Community Forums

jrpalm · 08-03-2022, 06:33 PM

2nd day owning a 17K. I assumed the Zamp port on ours would be connected to the battery, but if I put a multimeter to the Zamp port I get nada. There is a set of 2 cables near the battery that were not terminated with anything. Are these supposed to be connected to the battery to use the Zamp port?

JHinman · 08-04-2022, 10:19 AM

I have a 2021 Arctic Fox. The Zamp port on the sidewall is not connected to anything.

I suspect that is because some portable panels may have a built-in controller and others may not, but there may be some other reason. I believe simply booking an uncontrolled solar panel to a battery is not a good idea.

The Zamp wires on my AF are clearly labeled as being for the Zamp system. You should look for wires with a Zamp tag.

Sorry I cannot be more helpful.

JHinman · 08-04-2022, 10:21 AM

Also, the Zamp cables in my AF and the ORV that preceded it are 8 AWG. I don’t think they would provide 2 AWG as part of the solar system.

GPCPL · 08-04-2022, 10:30 AM

On my ORV F26RLS, the Zamp solar ports are wired with #6 wire (red & white insulation). The side port for portable panels was factory wired directly to the battery. I have rewired so everything passes through my shunt based battery monitor.
The wires in your picture are #2 (red & black insulation), and I'm guessing that a previous owner may have installed an invertor or had a more substantial battery setup that was not included in the sale of the trailer. I would suggest running down the #2 wires and making sure the ends are safe before applying any voltage to them. Congratulations on your trailer and good luck on the project.

Splat32 · 08-04-2022, 02:27 PM

I think those 2AWG cables go back to near where a built-in generator would be. Mine do in my Nash 23D.

GPCPL · 08-04-2022, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splat32

I think those 2AWG cables go back to near where a built-in generator would be. Mine do in my Nash 23D.

Honestly, I didn't even think about an on board genie. Given you have a Nash, and yours is wired that way, I would have to agree. I do wonder why the cables were removed in the manner they were, and would check them before landing them on a battery.

jrpalm · 08-05-2022, 07:24 AM

There were Zamp labels on 3 of the wires (one had fallen off). One pair of the wires was for the Zamp controller and the small roof solar panel. The other (missing label) was for the exterior Zamp port. The fuse on the port cables looked good when checked but when I replaced, it the exterior Zamp port became active. I checked with Nash and found the #2 cables were for installation of a generator.

I wish Nash had run all solar inputs through a controller placed closer to the battery and had made the wiring connections more accessible.

Razzman · 08-17-2022, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrpalm

There were Zamp labels on 3 of the wires (one had fallen off). One pair of the wires was for the Zamp controller and the small roof solar panel. The other (missing label) was for the exterior Zamp port. The fuse on the port cables looked good when checked but when I replaced, it the exterior Zamp port became active. I checked with Nash and found the #2 cables were for installation of a generator.

I wish Nash had run all solar inputs through a controller placed closer to the battery and had made the wiring connections more accessible.

Yeah I wish they'd done it differently as well. I just moved the batteries off the tongue and cleaned everything up, I eventually want to re-vamp the solar and placing the batteries here makes it easier. I have 200w of solar on the roof and also run 100w carryout with built in charge controller when needed for now.

jrpalm · 08-18-2022, 04:20 PM

Thx for photos. Are the batteries under the bed? How did you get at the wiring in the pass through so you could reroute it?

Razzman · 08-19-2022, 08:40 PM

Under the front of your trailer there’s a coroplast door if you will that’s screwed to a boxed in area where the wires from the tongue enter the trailer. I removed that and pulled all the wires back in to that box and cut open the bottom shield to an area I determined was under the bed. After careful measurements I drilled from the top down and it worked perfectly. I did have to extend two wires and shielded the wires so the wouldn’t get damaged. I used multiple layers of gorilla tape to reseal bottom shield and it’s all good. Here’s a pic showing the entry hole.