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  1. #1
    Long Hauler huntindog's Avatar
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    Solar not working

    The solar is not working on my 398M
    There is no voltage present on the line from the solar panel to the controller. Is there a inline fuse somwhere?
    2021 398M Full Body Paint 8k axles. LRH tires. Disc brakes.
    Two bathrooms, no waiting 155 fresh, 104 black, 104 grey 1860 watts solar.
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  2. #2
    Long Hauler DaveMatthewsBand's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntindog View Post
    The solar is not working on my 398M
    There is no voltage present on the line from the solar panel to the controller. Is there a inline fuse somwhere?
    You should have received a stack of paperwork on the system that shows the location of all fuses.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Resistance is Not Futile, It's Voltage Divided by Current.


  3. #3
    Long Hauler huntindog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DaveMatthewsBand View Post
    You should have received a stack of paperwork on the system that shows the location of all fuses.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    As my forum search has shown, I am not the only one that recieved nothing on the Solar setup. First thing I did was go thru that stack of mostly worthless info.

    Most installs have a inline fuse........Somewhere.
    2021 398M Full Body Paint 8k axles. LRH tires. Disc brakes.
    Two bathrooms, no waiting 155 fresh, 104 black, 104 grey 1860 watts solar.
    800AH BattleBorn Batteries No campgrounds 100% boondocking
    2020 Silverado High Country 3500 dually crewcab Duramax Allison

  4. #4
    Seasoned Camper more tired since retired's Avatar
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    Contact customer service and ask for copies of all the paperwork you should have received. As for the fuse, I spent hours trying to find a fuse for the solar port. Finally found the fuse was never installed.
    2020 F-250 XLT SuperCrew 7.3L Blue Ox SwayPro, 2020 Imagine 2600RB,
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  5. #5
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntindog View Post
    The solar is not working on my 398M
    There is no voltage present on the line from the solar panel to the controller. Is there a inline fuse somwhere?
    Most installs do include a fuse or a cut-off switch on the line coming from the Solar Panel(s).
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  6. #6
    Long Hauler huntindog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SolarPoweredRV View Post
    Most installs do include a fuse or a cut-off switch on the line coming from the Solar Panel(s).
    Agree. It should be a fuse, to protect the wiring. Voltage is present at the panel. No volatage at the controller. The wiring from the controller disappears in the underbelly above a tank.
    2021 398M Full Body Paint 8k axles. LRH tires. Disc brakes.
    Two bathrooms, no waiting 155 fresh, 104 black, 104 grey 1860 watts solar.
    800AH BattleBorn Batteries No campgrounds 100% boondocking
    2020 Silverado High Country 3500 dually crewcab Duramax Allison

  7. #7
    Site Sponsor andrewssteve's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntindog View Post
    Agree. It should be a fuse, to protect the wiring. Voltage is present at the panel. No volatage at the controller.
    I installed inline fuses as in this pic -- between selected MC4 connectors. Maybe you didn't realize what you were looking at?

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	InlineFuse.png 
Views:	30 
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ID:	31439

    Also, how cold is it at the batteries and are they Lithium? If the temp is near freezing, a Lithium battery BMS will stop current flow to prevent battery damage -- and the controller will report 0 amps.

    -Steve
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  8. #8
    Long Hauler huntindog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by andrewssteve View Post
    I installed inline fuses as in this pic -- between selected MC4 connectors. Maybe you didn't realize what you were looking at?

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	InlineFuse.png 
Views:	30 
Size:	682.6 KB 
ID:	31439

    Also, how cold is it at the batteries and are they Lithium? If the temp is near freezing, a Lithium battery BMS will stop current flow to prevent battery damage -- and the controller will report 0 amps.

    -Steve
    I actually installed one of those on the panel I added. There is nothing on the factory panel.
    LA battery, and it is not that cold in Phoenix.
    I picked the coach up at the dealer last week, they had it for a month, The battery was dead, had to jump it. I should have checked the solar operation right then. But I didn't, and went right into the upgrade I had been waiting to do. At this point, I am hoping that someone knows where the factory fuse may be hiding. The only other possibility is that the MP4 2 into one connectors I used are defective. I neglected to check them for continuity... To get to them I gotta remove the large 300 watt panel as it is under that. Not a fun job.
    2021 398M Full Body Paint 8k axles. LRH tires. Disc brakes.
    Two bathrooms, no waiting 155 fresh, 104 black, 104 grey 1860 watts solar.
    800AH BattleBorn Batteries No campgrounds 100% boondocking
    2020 Silverado High Country 3500 dually crewcab Duramax Allison

  9. #9
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntindog View Post
    I actually installed one of those on the panel I added. There is nothing on the factory panel.
    LA battery, and it is not that cold in Phoenix.
    I picked the coach up at the dealer last week, they had it for a month, The battery was dead, had to jump it. I should have checked the solar operation right then. But I didn't, and went right into the upgrade I had been waiting to do. At this point, I am hoping that someone knows where the factory fuse may be hiding. The only other possibility is that the MP4 2 into one connectors I used are defective. I neglected to check them for continuity... To get to them I gotta remove the large 300 watt panel as it is under that. Not a fun job.
    I would start by back tracing the wires from the Solar Charge Controller to the Panels.
    Do you have a combiner box on the roof? Maybe there is a loose connection on the roof? Next is check each string of panels. If you have power on the roof and no power at the Controller, the wire is bad in-between.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  10. #10
    Long Hauler huntindog's Avatar
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    I found the problem.
    On the roof where the factory solar panel plugs into the gland it uses MP4 connectors. When the factory assembled one of the connections, they installed female ends in both housings. Then they somehow forced them together. One of the female ends managed to slide into the other female end about 1/8" deep This distorted both parts and the connection failed. I haven't replaced the MP4 connector yet. Ran out of time so I will do it tomorrow. I doubt my dealer would have ever found it
    2021 398M Full Body Paint 8k axles. LRH tires. Disc brakes.
    Two bathrooms, no waiting 155 fresh, 104 black, 104 grey 1860 watts solar.
    800AH BattleBorn Batteries No campgrounds 100% boondocking
    2020 Silverado High Country 3500 dually crewcab Duramax Allison

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