Solar Power Help needed.

[RichieRY]

Hi all,

Hope you are all well.

I have not posted in sometime (since last year) when I was a total virgin to the motorhome scene. We had a great first year in the motorhome and as you saw we had some trouble shooting along the way. The dealership was useless considering it was brand new and we have since made friends with a new dealership.

We have another new 2020 Rollerteam which has not been out yet since being delivered 1st March (bohooooo - I want to hit the road). It has been in the barn/yard and was completely pancaked. Both the leisure batteries and vehicle battery which shouldn't have happened if the solar was working.

Looking into it - the solar is not working. The dealership is closed so I have been looking if there is anything I can do myself. I have attached a picture below.

The charge indicator does not light up at all (I have set it to purely light operated to test).
Storage battery is slowly flashing which says it is under voltage.
The load (lightbulb) is on which says load is open.

With the weather being what it is I can only think it is wired in incorrectly?

Any guidance appreciated.

Richie

 

[dunnah01]

It may be worth swapping the two left hand black wires from the panel to check if polarity is incorrect before pulling anything apart. Unit has reverse polarity protection so won't be damaged. If the panel light is still dead put the wires back as original and keep testing.

 

[RichieRY]

My thoughts are that that it is very rare for a solar panel to fail, especially a new one and I'm leaning towards a fuse or a faulty connection in the cables from the S.P. to the regulator. I would ask the dealer if this is covered by the warranty and will he correct at his cost. I'm guessing from his real bad attitude he's not going to step up to the plate and if so the very lest I would do is leave him some bad reviews and consider using citizens advice (Which I think is not worth the effort to be honest). The way forward then is to get the S.P. off the roof and a a little elbow grease is required here but something you could do yourself with the help of Funsters and a few photographs of how your S.P. is fixed to your roof. Once off, further diagnosis would be a doddle. Something for you to think about. As an aside can you get at the connections (MC4) without removing the S.P. I suspect he will have added an extra cable length to get from the S.P. (depending where it is located on the roof) to the regulator and if you can get at it, check again before and after join with volt meter. Best of luck, it's not major and will be resolved with a little effort I'm sure.

I would like to assume it is covered as it is brand new (delivered 1st March) and never been used apart from going up and down to the dealership as it was missing pre-ordered factory fit items on delivery (which they didn't pick up on I might add - which is why I am angry when they said 'we checked it thoroughly).

The sales guys are really good to be fair - its only the service manager that is obnoxious. It is a big multi dealership with a range of car brand sales too, so I am hoping to be looked after. Other than that they know we are aiming on buying one a year - so I would like to think they would consider that.

I am really out of my comfort zone with this. If it comes to it we have made a good connection with an independent caravan/motorhome service company that are amazing. It would just be a case of calling him and getting him on the case if I have no luck with the dealership.

 

[gus-lopez]

It would just be a case of calling him and getting him on the case if I have no luck with the dealership.

But inform the service manager that you will be sending him the bill.

 

[RichieRY]

So I sucked it up and did just what dunnah01 said. I left my meter in the house and went for it - just changed them around!!!!

It is working and currently on charge through the solar panels.

The habitation is now on 98% and the cab on 74%.

Pheeeeeeew!!!! Relieved doesn't quite cover it. So checked it my arse!!!!!! At least I can report back that it was not checked as it was not the right way around!!!!!

IDIOTS!!!

THANK YOU ALL ON HERE!!!!! REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE HELP!

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[dunnah01]

Might be worth putting a bit of red tape on the +ve black wire so you'll know which it is in the future.

 

[Apache]

So pleased that you got it sorted. When we collected our new one in 2015 the dealers had moved some cars from their little showroom and put the van in there so we could inspect it in the warmth ( November ) . Everything was turned on and warmed up so great, no problem. Until our first trip where we discovered there was no 12 volt power. I found a connector near the Leisure battery which wasn’t connected and plugged it together , hey presto it all worked. So our dealership didn’t check everything properly either.

 

[RichieRY]

So pleased that you got it sorted. When we collected our new one in 2015 the dealers had moved some cars from their little showroom and put the van in there so we could inspect it in the warmth ( November ) . Everything was turned on and warmed up so great, no problem. Until our first trip where we discovered there was no 12 volt power. I found a connector near the Leisure battery which wasn’t connected and plugged it together , hey presto it all worked. So our dealership didn’t check everything properly either.

It is just frustrating isn't it. I was very kind but fair on the phone after he was so rude to my husband and handed it to me (I said be careful as it is me and you know I don't take any prisoners). He said 'I checked it all myself' and I responded with - well clearly not very well as it was missing other items (one large one being the cab side blinds - but we had the windscreen one ). I have pointed out a number of times that it was sat there 2 months waiting for the 1st March pickup and clearly was not checked.

I also asked him does he have documentation of checking the solar system - he said yes. At least when the overseeing manager calls I can say he is fudging his paperwork too.

IDIOT!!!

I kindly said to him a number of times. Instead of being abrupt and saying he personally checked it (which clearly he hadn't - or anyone else), just simply say 'sorry sir, I know this is a real inconvenience - let get it booked in ASAP for us to get it sorted' - I would have actually been fine. Its just his bad attitude and lies that has got me more.

rant over

 

[Apache]

It is just frustrating isn't it. I was very kind but fair on the phone after he was so rude to my husband and handed it to me (I said be careful as it is me and you know I don't take any prisoners). He said 'I checked it all myself' and I responded with - well clearly not very well as it was missing other items (one large one being the cab side blinds - but we had the windscreen one ). I have pointed out a number of times that it was sat there 2 months waiting for the 1st March pickup and clearly was not checked.

I also asked him does he have documentation of checking the solar system - he said yes. At least when the overseeing manager calls I can say he is fudging his paperwork too.

IDIOT!!!

I kindly said to him a number of times. Instead of being abrupt and saying he personally checked it (which clearly he hadn't - or anyone else), just simply say 'sorry sir, I know this is a real inconvenience - let get it booked in ASAP for us to get it sorted' - I would have actually been fine. Its just his bad attitude and lies that has got me more.

rant over

Anyone can make a mistake or forget to do something. It’s how you deal with it that separates the good firms from the bad.

 

[RichieRY]

Anyone can make a mistake or forget to do something. It’s how you deal with it that separates the good firms from the bad.

Exactly. Thats all I wanted. Just not lies saying he had checked it all. I am the kind of person, if i make a mistake I own up to it. Thats life.

But he's dug a hole saying the has paperwork to back it up.

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[XxAnthxX]

I also asked him does he have documentation of checking the solar system - he said yes. At least when the overseeing manager calls I can say he is fudging his paperwork too.

rant over

Glad it‘s all sorted.

To be fair checking the solar system in two months is a tall order...They probably only got to Venus by the time you collected It.

 

[denisejoe]

If batteries were 0%then you will be lucky to recover them I would get on to dealer as soon as possinless when. We got our present mh put it on charge and next day they were reading 16.5 volts phoned dealer and workshop manager said it was probably the solar so I told him it was impossible as they had disconnect the solas costthema new charger and 2 new batteries
are on there any markings by where the wires go into the regulator on all regulators I have had the 2 solar wires were on the left but the battery ones on the right had to be connected first

 

[RichieRY]

Glad it‘s all sorted.

To be fair checking the solar system in two months is a tall order...They probably only got to Venus by the time you collected It.

Thank you!!!I so needed that!

 

[Richard n Ann]

I don't know why people are like that, they are on a path to self destruct, they can get little in the long run from not sorting their mistakes, and it wouldn't even cost them much.

 

[RichieRY]

Final update.

Woke up this am and still grateful of all the help on here. She's not been on hookup, just using solar - she is 100%!!!

Thank you again all.

Richie

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[Lenny HB]

If batteries were 0%then you will be lucky to recover them.

I agree, I would be insisting on them fitting new batteries. As at the least they will have a much shortened life.

 

[PhilandMena]

Final update.

Woke up this am and still grateful of all the help on here. She's not been on hookup, just using solar - she is 100%!!!

Thank you again all.

Richie

I suspect that reading is the charging state coming from the regulator via the Solar Panel and may not be the actual charged state of the batteries. Assuming your batteries were total flat or very near to being flat it would take quite a while to get them fully charged from the solar panel alone. It's hard to judge as you never stated the size of your panel (I'm assuming 100W), or your battery bank (one or two leisure batteries and which type i.e. Lead Acid, AGM, Gel etc.,?).
If your on hook up (now that you know your S.P. is charging) I would switch on your on-board charger and give each set of batteries a minimum of 24 Hrs just to be certain there fully charged. I agree you should have a chat with your dealer about replacing the batteries and point out the error in installation was not yours and his refusal will be taken into account when purchasing future m'homes.

 

[RichieRY]

I suspect that reading is the charging state coming from the regulator via the Solar Panel and may not be the actual charged state of the batteries. Assuming your batteries were total flat or very near to being flat it would take quite a while to get them fully charged from the solar panel alone. It's hard to judge as you never stated the size of your panel (I'm assuming 100W), or your battery bank (one or two leisure batteries and which type i.e. Lead Acid, AGM, Gel etc.,?).
If your on hook up (now that you know your S.P. is charging) I would switch on your on-board charger and give each set of batteries a minimum of 24 Hrs just to be certain there fully charged. I agree you should have a chat with your dealer about replacing the batteries and point out the error in installation was not yours and his refusal will be taken into account when purchasing future m'homes.

This is the computer panel in the habitation which has status info for both cab and habitation along with various other master controls for the motorhome.
The cab was 87% charged and the habitation was 91% charged yesterday from the mains hook up. I have no idea on the size of the panel - im not very technical. I will try and find out. I do know the motorhome has 2 leisure batteries.

I am still a major rookie - learning though!

I have pointed out how disappointed I am and that I will not be ordering another one until they can assure me their processes have been tightened.

Again I really appreciate all the help on here!

 

[RichieRY]

I agree, I would be insisting on them fitting new batteries. As at the least they will have a much shortened life.

on it!!!

 

[autorouter]

To be fair checking the solar system in two months is a tall order...They probably only got to Venus by the time you collected It.

But seriously you do wonder what planet they are on. If you want to give them something to worry about, you could casually mention all the help from all those motorhome enthusiasts on the internet forums when you gave all the details of the problem you were having, and how they are interested in what the final outcome will be.

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[XxAnthxX]

But seriously you do wonder what planet they are on. If you want to give them something to worry about, you could casually mention all the help from all those motorhome enthusiasts on the internet forums when you gave all the details of the problem you were having, and how they are interested in what the final outcome will be.

Absolutely......

 

[RichieRY]

But seriously you do wonder what planet they are on. If you want to give them something to worry about, you could casually mention all the help from all those motorhome enthusiasts on the internet forums when you gave all the details of the problem you were having, and how they are interested in what the final outcome will be.

oh I have XxAnthxX & autorouter - don't you worry. I well and truly got them in the corner with this whole 'I thoroughly checked the entire motorhome myself' silly comment - when he knew that its been back a number of times.

The manager sounded quite interested, almost like he was unaware. When I mentioned that he checked the solar system and had paperwork - but then you guys helped us out and said you knew what it was. He was very apologetic as he said it wouldn't have been working at all when it left the dealership. I think that guy will be in trouble.

Me being me I did of course say I haven't named the company but they were all so helpful and some of you could be potential customers. I said it doesn't take a genius to work out where it is from as its in a few pics with your business on the number plate and we meet up with some people off the forum - word will get around.

 

[Off da Grid]

If you can count the cells that will give you an idea, have a look on any solar panel web site and find one that has the same amount and that will give you a ball park figure.
They all differ slightly depending on type.

 

[Raul]

If batteries have been undercharged for two months, rest assured that they are partialy sulphated already, If they had a load on them. If the solar was not operational, (he owned up) and batteries WILL go south because of that, I would hold them liable for replacement.

 

[RichieRY]

Update after writing another thread with more electrical issues.

So many of you might have seen my other posts about the battery failing when it was new in our barn etc. Just had a specialist out - both the new and old batteries are both fine. Turns out the wires coming from the inverter were not secured in, so some were also crushed under units as they appear to have been built on top and damaged, also the switch on the inverter had failed which were the issues. Wires replaced that were crushed and the other end were secured in finally. The 12v point is wired incorrectly and working off the lights which is why the TV wouldn't come on - so things were looking a bit grey for a while.

ALL FIXED!!! New wiring for the TV to its own supply, and solar panel unit wires checked.

THANK GOD FOR THE INDEPENDENT - STILL BATTING THE DEALERSHIP!!! Making friends with a new dealership in reading to purchase our 2 new 707 Auto Rollers for March 2021.

Thank you all for the help - you are all amazing.

Richie

Thank you again for all the help. Still fishing for those shelf holders. Cant find the type anywhere.

If batteries have been undercharged for two months, rest assured that they are partialy sulphated already, If they had a load on them. If the solar was not operational, (he owned up) and batteries WILL go south because of that, I would hold them liable for replacement.

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[Lenny HB]

had a specialist out - both the new and old batteries are both fine.

I wouldn't accept that, the CCA test the so called specialist is pretty meaningless and completely useless on a leisure battery. All a CCA test does is check that the battery can deliver a high current for a few seconds.
IMO just a test so dealers can fob punters of saying the battery is fine we are not replacing that.

As the batteries were totally flattened due to faulty wiring the dealer should replace them. As you are hiring the van out the last thing you want is problems when it's hundreds of miles from you.

 

[denisejoe]

I had it with a company in Reading when we looked at van had a volt meter fitted when picked up wasn’t there but never mind Got home put on. Electric hookup next morning Hab batteries at 16.5 volts
checked out wiring they had disconnected the solar panel it was the mains charger that was the problem, phoned them got through to garage manager told him the voltages he said it was probably the solar panel so I told him they had disconnected it and taken the voltage meter away he agreed to send new charger and I persuaded him I needed 2 new batteries and needed the volt meter.