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For the shunt to monitor the battery properly, ALL current, in and out, must go through the shunt. One end of the shunt connects to the battery negative terminal, the other end of the shunt is where ALL the other drains and charging connections get connected...use a busbar here if needed.

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The generator just supplies electricity, same as solar or utility power, it's the charge controller that controls the battery state of charge...if the battery is being overcharged, that's where the issue will lie.

Start pulling fuses, one by one while monitoring current draw, When you get to the fuse that kills the current draw, find what it powers. Also be aware that many vehicle systems take a while to 'go to sleep', and may draw more current for up to an hour or so, until they go into sleep mode.

As Zil said, ALL charging and discharging must go through the shunt so it can be measured. The only thing connected to the battery end of the shunt should be the battery (and the measurement wire to the meter, which is high impedance to measure voltage across the shunt). All other connections...

FYI, thermoelectric cooler are TERRIBLE for cooling vs the power they use. A normal phase-change refrigeration cooler is typically 3-600% more energy efficient. You should REALLY change the fridge away from a thermoelectric one.

That wouldn't work too well, power transformers are designed for 60 cycle power. The AC frequency of the alternator power depends on the speed it is turning, but will be MUCH higher than 60 cycles at any normal operating RPM.

This video gives a good comparison of AC vs DC arcing issues.

I'm using this to dim 12 volt LED light strings, works fine. https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-24V-48V-2000W-10-50V-40A-DC-Brush-Motor-Speed-Control-PWM-HHO-RC-Controller/111851538617

I think you'll find the defrost heaters use the lions share of that for the brief time they're on. When it does a defrost cycle, it wants to QUICKLY heat the cold surfaces to melt any frost that has formed on them, but not thaw food in the freezer, so it typically has a high powered heaters to...

Another thing to consider is the insulation used. I had a cheap set of jumper cables that had plastic insulation on the wires. They seemed fine in the store, but when you're likely to need them is when the temperature is below zero, and vehicles won't start, and the insulation was ROCK hard and...

If you are combining 3 or more panels (or strings of panels) in parallel, you should have each string fused (or CB) separately in a combiner box. The reason is if there is a fault in one panel (or string), it can be back-fed current by all the other panels (or strings), potentially leading to an...

Measure current draw going down vs going up. I suspect the motor is drawing much more current going up, either just due to increased load, or maybe the mechanism binding due to misalignment, or lack of lube. This may be causing the motors overload protection to kick in.

I've used an old style Honeywell thermostat before, they use a bimetal coil and mercury switch so they use zero power for opeartion, and you can adjust the on/off temp with a twist of the dial. The mercury switch will handle a computer fan just fine.

80 watts at 24 volts is 3.33 amp charge rate.

MC4 connector is only UL rated for 20 amps max, so parrallel wiring them would put the current over the safe level they can handle, that's also why you can't find 6 gauge wires with MC4 connectors.

FYI, Most pumped water systems have an accumulator, so the pump doesn't come on every time you crack a faucet. It pumps water into a pressurized container holding a few gallons, then the container supplies water under pressure until nearly empty and the pressure drops enough for the pump to come...

2 gauge is NOT the same as 2/0 gauge. Several posts here seem to be confusing the two gauges.

This video gives a good demonstration why AC only rated breakers are not acceptable for DC use, and why DC rated breakers have much better arc supression incorporated in their design.

A shunt is just a precision, very low resistance power resistor. They can produce a fair bit of heat at higher currents, so it should have free air space around it so the heat can dissipate.

If you pronouce it phonetically, it's OOPS! :)

As an earlier post mentioned, it is not a good idea to mount them in a small enclosed box, they can dissipate a significant amount of heat when passing large currents, you need to allow that heat to dissipate, not box it up. A 500 amp, 75 millivolt shunt will dissipate 37.5 watts of heat running...

:)

We had an ice storm a few years back that caused MANY trees to shed branches from the weight of the ice. Cleanup took quite a while, as did getting power restored.

They look similar to the wrenches they used to supply with motorcycles for adjusting the rear shock absorber springs.

Maybe this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086MYWFLX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Another thing to keep in mind...if your DIY method starts a fire, the insurance company may very well deny coverage due to that. The 'expensive' but approved method may not seem so expensive then.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^

In snow belt country, you have to build for snow loads. Roofs need to be heavy duty so as not to collapse when they have a couple of feet of snow on them...solar panels alone can't do that...they can sit on top of a suitably strong roof, but they are not strong enough on their own. I chuckle...

The company also has to be around in 25 years to honor that warranty. Company I used to work for bought flexible panels from a company called Xunlight. Panels work well, but Xunlight is no longer around, as is any warranty they might have had. You can see some of them coiled up in the aluminum...

This is the main point of using a combiner box with multiple strings of panels, with each string individually fused or breakered.

FYI, I've used the old style Honeywell thermostat for temp controlling computer fans. They have a tilting mercury switch in them and a bi-metallic coil, so they take zero power to run, and they are easily adjustable to your liking. You can mount the switch at a slight angle to bias the mercury...

As Dzl says, something like this may simplify your setup, most of the big tool names carry them, here's a DeWalt: https://www.dewalt.com/products/accessories/batteries-and-chargers/chargers/12v-max--20v-max-lithium-ion-vehicle-battery-charger/dcb119

Also, if the aluminum is anodized, you'll have to remove it where the electrical connections are, as it's an insulator.

Our town installed a large solar farm a few years ago. There is an issue when a large percentage of power is generated by solar called a duck curve, and it messes up the other power generation used. Our town ended up putting a moratorium on home solar installs to keep the curve from getting any...