Solar Solar Charging in 20.6 Expanda Caravan

[Wombat6]

Well to a degree it was all a storm in a tea cup. I spoke to the service manager at Bayswater who explained that they would have connected the external Anderson plug directly to the batteries and explained how I would locate it. Then this afternoon with the solar panel connected I was able to confirm that power was actually getting to the batteries. No idea what went wrong the other day with it not charging the batteries. At least now I know how to check it. With it connected all day tomorrow I will get a real idea of how it charges the batteries.

Anyway, good to have a much better idea now of the system and know I wil be able to go away and be self sufficient. Also good to know that I can't expect too much from the on board solar panel.

 

[Drover]

That's good news, I run and check my power from just a digital voltage readout inside van, hardly ever look at the fancy display in box, easier, quicker and I have learnt to tell problems just by the volts.

 

[Dobbie]

Just out of curiosity........I notice some of the new vans and many high end battery monitoring systems are spruking about the ability to know how many hours of battery use are left....amp hours I assume. It would need some sort of calibrating depending on what is used?

I just wonder if anyone uses something similar.

I'm not even slightly considering one...too expensive and I really can't see the need for it....for us, it's just as easy to keep an eye on things via a simple digital metre on the wall.

so just wondered if the industry is edging closer to " number of hours of use" left rather than the voltage of the battery itself? If so, you'd need to be aware that some things require more ahs than others and might give a false sense of security unless totally understood.

Just wondering.....

 

[ChrisFatboySydney]

Just out of curiosity........I notice some of the new vans and many high end battery monitoring systems are spruking about the ability to know how many hours of battery use are left....amp hours I assume. It would need some sort of calibrating depending on what is used?

I have the BMPRO (http://teambmpro.com/) which is made by the same company as the drifter panel for Jayco.

They all seem to work on predicting runtime left based on the current discharge rate at the time of measurement. If you have a high current device that cuts in and out the time remaining will change depending on the draw.

So whilst they give you an idea on how much time is left you need to look at what is running at the time to get a full picture.

But it is an interesting point - to get them as accurate as possible it is important that all wiring connect via the monitor (usually via a shunt) otherwise it can't measure the power in/out correctly.

Chris

 

[Drover]

Just like the readouts in your car, "how much further can you drive" and all that stuff, other than another way to grab your money but with the added bonus that you become addicted to techo stuff, using the grey matter between the ears for the info is a great way to keep sane.
and away from Ga ga land.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Well to a degree it was all a storm in a tea cup. I spoke to the service manager at Bayswater who explained that they would have connected the external Anderson plug directly to the batteries and explained how I would locate it. Then this afternoon with the solar panel connected I was able to confirm that power was actually getting to the batteries. No idea what went wrong the other day with it not charging the batteries. At least now I know how to check it. With it connected all day tomorrow I will get a real idea of how it charges the batteries.

Anyway, good to have a much better idea now of the system and know I wil be able to go away and be self sufficient. Also good to know that I can't expect too much from the on board solar panel.

If you move the -ve wire that's connected directly to the battery and move it to the drifter shunt it will show the incoming charger current and will improve the accuracy of the estimated time of battery left.

I also found the factory solar went directly to the battery from the controller, I also moved the -ve from that to the shunt as well and now it correctly shows incoming and outgoing charge, making the drifter much more useful.

 

[Macca_75]

If you move the -ve wire that's connected directly to the battery and move it to the drifter shunt it will show the incoming charger current and will improve the accuracy of the estimated time of battery left.

I also found the factory solar went directly to the battery from the controller, I also moved the -ve from that to the shunt as well and now it correctly shows incoming and outgoing charge, making the drifter much more useful.

Do you happen to have any pics of where the shunt -ve for the drifta is located?

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Do you happen to have any pics of where the shunt -ve for the drifta is located?

It's connected to the house battery, but will take a pic shortly when I pack up the bed

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Do you happen to have any pics of where the shunt -ve for the drifta is located?

Here are some pics of the shunt as it in in my van.

Note the tidy Jayco wiring, but underneath all of that you should be able to see it.

Pretty much all of the negative connections from both the load side and the charging side need to be connected to the shunt in order for the drifter to monitor the current in either direction (in or out).

 

[Macca_75]

View attachment 47150 View attachment 47148 View attachment 47149

Here are some pics of the shunt as it in in my van.

Note the tidy Jayco wiring, but underneath all of that you should be able to see it.

Pretty much all of the negative connections from both the load side and the charging side need to be connected to the shunt in order for the drifter to monitor the current in either direction (in or out).

So every -ve connection goes to 1 side of the shunt, then the other side of the shunt to the battery?

 

[Bellbirdweb]

So every -ve connection goes to 1 side of the shunt, then the other side of the shunt to the battery?

That's correct, the thick cable goes from one side of the shunt to the -ve of the battery and the connections to the devices goes to the other side of the shunt.

Only took a few minutes to move them across.

 

[Macca_75]

That's correct, the thick cable goes from one side of the shunt to the -ve of the battery and the connections to the devices goes to the other side of the shunt.

Only took a few minutes to move them across.

Thanks

 

[Drover]

Don't you just love the van wiring, after market RED for Positive, Aftermarket BLACK for negative not to be confused with Jayco Black for Positive and White for Negative, I'm always scared I'll put a black on the wrong terminal and fry somethng, though I try to label each lead or put the proper coloured heat shrink over the cable, I prefer the Australian code of Black/neg and Red/positive.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Don't you just love the van wiring, after market RED for Positive, Aftermarket BLACK for negative not to be confused with Jayco Black for Positive and White for Negative, I'm always scared I'll put a black on the wrong terminal and fry somethng, though I try to label each lead or put the proper coloured heat shrink over the cable, I prefer the Australian code of Black/neg and Red/positive.

I never do anything with the van wiring without a multimeter in hand, why Jayco use an American standard is beyond me.

 

[Crusty181]

Soooooo.....we're in agreement?

If so, I won't have to change the set up on the new van. It worked beautifully on the expanda.

I hate second guessing myself!

It's all @Crusty181 's fault!!

 

[Dobbie]

Is that what you look like?

I thought you'd be balder, have more teeth and be less like Einstein.

:fencing:

I think I'd better not go any further.....but then.......:hail::hail::hail:

 

[BaxnRach]

Don't you just love the van wiring, after market RED for Positive, Aftermarket BLACK for negative not to be confused with Jayco Black for Positive and White for Negative, I'm always scared I'll put a black on the wrong terminal and fry somethng, though I try to label each lead or put the proper coloured heat shrink over the cable, I prefer the Australian code of Black/neg and Red/positive.

I was thinking along similar lines, but came up with a different opinion, all the Jayco stuff looks ok but the aftermarket stuff with the yellow terminals and red to neg etc, look like a dogs breakfast.
Just to add to this, my new Journey 17.55.8 wouldn't charge so i popped out the microwave and found it wasn't connected.

 

[Wombat6]

So I have finally worked out at least part of my problem. On a recent trip where I was free camping a lot I became concerned because despite at least placing my portable solar panel in the sun, over several days the Drifter control unit was indicating a steadily declining battery charge. Finally, with the control panel indicating only a third battery capacity I decided that I would just have to connect up the car and let it charge the batteries. However, after just 15 minutes with the car running I was amazed to see the Drifter control panel indicating full charge. Hey I might have a Jeep but I didn't think even they could turn straw into gold.

Today I repeated this and after a good 8 hours of solar collecting from both the portable and the fixed solar panels the Drifter control panel still just indicated half battery capacity which is what I started the day with. Plugged the Jeep in and 10 minutes later have full capacity. Why does the Drifter control panel not monitor the battery state directly but seeming only charge that goes through it? Any thoughts please? I'm planning on raising this as a defect at my first service.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

So I have finally worked out at least part of my problem. On a recent trip where I was free camping a lot I became concerned because despite at least placing my portable solar panel in the sun, over several days the Drifter control unit was indicating a steadily declining battery charge. Finally, with the control panel indicating only a third battery capacity I decided that I would just have to connect up the car and let it charge the batteries. However, after just 15 minutes with the car running I was amazed to see the Drifter control panel indicating full charge. Hey I might have a Jeep but I didn't think even they could turn straw into gold.

Today I repeated this and after a good 8 hours of solar collecting from both the portable and the fixed solar panels the Drifter control panel still just indicated half battery capacity which is what I started the day with. Plugged the Jeep in and 10 minutes later have full capacity. Why does the Drifter control panel not monitor the battery state directly but seeming only charge that goes through it? Any thoughts please? I'm planning on raising this as a defect at my first service.

Most likely that your solar is not connected to the Drifta panel, so it cant see what is going back into the battery only what is coming out.

Check to make sure that the negative from the solar controller is going to the drifta shunt and not straight to the battery.

I had this issue, and found the solar was bypassing the drifta and as such didn't measure it.

See my pics above in this thread

 

[Lap Dog]

Just a quick note to those that have added a battery with the drifter panel. You need to update the total amp hours on your new battery capacity so it can calculate the % used.

From here I am just guessing but the only time it 'resets' is when it's full. I.e if you have 200 amp hours available and run at 10 amps for 10 hours it thinks you have 10 hours left. If your panel had been configured as only 100 amp hours then it thinks you are at zero. To confuse all that .... it has a learning function whereby if you fully charge and run down your battery it will 'know' your batteries are 200AH. Warning this is from the manual and like most blokes I only read it until I got confused and then put it away again.

So hook the spare panel thru the shunt and update your total amp hours for more accuracy.