No Power from Solar Panels

[GeoffChapman]

I'm a new owner of a 2021 LE 1, and very happy to have home after a 600 mile, 2 night, return drive from our seller's home in Illinois two days ago. I am going through the Oliver, trying to familiarize myself with a complex set of systems, and giving it a good cleaning along the way. There is a LOT to learn!! 

It seems like my  solar panels are not working, and I could use some help. My Elite 1 has the solar pro package, factory installed: two AGM batteries (replaced early this year), 230 watt panels with the ZS 30A Zamp Solar controller, 2000 watt inverter, etc. The Zamp controller seems to work, showing the battery icon and the battery levels, but it does not show the square solar panel icon and the green solar charging light is not lit.  I believe when I picked this up, the solar worked (though I am not sure - the walk-through was a bit overwhelming). Now it seems it does not.

I read up a bit on the forums and then pulled the Zamp controller out and took my voltmeter and measured the two solar wires when I'd removed them from the controller.  No voltage.  The other two wires to the battery show 12.5+ volts.

When I got the Oliver home, I power washed it, and took some time to power wash around the roof where there was a lot of dirt - behind the awning, around the mounting brackets and the AC unit, etc.

Might I have got some water in the solar wire connections up there and shorted a fuse somewhere?  Might there be another problem?  I'd be glad for some help.

This is my first post, but not the last. Sorry to make my introduction a request for some help!!

Geoff Chapman

 

[rich.dev]

Sounds like you’ve narrowed down the issue to between the panels and charge controller. Is there a fuse between the solar panels and charge controller, or perhaps a solar panel disconnect switch that’s off? 

[GeoffChapman]

That's exactly what I was wondering, too.

[topgun2]

On the Elite II there are two "breakers" that when tripped will have a small yellow "flag" that pops out to the side.  Take a look around in the area between the inner and outer shells to see if you can locate these.  If the yellow flag is out then simply press it back in with your finger.

Hope this helps!

Bill

[GeoffChapman]

Bill, can you be more specific on "the area between the inner and outer shells"?  Under the bedding on the street side of the Elite? Remember, I have an Elite 1.

I also just climbed up and pulled the feeds from each solar panel to the black port where they connect to the wiring inside the roof. They were easy to pull out. When I put my multi-meter on them, they each shower about 20 volts of power. So it must be a breaker between the roof and the Zamp Controller... right?

Geoff

[GeoffChapman]

Success!! Found the breaker in the 'attic' - the storage comp right next to the Zamp controller. It had flipped to 'Off". Turned to to "On" and the controller reset and said I'm solar charging!!

Thanks for the help!

Geoff

IMG_5153.HEIC

[GeoffChapman]

Try that photo again...

Geoff

[topgun2]

Great - congrats!

That red switch is not a breaker.  It is your main on/off switch for the solar panels.  

The breakers I was referring to are usually black in color with a red button that look something like THIS.  Note in the picture that one breaker has the "red" flag sticking out to the side while the other in the pic that flag is basically hidden.  With these breakers, they are tripped when the red (or yellow) flag is out.

Any idea of how you main solar switch got turned to the "off" position?  This is not a bad thing - of course unless you didn't know that it was off and wanted it on.  There can be times when you will want to turn that switch to the off position - like when you want to work on your batteries without any current coming to them.

Glad you figured out your problem.

Note that there are more similarities between the single and double axle Ollies than there are differences.  They both use many of the same parts but those parts just might be in different locations.

Bill

[GeoffChapman]

I haven't found any breakers that look like the Ines you linked, Bill. I'll be keeping my eyes open.

On the Solar Switch, I have no idea how it was turned to 'Off". And I had no idea that it was there!  But nice to find it, and to have a day to dig through the systems of the Oliver. It is an impressive trailer, and we are looking forward to the trips ahead.

Thanks,

Geoff

[Mountainman198]

1 hour ago, topgun2 said:

Any idea of how you main solar switch got turned to the "off" position?  This is not a bad thing - of course unless you didn't know that it was off and wanted it on.  There can be times when you will want to turn that switch to the off position - like when you want to work on your batteries without any current coming to them.

The switch could have been turned off and just not turned back one when the new batteries were installed as the panels would need to have their power feed to the controller interrupted to avoid damage to the controller when the batteries were removed and new ones installed. 

[ScubaRx]

On 9/4/2023 at 6:05 PM, GeoffChapman said:

I haven't found any breakers that look like the Ines you linked, Bill. I'll be keeping my eyes open.

On the Solar Switch, I have no idea how it was turned to 'Off". And I had no idea that it was there!  But nice to find it, and to have a day to dig through the systems of the Oliver. It is an impressive trailer, and we are looking forward to the trips ahead.

Thanks,

Geoff

The breakers you are looking for should be under the aft dinette seat, probably mounted to the inside of the aisle wall.

[mossemi]

On 9/4/2023 at 5:04 PM, GeoffChapman said:

I read up a bit on the forums and then pulled the Zamp controller out and took my voltmeter and measured the two solar wires when I'd removed them from the controller.  No voltage.  The other two wires to the battery show 12.5+ volts.

Congratulations on your troubleshooting success!  Now a word of caution concerning the solar system.  If the solar panels have light shining on them at all, they a capable of producing both voltage and amperage.  So it was fortunate that the solar cutoff switch was in the off position when you disconnected the power cables from the panels to the charge controller or you would have been handling live cables.  It is a good practice to cover the solar panels with anything that would block light from producing power when working on the solar system in the area between the panels and the cutoff switch.  I use moving blankets, but cardboard or wood panels would also work.  The solar system manufacturers usually have a sequence of steps to follow when connecting the components of the system, so the Zamp manual would be an excellent reference source and you can find it online at the Oliver University.  Click here!

Mossey

[GeoffChapman]

12 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

The breakers you are looking for should be under the aft dinette seat, probably mounted to the inside of the aisle wall.

I see two in the aft dining basement mounted opposite the inverter box on the wheel well - the red unit with two buttons on it and the black unit to its right with one red button - would these be them? Can you tell me what each does?

[GeoffChapman]

4 hours ago, mossemi said:

Congratulations on your troubleshooting success!  Now a word of caution concerning the solar system.  If the solar panels have light shining on them at all, they a capable of producing both voltage and amperage.  So it was fortunate that the solar cutoff switch was in the off position when you disconnected the power cables from the panels to the charge controller or you would have been handling live cables......

Mossey

I put my multimeter on them before disconnecting and they showed 1 watt. After reading for a bit, I thought it was worth disconnecting the solars and measuring them again. 0 watts. Seems like the 1 watt was a bleed-through from the live 12 watt battery wires on the controller. I followed the same procedure with the battery wires as with the solars - two measurements. Along the way I discovered they were indeed live!! I taped them off before proceeding further! My trailer was not connected to shore power during any of this.

Thanks for the warning, and the procedure on dealing with solar in any kind of light! And for the link to all the manuals. I had searched out about 1/3 of those manuals on the internet before I discovered that very helpful link at 'Oliver University'!! 

Geoff

[ScubaRx]

8 minutes ago, GeoffChapman said:

I see two in the aft dining basement mounted opposite the inverter box on the wheel well - the red unit with two buttons on it and the black unit to its right with one red button - would these be them? Can you tell me what each does?

The solid red thing with the "two red buttons" is just a insulated cover. The black unit to its right with one red button is one of the circuit breakers. If you push the red button it will go to the disconnected mode and the flag will pop out. One of the breakers will kill all the 12V power in the coach. Those three yellow things are 30 amp fuse holders, one for each of the jacks. Your front jack may have an additional holder at the jack, meaning that jack has two fuses to check if it quits working.

[ScubaRx]

Upon closer examination of your photo, I have circled something that puzzled me. If that is part of the rear jack mounting  system, it appears the nut may be loose. If so, you need to check that out and tighten it.

[GeoffChapman]

2 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

If so, you need to check that out and tighten it.

Got down in there and looked at it - it is indeed one of two nuts that mount the rear street side jack. Both nuts are firmly tight.  Thanks...

Geoff

[SeaDawg]

Good catch , @ScubaRx. 😀