just trust the rest of the connections are OK?

I did trace that looping wire which tracks up in the same direction as the wiring harness wires. I then lose the red wire. The wires in the hallway do not travel down . I removed a power outlet below the sticker and there are no other wires there. So they must continue along the roof and drop down . So the red wire must be from the roof connections and possible are connected. I guess I could just go on the roof and try to connect the tone generator to see if that works. Still just connecting the Go Power is easier.

I suppose as long as I am less than 30 amp I could connect any panels.

As you can see from the pics the only wire that is 8 AWG goes from the first breaker loops to the left then through the wall and up. The black wire I am also holding goes direct to ground.

[klassic]

Don’t get frustrated. I know it’s maddening!

You need to find out if the wires are cut and capped. Check for any voltage between the roof connectors. There shouldn’t be ..This has happened before.

Disconnect the red looping wire (check to see if there is any voltage on it)
Then check for continuity from the roof connector to the wire. (Sorry I forget which connector is +) check them both. Jayco has mixed them up before.
If the wires aren’t cut, then there should be continuity to ground because the negative connector wire would be grounded. Again...don’t count on Jayco to have done things correctly, so....
If they are cut, you won’t get anything and you’ll know they are cut somewhere (and not necessarily capped)

Also don’t be too confident that the wires are waiting for you behind the sticker. They have been known not to be and the installer has been left with a hole in the wall.
Try taking out that light switch and see if you can see anything.
Sometimes the sticker is overtop if the wrong wall cavity.

If you find out the wires aren’t cut, that is good. Then you can install the controller closer to the batteries.

I don’t want to tell you what to buy for a controller, not that the GoPower system is bad, but it’s not overly great and is over priced.
It just a marketing thing with Jayco and GoPower. Its like getting a new computer and the sticker says AOL PRE INSTALLED ...yay.

I reread the thread. I don’t think you will be powering any coffee makers or little heaters with what you are proposing. For that you need a good supply of battery amp hours. More than two 12v will supply.
So if you go with the GoPower and cut it into your wall, then upgrading controllers won’t be so easy. You might find yourself wanting an MPPT controller later. If you were all hooked up in the basement with a small PWM controller near the batteries, then upgrading to a more powerful MPPT control would be easier and cleaner.

Here is another idea. If the Jayco prewiring just isn’t going to work. It’s not that big of a deal to drop new Amazon bought wires down the stink pipe (if your stink pipe is accessible in the basement)
I did that for my front panel, as it was easier then running the wires to the back of the roof, where the roof connetor is hooked to the back panel.

I’ll also throw I n my 2cents about the Renogy panels. I think they are over priced too.
You can find panels for under $1/watt.
I am in Canada and I paid under 90cents/watt for my two 260 watt panels. So in USD they should be free. Lol.
That’s just MHO, I know the ease of convenient purchasing is worth a few extra bucks.

[docdvm]

Wires are definitely in the wall. I removed the plug in the bathroom beside the sink and took a photo. I think they are capped but looks like they are connected.
Hard to tell from the photos especially with my electrical knowledge. Of course this is an experience that I appreciate with your help. Thank you.

So here is what it looks like above the plug. There is a light switch directly above and then the wires where the GoPower sticker is. below is the water heater controls.

[bdreinv]

Behind the decal there should be two wires in a loop. I cut each in half there are two sides to wire up the controller, Now you should have solar!

[klassic]

Looks like you’ve got them.
They don’t look cut to me. Like bdreinv said, he had to cut his.

You’ll know for sure that they are attached if you take a voltmeter across the roof connectors. As long as there is 12v at that red wire at the breaker.

If they are still uncut, the decision is yours of where to install a controller. Cut a hole, or put it in the basement.

[docdvm]

If I have a choice I would rather have the controller close to the batteries. That was it will be easy to upgrade later on if I stay under 30Amp. Of course a charge controller will likely do the same job in either location unless I go with lithium batteries in which case I believe it would make more sense to have it in the basement near the batteries.

Considering regular marine 12V flooded batteries is there a big difference between PWM or MPPT charge controllers? (In practice not theoretically or measuring efficiency) In other words would I notice a difference?

[klassic]

I’ll leave that question for Mustang to answer. Or someone else with far more knowledge on the workings between the two.

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by docdvm

If I have a choice I would rather have the controller close to the batteries. That was it will be easy to upgrade later on if I stay under 30Amp. Of course a charge controller will likely do the same job in either location unless I go with lithium batteries in which case I believe it would make more sense to have it in the basement near the batteries.

Considering regular marine 12V flooded batteries is there a big difference between PWM or MPPT charge controllers? (In practice not theoretically or measuring efficiency) In other words would I notice a difference?

I believe the easiest way to decide if you want PWM or MPPT is to watch this

VIDEO

that is in the RVing with SOLAR social group. At the end they will mention "Limited Space", like RV's. Watch the entire video. I went with the 250 Watt 36volt residential SOLAR panel type (less cost per watt). There were days that the MPPT charge controller remote display was showing 19.5Amps, I originally was going to add 1 or 2 more, but while dry camping the 250 watts of SOLAR worked fine for us (along with the (2) Trojan T145 6volt batteries (260Ah).
Those 2 or 3 extra ah's, that the MPPT produces each hour add up over 5 hours. I went with the MorningStar 60Amp MPPT SOLAR charge controller. I can always add more panels when needed. It also has SmartPhone / Internet connectivity.

As for locating the PWM or MPPT, the manufactures all recommend the SOLAR charge controller be as close to the batteries as possible. The reason for this is that the higher SOLAR panel voltages (18, 24, 36) are on the longer cable run, resulting in a lower voltage loss.

SOLAR charge controllers look at battery voltage and how much the battery is calling for in Amps. It looks at the battery temperature, and has a microcontroller timing things and moving form one mode to the next and back if necessary. If it is a 12 volt marine vs 2 6volt deep cycle batteries, it will take care of their needs equally, based on the parameters you set the SOLAR controller up for.

Good Luck with your system, and keep us informed

How was that klassic?
Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[klassic]

That was some good info.

[docdvm]

Instead of installing the GoPower charge controller in the hallway I ordered a 40 amp MPPT charger for the same price and will install near the batteries. I will keep my 2 flooded 12 volt deep cycle batteries for now but when they go I will replace with 6v in series so will need 4. Right now I have 2 100 watt eco-worthy monocrystalline panels which BTW are much lighter than polycrystalline. Eventually I may add 2 more. but for now the 200 should serve me well enough.
I have a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter and planning to run a line and hook up 2 plugs. There are 2 outlets on the inverter I suppose 500 watts each. Inverter will handle 1500 watt spike but how does that affect the outlets. Am I restricted to 500 watts or is there a way to safely get 1000 watts on 1 outlet? Maybe I should hold off and get a 2000 watt inverter ? I just think that my batteries will drain too fast. Am I right? I can always make manual drip coffee and save the expense.