Electrical Solar connection

Slim

New Member
Feb 28, 2018
10
13
3
Trafalgar
So I’ve changed from a 12 pin plug to a 7 and Anderson plug set up.
Just wondering can I plug in my portable solar straight to the Anderson of the van & will that charge my batteries.
I already have 120w of solar on the roof of the van but am not always parked in the sun.
 

Bellbirdweb

Well-Known Member
Jan 24, 2014
1,921
2,746
113
Sydney
If you have just taken the connection for the fridge out of the 12 pin and put it into the Anderson, then no, there is no connection to the battery, it goes directly to the fridge.

You’ll need to add another cable and Anderson going to the battery.
 

Boots in Action

Well-Known Member
Mar 13, 2017
2,054
1,806
113
Ferny Grove, Queensland
So I’ve changed from a 12 pin plug to a 7 and Anderson plug set up.
Just wondering can I plug in my portable solar straight to the Anderson of the van & will that charge my batteries.
I already have 120w of solar on the roof of the van but am not always parked in the sun.

Hi @Slim and welcome to the big world of solar connections. As @Bellbirdweb said, the wiring from the vehicle normally goes DIRECTLY to the fridge terminals and there is NO connection to battery that way. As you already have some solar on your roof, you obviously have some sort of solar controller already in van and this is connected directly across the Pos and Neg terminals of battery. If you are going to connect a portable solar panel in addition, you should bypass the controller on the back of the portable panel (to avoid conflict with controller in van) and have Aderson plug on outside of van (for easy connection) and connect the wiring from the Anderson plug to the wires on the existing controller. New Solar Pos on Pos terminal of house controller and new solar Neg on Neg terminal of house controller. That way, both solar inputs are in PARALLEL through the one controller. See photo of how I have Anderson plug on outside of my Penguin.
Important: Make sure that your house controller is capable of handling the extra power from any additional panel/s.
 

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