No solar on Dolphin

[sjsparrow]

Hello Forum

I have a 22 year old 5350 that runs well enough for a 22 yr old.
I'm recently the second owner, and the 5350 was on shore power for most of it's previous life (generator had 60 hrs on it).

I won't have shore power for another 2-3 months, and I was hoping that the solar would keep the batteries charged when I'm not there (during the week). I run the generator /RV enough while I'm up that I can get to 3 lights (G) just after I turn the generator off. But it's down to two or one lights by the time I get back up (I use the RV to start the generator, then turn off the RV). I hit the "disconnect" button before I leave, so I don't think I have a short or etc. that is causing the drain.

The owner told me the Solar never worked after National replaced his electrical panel after a water leak (note to self, don't put the electrical panel underneath the ktichen).

Two questions

1. The wiring diagram (not sure if new or old panel) only shows the positive line. Can I safely assume that the solar panel is grounded to the RV prior to the panel? I should be able to test for any voltage between the positive lead on the circuit board and any grounded surface - yes?

2. If I buy a 100W solar panel from Amazon, would there be any big risk of hooking it up directly to the RV batteries (assumed with the solar panel regulator, etc.)? It looks like there are access holes in the frame behind the two 6 volt batteries. The RV will be stationary for most of the time for 1-2 years.

Thanks in advance.

[Ron Donna]

The on-board solar panel on my 05 Dolphin 5342 is on the roof right above the hallway electrical control panel and thermostat for AC and heat.

Drop the florescent light fixture just to your right as you're facing the thermostat. You should see the solar panel's wire dropping through the roof into the wiring channel behind the light fixture.

The other end should connect to the DC control panel. Our DC control panel is in the outside cabinet just to the right of the door and behind the right-front tire.

The stock panel was only 20W so we replaced ours with a 40W panel.

Note, this roof mounted panel is just to keep your "charged" house battery topped off while the rig is in storage. Its too small to charge a discharged battery.

Ron

[fredbon]

I use two 100W panels to keep the batteries charged when not traveling, they are hooked directly to the batteries, to eliminate parasitic drain the batteries are disconnected from the coach.

Fred