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Confused about 12v disconnect

Hey guys thanks for the replies, I agree the stranded wire from panels look like crap but they seem to be very secure inside the screw, as far as testing, I simply put my multimeter leads on the metal strands and got zero volts. So far, I disconnected the battery cables from the CC and put electrical tape on those live wires. 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
 
The battery voltage may always be connected to the SCC. The "12V disconnect" may only disconnect the loads from the battery. The solar could keep on charging the battery when you have disconnected the loads.

It does look like you have no power from the solar panels. You will need to follow the wires up to the panels. Look for a fuse or broken wire. Eventually, you may be unplugging each panel, and testing the voltage only on one panel at a time.

The fuses may not look apparent. If you have MP4 connectors on the panels, you could have a small cylindrical MP4 connection that has a fuse inside it.

If you do find a panel that is not putting out power, it could be totally failed, or maybe just the diode. Solid panels have a diode on the back, inside the connection box. That could totally fail, breaking the supply of power. Usually they don't break totally, but instead short out. A diode is made to only pass voltage out the positive wire, and not allow voltage/current to be fed backwards. If it allows the voltage to be fed backwards, then you could end up with different issues. Like, one panel is in the sun, and feeding power out. But the second panel in parallel with that is shaded and has a shorted diode, allowing the power to go backwards into the shaded panel. I don't think the diodes are your problem. Look for fuses or broken wires first.

Get some electrical tape or wire nuts on the battery connections. You probably don't want them shorting out. You may be looking for more blown fuses on the battery side. Hopefully it is fused. If not, it could be a really hot wire if you short them.
Hey I was wondering, how do I check for fuses from the panels to the SCC ? Everything on the roof is sealed with silicone. Do I have to start cutting the silicone and opening everything up? Even the MP4 connections are tightly silicone into an input terminal , I have no idea where to start
 
Hey I was wondering, how do I check for fuses from the panels to the SCC ? Everything on the roof is sealed with silicone. Do I have to start cutting the silicone and opening everything up? Even the MP4 connections are tightly silicone into an input terminal , I have no idea where to start
Trace your wiring up to the point that it goes up to the roof. It will probably disappear into the wall at some point. Look on the roof where the wires exit. Find the first disconnects that you see and clean them off to test them. If you don't have voltage and current on that connection, then proceed back towards the panels, disconnecting and testing each connection as you go.

Look for a longer connector that could be containing a fuse inside. Most likely that is on the first connection out of roof entry. The most current is on that main connection and would be the best place to add a fuse. Likewise that would be the first fuse to blow.

Have you just looked over all the connections/wires? ie did a tree branch rip off a wire or connection box?

Have you disconnected the SCC wires and measured the panels without the SCC? Maybe one of the strands is causing a short. Maybe the SCC has failed and is shorted.
 
when I first opened up this back panel to find out why there was no amps coming from the panel, I found two red and black wires that were actually just hanging around , stripped and with no protection. I was confused but I wrapped electrical tape around them at the time just to be safe

well guess what, it turns out those were actually the wires coming from the panels. Whoever wired this system must have screwed the wrong wires into the charge controller , i traced the wires that were originally plugged Into the SCC and they lead toward the battery but they’re not plugged into anything. I screwed the panel wires in, then the battery wires and I now have amps !!!!!!
 
when I first opened up this back panel to find out why there was no amps coming from the panel, I found two red and black wires that were actually just hanging around , stripped and with no protection. I was confused but I wrapped electrical tape around them at the time just to be safe

well guess what, it turns out those were actually the wires coming from the panels. Whoever wired this system must have screwed the wrong wires into the charge controller , i traced the wires that were originally plugged Into the SCC and they lead toward the battery but they’re not plugged into anything. I screwed the panel wires in, then the battery wires and I now have amps !!!!!!
Your in the club. This is the DIY... Solar Forum. I'm DIYerNH. I've found that no one else cares about solving your issues/problems as much as yourself. You invested the time to research and find / understand the issue.

A paid "Pro" would have quickly installed the panels, maybe saw the 2 wires and connected. Not realizing the other two were there. Maybe they ran new wires as they could be newer, or larger conductors. When the SCC didn't power up, their job just became more expense, maybe without anyway of increasing the price charged. Many pro's don't do "old work". They run all their own wire, panels, SCC, batteries, etc to avoid old issues from reflecting on their work.
 
Your in the club. This is the DIY... Solar Forum. I'm DIYerNH. I've found that no one else cares about solving your issues/problems as much as yourself. You invested the time to research and find / understand the issue.

A paid "Pro" would have quickly installed the panels, maybe saw the 2 wires and connected. Not realizing the other two were there. Maybe they ran new wires as they could be newer, or larger conductors. When the SCC didn't power up, their job just became more expense, maybe without anyway of increasing the price charged. Many pro's don't do "old work". They run all their own wire, panels, SCC, batteries, etc to avoid old issues from reflecting on their work.
Well said, thanks for the help. It felt good to be able to troubleshoot this on my own, and yea I saved at least a couple hundred bucks
 
Hope all is well

My solar charge controller is not pulling any amps , it lights up and clearly has power but no amps are being drawn from the solar panels , after review of the troubleshoot tips from the manufacturer, it was determined my first orders of business were to check the connections at the back of the solar charge controller


I started by pulling the 12v disconnect switch on the camper itself , it was my understanding this disconnects all 12v systems including the battery

I then unscrewed the solar charge controller from the wall mounted space and then proceeded to unplug the battery cables one and two, my intention was to inspect the connections

upon attempting to screw the positive battery wire back into the solar charge controller (this seemed loose so I started with that). I saw the solar charge controllers lights flicker and I hear a spark when I attempt to screw it back in correct

why am I seeing a spark at the charge controller when I disconnected the 12v battery system?
Do you have solar hook to it
 
when I first opened up this back panel to find out why there was no amps coming from the panel, I found two red and black wires that were actually just hanging around , stripped and with no protection. I was confused but I wrapped electrical tape around them at the time just to be safe

well guess what, it turns out those were actually the wires coming from the panels. Whoever wired this system must have screwed the wrong wires into the charge controller , i traced the wires that were originally plugged Into the SCC and they lead toward the battery but they’re not plugged into anything. I screwed the panel wires in, then the battery wires and I now have amps !!!!!!
Well, at least your “solar ready” trailer has a SCC. The goobers that wired our trailer just ran the ZAmp SAE connector leads directly to the battery terminals. No fuse, just some 12 gauge landscape wire! Point here is it’s best not to trust any of the claims from dealers or manufacturers when it comes to solar systems. Verify everything yourself.
 
Well, at least your “solar ready” trailer has a SCC. The goobers that wired our trailer just ran the ZAmp SAE connector leads directly to the battery terminals. No fuse, just some 12 gauge landscape wire! Point here is it’s best not to trust any of the claims from dealers or manufacturers when it comes to solar systems. Verify everything yourself.

for sure, the way people cut corners is truly astonishing. I can’t wait till I have the money to pull everything out of here and rebuild the solar from the ground up.
 
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