Solar help

[dewglwren]

I have owned my 2008 Grand Star for a few months. It is a FRED on freightliner chassis. I have a solar panel on the roof, and am only assuming it was factory. It looks undamaged, but my brain is damaged from trying to figure out how it its wired.
I have read threads talking about a #6 red/yellow wire and white wire. I found those in the engine compartment, but the white wire was not connected and was taped and scorched. The r/y went to an in-line fuse holder, which was empty. I measured the wires for voltage, and got nothing. Later I read about the solar monitor from Tri-Star, IL1-W. I did the trouble guide and found the red and black pair to the monitor to have a solid battery voltage, approx. 12.8. The yellow and green pair had 11 plus volts but appeared to bleed off as I monitored with my meter. It went down to 9.64 and remained steady. The guide indicates this is from the panel...?? Maybe it is working, (it was slightly overcast that day.)
I followed the r/y and white in the engine compartment up to the top right where it exits with other wire wraps. I could not find r/y and white anywhere else. From previous posts I thought those were from the solar panel. Of course the pairs from the IL1-W are under the dash and disappear from view. The Tri-Star guide and photo show the panel and the small round monitor as the only parts to the 5 watt?? kit from Newmar.
My coach batteries are not being charged by the solar. I have read other posts saying a controller is needed, and another that says the round monitor is the controller.
I had trailers for over 20 years, just got the MoHo. I am familiar with electronics and the instruments to troubleshoot and repair electrical issues with trailers, cars and trucks.
I need help guiding me to how the panel should be wired to charge the batteries.
Sorry this is so long, but I have been butting my head for months trying to logically figure this out.

[Luv2go]

How big is the solar panel? If it is about 8" x 10" it is the 5W panel provided by Newmar. It's hooked to the chassis battery and is designed to keep it topped off when already charged, and, according to at least one member, it doesn't do a good job at that. On page 44 of this document from Newmar is an explanation of the solar panel and ILW-1, which is not really a charge controller, it's only an indicator light. It shows you how to test it as well.

In 2008 solar prep was an option, and they used #12 or #10 wire. I did not order it, even though I was installing solar as soon as I received the coach, because the gauge was too small and the routing not exactly where I wanted it. I ended up connecting the panels to the charge controllers with two sets of #8 wires going thru the fridge vent.

BTW, the Newmar document is actually on Newmar's parts site, it's called Comnet and is accessed from here (scroll down and click "Access Comnet"). It takes some digging, but there is a section with documentation from Newmar's service schools where this is located (Top Level > TECHNICAL INFORMATION > SERVICE SCHOOL GUIDES > Newmar Service School - 2007 >
Electrical 12V (2006-07)).