Factory Installed Solar

**Soundsailor** · 05-14-2023, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by robbjanesteinke

Where do you guys reside when not traveling?

Hey @robbjanesteinke, it's not clear who you're asking. One way to make it clear is to "Reply With Quote" as I have with you. Also, you could tag the user using the "@" symbol.

**2Amy4805** · 05-19-2023, 05:11 PM

I have the same question as " robbjanesteinke". I have looked through the Jaboni manual and it tells you the light colors but it really does not say much. Out of the three lights, the one to the far left is on red all the time. The far right one is green and the middle one is green.
Now i am new at these solar panels built in and to me red tells me "We have a problem"
I really don't know if anyone else has this problem but would like to figure it out.

**ajg617** · 05-19-2023, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by 2Amy4805

I have the same question as " robbjanesteinke". I have looked through the Jaboni manual and it tells you the light colors but it really does not say much. Out of the three lights, the one to the far left is on red all the time. The far right one is green and the middle one is green.
Now i am new at these solar panels built in and to me red tells me "We have a problem"
I really don't know if anyone else has this problem but would like to figure it out.

If you have the Jaboni or Future Solutions (FSI) solar charge controller, I'll try to help. You don't say if you are hooked up to shore power and that would be useful information because shore power would also have your 120v converter charger charging the batteries as well. Also, the number of batteries could be influencing what you are seeing (one or two). The LEDs mean the following:

Right LED is green? That is the battery type. Green is Sealed Lead Acid Battery - should verify that is what is installed. Type of batteries installed by dealers can be different - hopefully they were brand new but nothing would surprise me.

Center LED is green? That is the charge status of the battery(ies). Green means fully charged (and there is a range of voltages for a given type of battery which can cause a reading of fully charged).

Left LED is steady red? That means your solar panel is charging at a good rate. That could be a result of something (like fridge) drawing power and pulling from the batteries or the batteries being discharged over night and taking a faster charge profile. You might normally see this solid red if you were not connected to shore power and solar was re-charging your batteries in the morning for example. Typically, it would then go into a flashing red and the sequence of flashes is determined by the battery type and the state of charge. The left LED should be out during the night (no sun). It should also switch to flashing during the day if the solar panel has good sun (i.e. not under trees for example) and the batteries are not being discharged significantly.

You can try a couple of tests. First, look at the solar controller at night. The Left LED should be out without any sun. Second, if you can, turn the factory disconnect switch off during the day for an hour or so and be disconnected from shore power the Left LED should begin to flash. There are varying sequences of flashes (timing between them for example) but that will depend on what type of battery(ies) you have. The Jaboni/FSI supports 5 different charge modes for different battery types. If it never goes into a flashing mode, then it's time to look a little further for a potential problem. Third, I would measure the voltage across the battery terminals while the LED is solid red (and this can vary depending upon what type of battery you have) and again if it begins to flash - bad batteries happen. Lastly, I would download the FSI app for your phone (I make the assumption that your solar controller is bluetooth capable). This will give you a good idea of how your solar panel and solar charge controller are working at any given time.

**2Amy4805** · 05-19-2023, 09:39 PM

ajg617
Thank you for clearing some of my concerns. You asked if I was on shore power. No, I am not. As for battery I have one. not sure what type however it is factory instaled.

**ajg617** · 05-20-2023, 06:55 AM

Originally Posted by 2Amy4805

ajg617
Thank you for clearing some of my concerns. You asked if I was on shore power. No, I am not. As for battery I have one. not sure what type however it is factory instaled.

Since it sounds like you are relying entirely on solar, that is probably why you are seeing a constant red LED - keeping your battery charged.

**Second Chance** · 05-20-2023, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by 2Amy4805

ajg617
Thank you for clearing some of my concerns. You asked if I was on shore power. No, I am not. As for battery I have one. not sure what type however it is factory instaled.

@2Amy4805 -

I see you're new to the forum - and welcome! Here are a few forum tips:

1) If you use "Reply With Quote" (to the right of "Reply") as I have here, folks will know to whom you are responding and that person will get a notification.

2) You can also tag folks using the "@" symbol and their user name (as I have done yours) - they'll also get a notification that way.

Rob

**2Amy4805** · 05-20-2023, 08:28 AM

Originally Posted by ajg617

Since it sounds like you are relying entirely on solar, that is probably why you are seeing a constant red LED - keeping your battery charged.

Okay ,maybe a stupid question, but wouldn't the solar keep the battery charged. Today I will plug into shore power.

**Second Chance** · 05-20-2023, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by 2Amy4805

Okay ,maybe a stupid question, but wouldn't the solar keep the battery charged. Today I will plug into shore power.

The factory solar may not be enough to keep the battery at full charge depending on the weather conditions and how much draw is on the battery. It's a balancing act with input (charge) on one side and output (electrical usage) on the other.

Rob

**ajg617** · 05-20-2023, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by 2Amy4805

Okay ,maybe a stupid question, but wouldn't the solar keep the battery charged. Today I will plug into shore power.

There is always some discharge that naturally occurs. In addition, some of your systems will draw off the 12V batteries all of the time even when connected to shore power because they operate at 12v - smoke/CO alarms, lights, for example, refrig if you have the 12V version rather than the propane. If you run any fans or TV (even though it is 120V, it feeds off your batteries through the inverter when not connected to shore power), that will also pull the battery charge level down. The amount of charge from a factory solar panel has many variables. Cloudy days will have an impact. Being parked under trees also. It all depends on individual usage.

**TO Wineaux** · 05-20-2023, 11:34 AM

I too have the factory installed solar and also added the Solar+ package on my 2023 345GK. I just picked it up from the dealer this week (I'm also very new to the forum) and had issues with the solar converter. I have a different controller...the solar mate version from future solutions. I too had issues with the solar not working when I first got home with the unit...the fault light was blinking and the batteries were not charging (I woke up to a completely dead system after my batteries drained overnight!). After pulling the battery and installing the LiON batteries I had from my previous rig (a Lance camper) I called future solutions technical support. Alex @ FSI was very helpful and told me to disconnect the solar and battery terminal block (the green block where the wires are installed) from the solar converter and re-connect to clear the fault. As I was unscrewing the outside screws retaining the terminal block to the controller the negative wire from the solar panels fell out of the terminal block!!! Apparently, during installation, the wires were not adequately stripped to allow the stripped wire to penetrate far enough in to the terminal block so you could tighten the screw above the wire position and ensure a good connection to the terminal block (I'm a retired electrical engineer so this is fairly familiar for me...). I tugged on the other wires and found the same issue with the negative (BLK) wire going to the batteries from the controller. I stripped both wires a little more (maybe a quarter inch or so) and reinstalled in the block. Problem fixed!!!!! All wires tight and can not be pulled out!!! One word of caution when working with these wires...if you are working with the RED (positive wires) and they are still connected to the battery and/or solar panels DO NOT let the bare wire touch any metal or anything else. Just re-install in the terminal block and tighten securely. The RED wires are HOT and could cause an issue should you short it to the chassis metal.

I do have one issue though...I can't get the Solar app to connect to the bluetooth module. Does anyone know where the bluetooth module is installed? I can't find although I haven't been up on the roof to look!!!!