Solar panel use
I have a solar panel fitted to my van by Marquis. It should charge both lesuire and van battery, I paid extra for this option. Went to use the van this week and the lesuire battery is completely flat. For the Lesuire battery to charge do I have to leave the master switch on? Marquis are closed until the 3rd Jan so I can't check with them but I'm sure they didn't mention it to me last March when they fitted the panel. Lesuire battery was new in Feb this year. No issues until this week. Thanks for any help.
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I assume you left the master switch off then? In which case I would wonder how the battery became fully discharged. The answer to your actual question is that it would depend on how the solar panel was wired. Instructions for the last SP that I fitted myself were to cable it directly to the battery, but Marquis may have connected it elsewhere in the wiring system, possibly at a terminal on the 12 volt charger / breaker unit, which is what was done with the dealer fitted panel on my current motorhome.
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I don't know what you got in way of manuals when you collected from Marquis but you may have one for the electronic control panel and/or a solar charge controller as well as a general (possibly generic) manual. Some control panels including for example the Sergeant 328 incorporate an integral solar solar charge controller which automatically splits the output from the solar panel so that it charges both the vehicle and the leisure battery. So there may be no separate charge controller but if there is one it may have a display showing by LEDs or a voltmeter what the SP is doing and the state of charge of the LP. It you can't find the answer in the documentation you have try identifying the panel and google the panel type. This may enable you to find an online handbook for your panel and it may contain the answer. In the oil industry there is an acronym RTBM (or a less polite version) which entreats you to read the manual
Even without solar assistance the LB should stay up for some time unless something is drawing current from it so check that you haven't left anything on, also that the Solar is clean. Obviously the shorter daylight and colder weather at this time of year conspire together to affect the charge.
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There is no simple answer to your question without knowing quite a lot about your set-up. As stated above, it depends on the control panel and how the system was wired. On a new AS motorhome for example you would have the Sargent system which charges both batteries (with a priority selection) and the master would be off. The standard panel would be around 80 Watts which should be enough to keep both batteries topped up, even in winter.
Generally whatever the wiring the batteries should charge with the master off but still allow power to alarm systems. Of course, if the leisure battery is old or has had a poor charging regime then it could easily go flat. Again, the charging regime depends on what control system your MH has but if it doesn't have an "intelligent" system like Sargent then it could quite possibly not have had a proper recharge and could therefore be beyond saving. Either way, the immediate action is to disconnect the leisure battery and charge it fully using a proper leisure battery charger.
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Thanks very much for your replies. I charged the battery and, so far, it's held the charge with no further issues.
I would normally RTBM but this was an 'after collection addition' and they didn't give me any manuals, just a quick explanation of how it works and that was 10 months ago now so can't remember every detail. I'll give them a call when they re-open on the 3rd Jan.
Thanks again, All the best for the New Year!
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would you recomend fitting a solar panel
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we have a 120w panel and two leisure batteries in which to store all that lovely juice....
keeps all batteries well charged while van is on the drive and enables camping off grid without difficulty....
for the money, a good investment IF you need to keep the batteries up or are camping away from EHU.
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I've been to a few dealerships recently looking to see what is good and suitable for us. I have noticed that many more motorhomes are coming with solar panels as standard, especially among the PVC type, many more than when we bought our first M/H a few years back. We used to move on and tour every couple of days, charging the leisure battery en-route. ------------Although not a necessity, Solar panels will enable longer stays at any particular location which could be very handy.
Cheers.......................K
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K, one of the main resons for SP in PVC vans is the move towards compressor fridges (no cutting vent holes in the side of the van) which are generally 2-way, 12v or 240v.
so, off grid, there is no gas option and the fridgerelies on the battery bank which, withput solar topping it up, will soon deplete....
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I have SP fitted to my Autotrail Apache 632 which supplies juice to either Vehicle or liesure battery pending charge status (automatic function), learnt to my cost last week if the sun can't get to SP then output (charge) won't happen. My van is parked facing north with a high hedge behind unfortunately due to time of year the sun is not high enough to get to SP hence flattish batteries. Jump start and temporary re charging at home sorted problem and now moved pitch to other side at storage site south facing and clear of hedge! Moral of story don't be "lazy" and check van in winter more than once a month...
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good advice from Toppic above....
as the van is in a southerly aspect at home, not an issue with the SP. however, we do pop in and put of the van often (spare supplies store...) and i always check the battery status as i enter the van.
handy also to be able to plug in if required, though dont use this very often, i did heat the van up last week prior to this new year trip...
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