Solar panel issues

Spud 1

New Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2024
Messages
7
I purchased a 23 momentum 22 Mav this year, and we love the trailer, we have had a few quality issues which is pretty typical with RV’s, but the big issue I’m having is the solar system, I’m interested to find out if anybody has a 22 mav and was their solar charge controller mounted in the access panel on the left side in such a way that you cannot see the screen and cannot change any of the settings, I think the controller has ruined my batteries, I put 2 new group 27 batteries and the solar panel seems to not be charging my batteries, both batteries will be dead in less than 24 hours just from the fridge, that cannot be right. The only thing I can get to is the screws for the wires, I have 12 bolts going to the solar screws and 19 volts going to the battery but it’s not charging the batteries, I’m about to tear the whole Furrion solar system out of my new trailer and install something that I know will work, why in the world would my solar charger controller be mounted so that it cannot be accessed? Is it only my trailer or are they all like that? And I know this doesn’t matter to much but my trailer was supposed to come with a 180w solar panel and it only came with a 165w panel
 
I purchased a 23 momentum 22 Mav this year, and we love the trailer, we have had a few quality issues which is pretty typical with RV’s, but the big issue I’m having is the solar system, I’m interested to find out if anybody has a 22 mav and was their solar charge controller mounted in the access panel on the left side in such a way that you cannot see the screen and cannot change any of the settings, I think the controller has ruined my batteries, I put 2 new group 27 batteries and the solar panel seems to not be charging my batteries, both batteries will be dead in less than 24 hours just from the fridge, that cannot be right. The only thing I can get to is the screws for the wires, I have 12 bolts going to the solar screws and 19 volts going to the battery but it’s not charging the batteries, I’m about to tear the whole Furrion solar system out of my new trailer and install something that I know will work, why in the world would my solar charger controller be mounted so that it cannot be accessed? Is it only my trailer or are they all like that? And I know this doesn’t matter to much but my trailer was supposed to come with a 180w solar panel and it only came with a 165w panel

Hi there, it looks like you're new to the forum, welcome aboard. Sorry to hear about your issues. While I don't have your coach, I can offer some thoughts. First off, the 12-volt frig alone can eat up your batteries in a short time. My 12-volt frig uses about 100 Ah (Amp hours) per day, a typical LA battery has a usable capacity of about 50 Ah. If an LA battery has been discharged below 50% regularly, it probably has been damaged and will have diminished capacity.

Second, are you sure the power from the solar controller is reaching the batteries? A common mistake is having the battery disconnect switch off when wanting a charge. The controller will not charge the batteries when the battery switch is off (the key can be removed).

You make a good point about how the solar controller is mounted, some things GD does leave me scratching my head. Could you remount the controller so that it is more visible? I have the same Furrion controller and 165-watt panel, they work well for me.

Finally, I'd suggest coming up with an energy budget (add up all the uses of power in your coach over a day) and then adding the components you'll need to meet that budget. You'll likely find that a set of lithium (LiFePo4) batteries will better support your 12-volt frig than your current type 27 LA batteries. There are a lot of threads on this topic on the forum.
 
I purchased a 23 momentum 22 Mav this year, and we love the trailer, we have had a few quality issues which is pretty typical with RV’s, but the big issue I’m having is the solar system, I’m interested to find out if anybody has a 22 mav and was their solar charge controller mounted in the access panel on the left side in such a way that you cannot see the screen and cannot change any of the settings, I think the controller has ruined my batteries, I put 2 new group 27 batteries and the solar panel seems to not be charging my batteries, both batteries will be dead in less than 24 hours just from the fridge, that cannot be right. The only thing I can get to is the screws for the wires, I have 12 bolts going to the solar screws and 19 volts going to the battery but it’s not charging the batteries, I’m about to tear the whole Furrion solar system out of my new trailer and install something that I know will work, why in the world would my solar charger controller be mounted so that it cannot be accessed? Is it only my trailer or are they all like that? And I know this doesn’t matter to much but my trailer was supposed to come with a 180w solar panel and it only came with a 165w panel

Not sure why the system isn't charging your batteries, could be as simple as the disconnect is turned off.

The MAV comes with a 165 watt panel...."MAV Solar Package: 165W Panel, 25 Amp Charge Controller, Battery Monitor"
 
Almost sounds like the controller is wired backwards. My solar panels put out on a good sunny day 20.? volts.
My batteries are anywhere from 14.2 bulk to 13.2 at night when the solar is dead. Your solar wires should read close to 20 and the battery should read close to 13 +/-.
 
Hi there, it looks like you're new to the forum, welcome aboard. Sorry to hear about your issues. While I don't have your coach, I can offer some thoughts. First off, the 12-volt frig alone can eat up your batteries in a short time. My 12-volt frig uses about 100 Ah (Amp hours) per day, a typical LA battery has a usable capacity of about 50 Ah. If an LA battery has been discharged below 50% regularly, it probably has been damaged and will have diminished capacity.

Second, are you sure the power from the solar controller is reaching the batteries? A common mistake is having the battery disconnect switch off when wanting a charge. The controller will not charge the batteries when the battery switch is off (the key can be removed).

You make a good point about how the solar controller is mounted, some things GD does leave me scratching my head. Could you remount the controller so that it is more visible? I have the same Furrion controller and 165-watt panel, they work well for me.

Finally, I'd suggest coming up with an energy budget (add up all the uses of power in your coach over a day) and then adding the components you'll need to meet that budget. You'll likely find that a set of lithium (LiFePo4) batteries will better support your 12-volt frig than your current type 27 LA batteries. There are a lot of threads on this topic on the forum.

I can’t believe that fridge pulls that much power, I’m going to remove everything from the batteries today and just test the wires going to the batteries from the charger, but I don’t think anything is going to them, because my batteries are completely dead in less that 24 hours, I really think my controller is the problem, but like I said I can’t access it to see what setting it is on, and if it was set for a different type of battery I’m concerned that’s why my brand new batteries are shot, my batteries weren’t disconnected at the disconnect switch and same with the solar disconnect, they were both correct, I just ordered 2 lithium batteries but I really feel that solar panel should be producing enough power to at least maintain running the fridge without my batteries being completely drained
 
As others have suggested, check the leads from the solar panels to the charge controller. Some have found that the polarity was reversed coming from the factory. Of course, the solar controller can't charge your batteries if wired incorrectly.

As for the solar keeping up with your frig, consider this. The frig uses 4 to 6 Amps each hour depending on how hot it is. So that's 96 to 132 Ah per day. A 165-watt solar panel produces 14 Amps at peak efficiency (165 / 12). You might get 6 hours of full-efficiency output, say 84 Ah (6*14) with perhaps a bit more during off-peak hours.
 
I’ve checked the both battery and solar disconnects and they are good.
 
The 22 mav is supposed to come with a 180w panel and I have a 40amp charge controller, but mine did come with a 165w panel, who really doesn’t matter, not much of a difference, I’m really kind of stumped, there isn’t much to this solar system, I hope I can figure it out
 
I’m going to climb up on top and check the leads like you suggested and see what I can come up with, I did order 2 new lithium batteries an extra solar panel and a new charge controller, I really feel like the problem is my charge controller, but I’ll check them leads and see what I see, my trailer is still under warranty but man I don’t want my whole summer ruined because the dealer will have my trailer for who knows how long. I had fully charged my batteries last night, I had everything turned off except the fridge and both batteries had dropped down to 12.1 in 4 hours, so I’m pretty sure they are toast
 
The 22 mav is supposed to come with a 180w panel and I have a 40amp charge controller, but mine did come with a 165w panel, who really doesn’t matter, not much of a difference, I’m really kind of stumped, there isn’t much to this solar system, I hope I can figure it out

Where exactly do you see that they are supposed to come with a 180 watt panel?

The quote I posted is directly from the GD specs....the 2 I have on my lot are 165 watts, and the specs call for a 165 watt.

Again, not that 15 watts is creating your issue...
 
Where exactly do you see that they are supposed to come with a 180 watt panel?

The quote I posted is directly from the GD specs....the 2 I have on my lot are 165 watts, and the specs call for a 165 watt.

Again, not that 15 watts is creating your issue...

It’s right on the GD site under the packages for the mav 22, you can’t miss it 180 w solar panel and 40 a controller if I could add a pic of it I would but I’m not sure how to add a pic on here
 
It’s right on the GD site under the packages for the mav 22, you can’t miss it 180 w solar panel and 40 a controller if I could add a pic of it I would but I’m not sure how to add a pic on here

Might be for the 2025 build.

Here is a snippet directly from my 2024 model year order sheets....

Mandatory Options
X MAV Luxury Interior Package $2,115
X MAV Exterior Package $1,410
X MAV Garage/Cargo Package $705
X MAV Solar Package: 165W Panel, 25 Amp Charge Controller, Battery Monitor $0
X Rockford Fosgate Head Unit, 2 Interior & 2 Exterior Speakers $0
X SafeRide RV Roadside Assistance $21
X RVIA Seal $151
 
Almost sounds like the controller is wired backwards. My solar panels put out on a good sunny day 20.? volts.
My batteries are anywhere from 14.2 bulk to 13.2 at night when the solar is dead. Your solar wires should read close to 20 and the battery should read close to 13 +/-.

You were absolutely correct sir, I couldn’t understand why there was 20V for the battery on the solar charge controller, so I took some advice from everyone ?, I climbed on top and checked the voltage coming from the solar panel and it was 20V, I did a few other test but ultimately I swapped out the battery wires that were hooked up to the solar side and the solar wires that were hooked up to the battery side, I cannot believe that they did that from the factory and to be honest I’m pretty disappointed in Grand design for letting that happen, it ruined my 2 new batteries, I have some lithium batteries coming so they will be better anyway but still my batteries are 3 months old. I also have another panel coming so that should be more than enough to actually go off grid without needing to run the generator, thank you for your help.
 

New posts

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom