Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > THE OWNER'S CORNER FORUMS > Monaco Owner's Forum
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 12-28-2014, 07:26 AM   #1
JAW
Member
 
JAW's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Casa Grande, AZ
Posts: 31
Solar Panel Factory Wiring

I have a 2003 Monaco Executive and the factory wiring for solar panel was easily located on the roof which are under the reefer vent hood. The manual states the other end of these cable are in the cabinet behind the bedroom TV. There is nothing there. I contacted Monaco and they could not provide any additional info. I have looked behind the reefer from outside and under the reefer as well as searching through all of the upper cabinets between the reefer and the bedroom TV. Can anyone with a similar model provide any help or advice on where I might find these cables. I have been told one can put a signal generator connected to one end and find the other end with a detector but I am not familiar with that type of equipment. Thanks
JAW is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 12-28-2014, 08:08 AM   #2
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,510
Mine were indeed in the TV cabinet in the bedroom. They were coiled up with other wires, and not really obvious, but they were there. You might try checking in the vicinity of the battery compartment.

Unfortunately, they were #8AWG, which most knowledgeable solar folks say is too small for modern panels. I'm replacing my fridge with a Samsung, so I took the opportunity to pre-wire for solar using #2AWG cable. Most authorities say that #4AWG is adequate, but that the #8AWG originally installed causes a considerable voltage drop unless the panels are wired in series. But the max voltage of many popular controllers is exceeded by more than two panels in series.

I'm no expert. I have no experience yet with solar. I'm just heeding advice from those with a great deal of experience.
Vanwill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2014, 09:39 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Playtime III's Avatar
 
Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tampa FL
Posts: 679
Mine end in the engine bay in an 18"x18" box mounted on the wall:



Then along the top edge of the inside of the box (SunSaver6).

__________________
2006 HR Scepter 42DSQ
Holiday FL
RVIA Certified RV Service Technician
Playtime III is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2014, 10:17 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
jacwjames's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 14,494
Not familiar with the 2003 Executive but my solar monitor is located near my RC7 controller which makes sense as all the power monitoring for 12VDC is in one place.

My 2002 Windsor came with the Solar option, attached below is the parts breakdown.

The previous owner also added 2each 125 watt panels so I have 335 watt total charging capacity. There is marginal room for 1 more panel.

I had to replace the 2 newer panels under warranty, they were Kyocera panels. I was having problems with them early on (2009) and contacted the factory about the RV30DB controller thinking that was the problem and they told me to check with Kyocera as they had panels of that vintage they were still honoring the warranty on (no cost to me at all).

I did have to replace the buss bars under the refrigerator hood, all the wires were corroded so I redid the whole thing, the system is still working good giving me ~15 amp of charging under load on a sunny day.

Good luck on your install, if this is a new install I would go with as much solar you think you can afford. The cost seems to have come down to make it worthwhile, especially if you boon dock.
Attached Files
File Type: pdf 1 Solar Panel Parts.pdf (40.2 KB, 91 views)
__________________
Jim J
2002 Monaco Windsor 38 PKD Cummins ISC 350 8.3L
2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee w/5.7 Hemi
jacwjames is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
panel, solar, wiring



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Help on Solar panel and red light Larryguy iRV2.com General Discussion 6 12-17-2014 04:20 PM
Solar panel testing Lt46 Winnebago Industries Owner's Forum 5 08-25-2014 07:27 AM
Help Finding Solar Wiring DDMO Newmar Owner's Forum 21 08-20-2014 11:59 AM
Go Power Solar Panel Compatibility mickandr Going Green 14 05-09-2014 07:11 AM
Solar panel monitoring light w diode donnyjay MH-General Discussions & Problems 2 03-28-2014 09:44 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:26 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.