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Dutch Star Don · 03-29-2017, 03:10 PM

I thought I had this figured out, but maybe not. I was looking for the solar wiring and found the positive side of the solar wiring in the cord reel bay against the back wall.

I never found the ground wire from the solar panel and assumed that Newmar wired it to the frame as a common ground. Is that accurate, or am I missing the ground lead somewhere?

2014 Dutch Star 4018

Thanks

C.Martin · 03-29-2017, 03:29 PM

Don,

I do not know when or what as far as how and when Newmar decided to route wiring... and I even asked my tech during cpu. He was lost.

I found the wiring, much to my satisfaction...zip tied to the lateral bulkhead in the pass thru bay. I was installing the ME-BMK and mounted it on the lateral wall on the drivers side of the coach in the pass thru bay. It just happens to be right next to the battery compartment. I see a red and black 6 gauge wire bundle with a RJ45 network cord zip tied to the wall. Bingo! I'm counting on the fact that those 6 Gauge wires are my solar prep.

Check yours out and let us know...

Hopefully...that's were it is located.

I do have an extra white wire hanging down in my cord reel bay...still have no idea where it goes.

Looks like a lot of us are all installing solar at the same time.

Cheers! Wishing is all a sucessful outcome!

Dutch Star Don · 03-29-2017, 04:33 PM

Charlie....I got the BMK switched around. I spoke with Glen at Magnum this morning. We discussed attaching all three cables to the BMK. I understand the house (-) the inverter(-), but I didn't see why the chassis (-) had to come over. His answer was basically to monitor things when the engine was running, ie: charging. For what I want to do, I don't care about seeing the engine stuff. I just want to see what the house and inverter are doing. He said that was fine, just don't add the chassis ground to the shunt.

I also have the basic RC50 display and not the newer/nicer ARC-50. I have no intentions of adding it.

With all that said, I've always thought my solar wasn't working. I installed it :-) years ago. I put on three 100 watt panels and a Xantrex CM35 charge controller. When I did the original install, I only found the red/yellow wire coming from the roof. In my front control panel above the passenger seat, there is a red/yellow and white wire coming from the roof. I tapped into those with a cheap volt meter and mounted it in the panel. It lets me know that at least the panels are working.

I found the red/yellow wire stubbed off in the cord reel bay, but no white ground wire. I believe back then that I was told they ran the white to ground somewhere???

So, today, after getting the BMK finished up, I pulled out the manual and started looking at the charge controller connections. Well.....I connected everything back then, but didn't connect the negative side of the panels to the controller lug. I'm guessing while on my search for the negative cable from the roof, I forgot....DUH.

So, I'm trying to find the negative cable from the roof......or was it bolted to the frame somewhere? My 2014 had solar prep, but not like yours. No cables or phone plug anywhere, just the positive lead from the roof in the cord bay.

I called the mechanic at Tom Lindstrom, dealer near me and he said they usually ran that negative cable to a ground in the cord bay. I tried to call Newmar, but they had already closed.

My controller says it's working (blinking LED) but I don't think it's putting out much of a charge, unless 300 watts isn't going to do much or show up like I think it should on the Magnum display. I know some things were suppose to take several hours to calibrate once the BMK was installed, but I thought I would at least see a change in the amps used when I disconnect/connect the solar. The solar negative is on the shunt.

I'll call Newmar tomorrow.

Thanks for your help.....It's just one of those things that I knew was never right and needed motivation to tackle.

C.Martin · 03-29-2017, 07:01 PM

Don,

I did read a lot of different perspectives of Newmar's Solar Prep wiring. Yours...obviously being different from mine.

One of those posed was that Newmar Just grounded the roof wire to the frame....

If that is the case...and you elect not to connect the chassis (frame) ground to your BMK shunt...then your solar might not be measurable to the BMK Meter reading from the solar system. I have not traced the ground side connection to the BIRD...but during alternator operation...with the bi-directional relay --- should that be grounded to the chassis...it will also skip detection.

I think it important to run the extra wire from the frame to the load side of the shunt...just to make sure those charges/drains are detectable and monitored.

Since then...Newmar has both POS and NEG #6 AWG wires running down to the slide thru bay. I will be connecting that Negative lead directly to the PV- of the charge controller...and then attaching the charge controller's NEG battery output to the shunt...so it can be measured. I wish I could be of more assistance in how they wired your coach. Hope there is someone else out there that is savy enough to offer up some good advice.

If your charge controller's negative lead is now connected to the LOAD side of the shunt...I'm surprised it's not measuring amperage. If you are running the solar...status lights blinking to reflect a charge state...no shore power connected --- I would imagine a voltage reading with a Voltmeter at your battery bank exceeding 12.8 volts....would mean the charge controller is running current to the battery bank. Just need to figure out how to measure it thru the ME-RC50's meter readings.

Dutch Star Don · 03-29-2017, 09:09 PM

Charlie.....thanks for the info.....you've really helped me out. I think you're right about the solar charge controller not being seen because it's bolted to the frame. We're leaving tomorrow for a few days and will hit this again when we get home. I would really rather find that negative cable from the solar and run it right to the shunt, just to eliminate the running through the frame issues.

I know it runs down the cabinet and the passenger side "A" pillar. Maybe someone at Newmar will know where it terminates. Unbolt it and extend to the battery bay. I wish they had just stubbed the wires down.

Thanks again.

madmaxx52 · 03-29-2017, 10:25 PM

Don - I also have a 2014 DS and had the same question when installing my solar panels. The red/yellow wire from the roof and the white negative from the roof do eventually route to the electric bay - of course that is via the front over head panel. If memory serves me correctly - the white wire is close to the red/yellow wire in the electric bay and had a connector on it. That connection goes to the common ground somewhere in the belly of the beast. I cut that wire and checked the continuity of it from the roof to that spot to verify it was the ground wire from the roof which it was. I was also confused initially due to this wiring setup - but found out about it ia another thread on this Newmar board.

Jim_L · 03-30-2017, 06:48 PM

Dutch Star Don - I may be missing/not understanding completely but have a simple method of determining whether the panels are grounded. As MadMax stated, I believe you can merely put a volt meter positive to the red wire and find a ground that works. I have the same coach, but since it's been a couple years, found the ground wire in the same compartment. Good luck

Dutch Star Don · 04-06-2017, 03:46 PM

Thanks to everyone for their help, especially "C.Martin". I connected the solar panel (-) post to the frame ground. I ordered a longer bolt for the BMK on Amazon and got it while we were away for the weekend. Today I removed the chassis ground from the batteries and added it to the BMK shunt with the new longer bolt. I shouldn't have been so stubborn about doing that in the first place (placing all the grounds on the BMK).

While I was making the connection. I looked inside the corrugated wire wrap that covered the house (-) cable. It was several #6 white ground cables tied into one lug. I thought that maybe one of them was my missing solar ground.

I finished my connections and checked my Magnum panel in the coach. It was showing -4 amps with just the refer on and other basic draws. I disconnected my solar and it jumped to -16. Who Hoo.....I can now see my solar working. I did this test the other day, before moving the chassis (-) to the BMK and no change. So.....it seems that the solar cable is bolted somewhere to the coach frame.

C.Martin · 04-06-2017, 05:47 PM

Don,

That is Awesome! Let the Sun Shine in!!! It has to feel good to have quantifiable results to look at. The Magnum remote might replace the TV for entertainment for a while.

I finished up my charge controller wiring...and everything below the roofline. Waiting on the next orders to come in so I can direct effort to mounting and wiring modules on the roof. Way too excited. Can't wait to see some Ah production.

BTW...don't know if you were still interested...but I saw a price drop on the ME-ARC remote. An Amazon seller just dropped the price to $140.85...

Dutch Star Don · 04-06-2017, 09:17 PM

I would like to install the Arc 50, but don't want to tear apart the breaker panel to remove the module that needs updating. My Precision Control panel is version 4.1, I believe it needs to be upgraded to 5.0 or better. I wish they could just send the upgrade in a file and we could plug it into the panel up front. I pretty much got the info I want to see with the old panel. I know the knew ARC 50 lets you start the generator from a state of charge percentage versus volts, but I've never used my AGS in 14 years (two different coaches).

"Jim L"....really had a simple way of testing the solar. DUH.....