Solar regulator with 2 wires for vehicle battery

fred flintstone

fred flintstone

Joined
Jul 12, 2016
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Location
lincoln
Funster No
44,055
MH
Pilote P690
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Since 2007 on and off
Just removing my old solar regulator and replacing it with a Victron dual charge controller.
I took all the wires off my old controller and have left the starter charge wires in situ for this photo.
1 wire obviously goes to the starter battery but the other wire disappears through the floor.
Anybody know where it disappears to or what it is for?
Also, the wires seem very thin. I have always used 4mm in the past.
Any ideas?



solar.webp
 
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Jev88 said:
The orig solar controller would.have had two wires from solar and two from battery.

So where are those wires?
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As I stated in my post "I took all the wires off my old controller and have left the starter charge wires in situ for this photo."
I have taken the other wires off :giggle:
 
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As it is a duo (2 output) controller, I suspect one of those flexes goes to your leisure battery and one to the cab. It may be that output 1 became defunct at some point so both were put in output 2.

The size of the wires will depend on the size of your solar array. If you only have one small panel (say 5A output) then these should be fine. If you have a bigger array, or are looking to upgrade, then you will need to replace them with something relative to the panel outputs.

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Ray-Vic said:
As it is a duo (2 output) controller, I suspect one of those flexes goes to your leisure battery and one to the cab. It may be that output 1 became defunct at some point so both were put in output 2.

The size of the wires will depend on the size of your solar array. If you only have one small panel (say 5A output) then these should be fine. If you have a bigger array, or are looking to upgrade, then you will need to replace them with something relative to the panel outputs.
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Thanks for your speedy reply.
I have a 120W panel. I bought the 2012 Elddis van last week. The regulator shown in the picture had the following wiring:
Two 4mm wires from the solar panel, two 4mm wires to the leisure battery (output 1). I removed these for the photo. That leaves the thin wires. I know one of the thin wires goes off to the starter battery just can't fathom the wire that disappears through the floor. I have checked and it doesn't go to the leisure battery. It's a mystery. I checked the starter battery and it is receiving charge from the solar through the thin wire. Hope this all helps..
 
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fred flintstone said:
Thanks for your speedy reply.
I have a 120W panel. I bought the 2012 Elddis van last week. The regulator shown in the picture had the following wiring:
Two 4mm wires from the solar panel, two 4mm wires to the leisure battery (output 1). I removed these for the photo. That leaves the thin wires. I know one of the thin wires goes off to the starter battery just can't fathom the wire that disappears through the floor. I have checked and it doesn't go to the leisure battery. It's a mystery. I checked the starter battery and it is receiving charge from the solar through the thin wire. Hope this all helps..
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Ah I see, that is a mystery then. I know a stupid question which no doubt you've looked at, but is there no way of physically tracing the wire knowing the rough location it's heading?
 
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Sorry I forgot to mention, I think on these duo controllers output 2 is limited to something like 1A as it's only meant as a 'trickle charge' type output, so that would explain the small wire.

It seems you may have something else that is battery operated in the van that is being trickle charged, so it's only going to be a small item.
 
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Ray-Vic said:
Sorry I forgot to mention, I think on these duo controllers output 2 is limited to something like 1A as it's only meant as a 'trickle charge' type output, so that would explain the small wire.

It seems you may have something else that is battery operated in the van that is being trickle charged, so it's only going to be a small item.
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Does it even have to be anything trickle charged, or could it just be whatever device using the same wiring to access starter battery as the solar controller? Since that's essentially a parallel connection is it not?

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mikash said:
Does it even have to be anything trickle charged, or could it just be whatever device using the same wiring to access starter battery as the solar controller? Since that's essentially a parallel connection is it not?
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Could be 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
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Jev88 said:
So you have two wires to two starter batteries? Now connected
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I don't know where the 2 wires go. One goes to starter, other one disappears through the floor. It
Ray-Vic said:
Ah I see, that is a mystery then. I know a stupid question which no doubt you've looked at, but is there no way of physically tracing the wire knowing the rough location it's heading?
Click to expand...
Its in for service next week so I will be able to get underneath and search. I will let you know if I find anything haha
is a mystery. That's my problem
 
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Disconnect them and see if something stops working.

If nothing does, then just label them with "not a clue where these go", isolate the bare ends and tuck them away to be forgotten forever....

* edit.

Posts crossed... if you've got zero voltage then there isn't a battery on the other end (or there's a completely dead battery...) so it could be something that's powered directly from the controller as a load - or it could be some now redundant cables that someone didn't remove or label.

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Ray-Vic said:
Sorry I forgot to mention, I think on these duo controllers output 2 is limited to something like 1A as it's only meant as a 'trickle charge' type output, so that would explain the small wire.

It seems you may have something else that is battery operated in the van that is being trickle charged, so it's only going to be a small item.
Click to expand...
Good call. I am upgrading to Victron and will continue my investigations..
 
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Jev88 said:
A standard leisure battery would be 12.8v full.
13.4 sounds like a charge being applied?
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(y) Right then... I removed both thin wires. Turns out the disappearing one in the floor runs under the full length of the van to the starter battery. Other wire leads into ceiling then disappears (no voltage showing for it) haha. I'm surprised the installer used 1mm wire, maybe they are right and I am wrong. Think I'll replace with 4mm. Thankyou everyone for your help and ideas. Next problem coming soon :giggle: Thanks again...
 
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fred flintstone said:
(y) Right then... I removed both thin wires. Turns out the disappearing one in the floor runs under the full length of the van to the starter battery. Other wire leads into ceiling then disappears (no voltage showing for it) haha. I'm surprised the installer used 1mm wire, maybe they are right and I am wrong. Think I'll replace with 4mm. Thankyou everyone for your help and ideas. Next problem coming soon :giggle: Thanks again...
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We are always happy to try and help.
Have you located the solar panel cables too? Ps. 4 or 6mm is a good idea.
 
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fred flintstone said:
Good idea (y) I'm going to fit one of these..View attachment 1036294
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Please don’t buy that. It is utter cr*p!!

It won’t trip at the rated amperage. The cable connector will not make a secure connection - it’s a tiny grub screw. It’s likely to be a poor conductor. It is not CE marked. The one I bought didn’t work at all and I sent it back for a refund.

Please buy a quality one from a reputable company like 12V Planet.
 
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Jev88 said:
Just don't buy the cheapest off fleabay. 50A that won't trip until 85Amps in some tests (y)
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This is off Amazon. Not bothered if it doesn't trip it's just so I can cut supply from panel if needed. (y)

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StillGoing said:
Please don’t buy that. It is utter cr*p!!

It won’t trip at the rated amperage. The cable connector will not make a secure connection - it’s a tiny grub screw. It’s likely to be a poor conductor. It is not CE marked. The one I bought didn’t work at all and I sent it back for a refund.

Please buy a quality one from a reputable company like 12V Planet.
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This is off Amazon. I've used the same company before. It's just so I can cut supply from panel if needed. Cheers..
 
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fred flintstone said:
This is off Amazon. I've used the same company before. It's just so I can cut supply from panel if needed. Cheers..
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I found the switch didn’t work on mine. As I’ve said previously, the cable is fixed to the switch by a tiny grub screw which does not provide a good, secure contact. You’ve just spend time and money upgrading your system using a quality product from Victron. You’ve replaced the 1mm cable which better quality 4mm which will reduce losses and now you are intending to fit a switch which could have come from a Christmas cracker.

It’s your choice. I’ve said my piece. I don’t think that switch is safe and I’m not alone.
 
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fred flintstone said:
This is off Amazon. I've used the same company before. It's just so I can cut supply from panel if needed. Cheers..
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As the idea of a breaker or fuse is to protect the cable can I suggest you buy a 30 amp one instead or you might as well install a switch?
 
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I might be late to the party but surely the "other" wire goes to a negative (0volt) connection......somewhere!?
 
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