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Old 09-18-2016, 07:47 PM   #1
spokedintheeye
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Built in solar connection

I have a 2016 Bullet 247BHSWE. The TT came with a built in solar connection for portable panels. The dealer didn't offer much info and there is nothing in the manuals for it. Anyone here have the same. If so I will have further questions.

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Old 09-19-2016, 02:41 AM   #2
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Is it Zamp by chance? If so I can tell you the plug is proprietary, but you can get adapter plugs for other brands.
Sometimes the wiring is hooked up at the converter and you don't have to do anything, other times the charge wires are just sitting by the battery.
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Old 09-19-2016, 06:06 AM   #3
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The plug is just like zamps from what I can tell. I plugged in a different brand panel with charge controller without the batteries connected. Using an amp meter I got the following results:

Panels not connected to trailer or charge controller 21 volts.

Panels connected to charge controller but not trailer 14v.

Those results seemed normal.

Panels connected to trailer with charge controĺler: the volt meter fluctuated and was changing quickly from 10 volts to 1v to about 6v and so on. I didn't check the panels directly into the trailer without the charge controller.

Videos I've seen of trailers with zamp wiring show the portable charge controller still required. I'm assuming g this might be zamp. No stickers, or documents telling me what it is or how to use

The good news is that I wasn't told about the solar wiring on the trailer until our walk through. So it wasn't a selling gnpkint for me and I can still hook up my panels directly to the batteries. Now I know it's there I would like to use it.

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Old 09-20-2016, 04:52 PM   #4
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I'm pretty sure that all portables come with a controller mounted somewhere on the panels, certainly my Zamp did as did every one I looked at when shopping.

My TT was not pre wired so I installed a Zamp connector on one of my battery boxes.
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Old 09-23-2016, 05:27 PM   #5
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Quote:
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I'm pretty sure that all portables come with a controller mounted somewhere on the panels, certainly my Zamp did as did every one I looked at when shopping.

My TT was not pre wired so I installed a Zamp connector on one of my battery boxes.
Yes that's exactly how I connect my current panels. This built in hook up would be an easy set up...if it actually worked or if I had a manual to explain the fluctuations. I just picked up another 75w panel. I guess that built in solar wiring is a waste of effort for Keystone. Or mine doesn't work. I just don't know.


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Old 09-23-2016, 05:36 PM   #6
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Did you connects the panels to the trailer with the charge controller and the batteries connected? If the batteries were not connected the charge controller might act that way since it senses the battery voltage and applies the correct charging current depending on what it's reading from the batteries.

My Zamp panels wont actually put out anything until the batteries are connected, until then the controller shows an error message saying that there is no load.
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Old 09-24-2016, 06:23 AM   #7
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Did you connects the panels to the trailer with the charge controller and the batteries connected? If the batteries were not connected the charge controller might act that way since it senses the battery voltage and applies the correct charging current depending on what it's reading from the batteries.

My Zamp panels wont actually put out anything until the batteries are connected, until then the controller shows an error message saying that there is no load.
Yes, I fid it both ways. The charge controller worked perfectly when attached directly to the batteries. I also tested the leads on rhe controller when not connected to the batteries and it still put out the correct power. It just doest work through the prewired connection in the trailer. There is a RV show on this weekend nearby. I'm going to ask there and hopefully get some answers. Keystone never got back to me.

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Old 09-24-2016, 06:54 AM   #8
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Sorry for the questions, I'm now curious. Did you trace the wires and to they go directly to the batteries or is it possible that they terminate somewhere and are not actually connected on the battery end?
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Old 09-24-2016, 11:26 AM   #9
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Questions are good it makes me think more about what I could have missed. I can't trace the wires back (that I can see) because the solar wiring is built into the wall. There is some power going through but the reading is not steady. The volt reading at the battery connection changes every second with the solar controller plugged into the sidewall of the trailer.

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Old 09-24-2016, 11:38 AM   #10
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I just had a thought. Zamp wires differently than others. On the bulkhead connector, the male pin is Positive. Zamp used red for positive and black for negative.
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Old 09-24-2016, 05:12 PM   #11
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Yes. Luckily for me, I checked the polarity first since I was able to use a volt meter on the solar connection on the side of the trailer to check battery volts. It matched my panels.

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Old 09-24-2016, 05:17 PM   #12
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I just came back from the RV show and spoke to the RV dealer carrying KEYSTONE. Is some non keystone trailers had zamp stickers on the connection. The keystone trailers had an after market sticker that said solar ready. I talked to two different reps from the dealer. One told me, I don't need a charge controller until I'm over 80 watts of panels hooked up. I asked another rep same company. He said...charge controller required no matter what. Bang my head against a wall!

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Old 09-24-2016, 05:51 PM   #13
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Google it and you will get varying answers but all of them state that you need a charge controller to prevent overcharging.

One rule of thumb I found was to take the AH rating of the battery and divide by 10 and that will tell you the maximum wattage of a solar cell without a charge controller....using that logic an 80w panel would only be acceptable without the controller on an 800ah battery pack.

Personally I think you need the controller or risk damage to your batteries.
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Old 09-24-2016, 06:01 PM   #14
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Google it and you will get varying answers but all of them state that you need a charge controller to prevent overcharging.

One rule of thumb I found was to take the AH rating of the battery and divide by 10 and that will tell you the maximum wattage of a solar cell without a charge controller....using that logic an 80w panel would only be acceptable without the controller on an 800ah battery pack.

Personally I think you need the controller or risk damage to your batteries.
Thanks for all the help everyone...but I still don't have any info on the solar connection or why it doesn't seem to work properly. I guess I will have to bring it in and get the dealership to figure it out with Keystone.

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Old 09-24-2016, 08:31 PM   #15
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FWIW, I've seen the plug have two leads laying in the front compartment and in others, the leads were connected to the battery charge leads at the converter.
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Old 09-29-2016, 11:51 AM   #16
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FWIW, I've seen the plug have two leads laying in the front compartment and in others, the leads were connected to the battery charge leads at the converter.
If it was connected to the leads at the converter could that explain the wierd power readings when I hook up the controller and panels?

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Old 09-29-2016, 12:18 PM   #17
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I suppose anything is possible. I can't say our dealership has had much experience with pre wired solar. We do a lot of system installs with permanent panels on the roof.
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Old 09-29-2016, 12:39 PM   #18
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Gotcha. For now I'm going to keep hooking the panels directly to the battery. Might be better anyway with less power loss that way. Too bad for me though. I like the idea of just plugging into the side of the trailer.

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Old 09-29-2016, 05:33 PM   #19
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Built in solar connection

Next trailer I PDI that has it, I will try to investigate further, and post what I find.
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Old 09-29-2016, 07:41 PM   #20
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Next trailer I PDI that has it, I will try to investigate further, and post what I find.
That would be great! Thanks!
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