Connected via android app, 75/10, status shows 0w Help!

trimtab

totally our of my element, have a new 320-s with factory solar. Just accessed the solar screen on my phone, it show )w, 0.0A Battery voltage is 12.38. Battery switch is on. It's a bright sunny day, why no solar charging?

trimtab

totally OUT of my element...

trimtab

shows 0 watts

pthomas745

Find your solar controller.  Send us a picture of how the wires have been connected.  Over the past year, there have been several examples of controllers that were wired incorrectly..or not at all.  Show us what that controller looks like.

trimtab

pthomas 745...I just checked the fuse..there is no fuse. 
Taking a picture..

trimtab

trimtab

no fuse installed, assuming I need to put a ? size fuse in...first

trimtab

MPPT unit is getting power from the battery, blue light is on.  I am assuming the panel (factory install ) not connected. Fuse has nothing to do with it I assume. So as a total nubie, I need to trace the wires to the solar panel?  why wasn't this check out by dealer of factory..we have had the trailer one week.

Sharon_is_SAM

The fuse holder  is the black rectangle on the green wire.  

Check out this thread @trimtab.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/8733/factory-installed-solar-panel-not-working/p1

pthomas745

Trace those wires to the battery from the "Batt" side to make sure they go to the proper "Pos" and Neg side of the battery.

If you can, do the same for those "PV" wires.  Trace them back toward the panel as far as you can.

Some of the other owners with problems with their solar found the wiring running back to the panels were not connected for whatever reason.

trimtab

Red to pos., White to neg.  Check, OK.

Denny16

There may or may not be a  fuse (our 2018 does not), but the bottom light on the controller ( the three dots on the lower right side) should be on.  Trace the battery wires to make sure they go to the battery, or put a meter on the two leads and see if it has 12VDV.  GTge cittern connection labeled PV are the wired to the solar panels, and should go up through the closet or a wire chase on the driver’s side. If you have the big frig instead of the closet, they may be behind the frig.  You could also meter the PV wires and see what the voltage is.
cheers

trimtab

those wires are correct.  

trimtab

Wires to batt are correct. Phone app shows batt shows the voltage. I just plugged in shore power, batt now up to 13.36.
Driving 120 miles tomorrow to a dealer that sells Victron. It's a week old (new ) trailer. I am really angry that this is happening. We set and paid for places to stay on our first trip Sunday.  
I gave a glowing report on the trailer dealer...I have some other words in mind now.
Thanks all for trying to help.

(Edited for inappropriate language —Verna, T@B Admin)

pthomas745

The 13.36 voltage you are seeing is the charge coming from the converter that is charging the battery.

The key paragraph on the thread that Sharon is Sam posted earlier is the last one: 

"To help others who have a similar issue in the future, here's the resolution. I took the camper to a local RV service center. They tested the solar panel directly on the roof, and it was generating voltage. So, it seemed clear that the solar panel wasn't connected to the wiring running to the controller. The service center removed the fridge and, sure enough, the wires had never been connected. Hoping that nuCamp does the right thing and covers the service under warranty. Still waiting on that, but I assume they'll cover it. The issue is now fixed. "

In another thread, (which I can't find) there was even a photo of the wires just hanging in mid-air, waiting to be spliced. 

trimtab

Yeah, all good. My beef is  why a new trailer ,one week old, that sat in m y driveway for one week, has a faulty Solar system. Why do I have to drive 120 miles to get it fixed? What happened to quality?

Verna

@trimtab, I’ve found it is better to wait until the outcome of the appointment is realized, rather than expressing in writing as to what the outcome may be.  It may be a very simple solution or it may not. Calmer heads are easier to work with for a mutual solution. 

Please refer to my note on your previous post 

trimtab

OK. I am not expressing anything about the outcome. I am expressing frustration and disappointment.The trailer was moved 90 miles.It sat in our driveway. The day before a trip  I find something that is new, something I was told by the dealer worked did not. I phoned the dealer and they insinuated I damaged it. Again, towed 
  it 90 miles , it sat for a week. 

Denny16

One quick check Trimtab, is to take a volt meter to the two PV wires during the day and see if their is any voltage present.  If so, the room panels are wired up to the controller, which could be defective?  If that or it turns out the PV panels are not connected al all, you need to file a complaint about the dealer to nuCamp and let nuCamp know about this situation.  

Cheers

Sharon_is_SAM

Sounds like the Dealer did not demonstrate how the solar works.  May have caught the issue then.  It would be good to find out who actually wires up the controller - factory or dealer.

trimtab

Thank you Denny16, I will struggle through.  I know I have overreacted. Pent up for 3 months may not be a valid excuse I suppose, just wanted everything perfect. A dreamer.

Sharon_is_SAM

It’ll work out @trimtab.  In the end you will love your solar!

pthomas745

These issues with the solar incorrectly hooked up or not hooked up at all have been reported for months.  This really should be a "sticky" like the Elwell issues.

Solar is a pretty pricey option, and the knowledge base of dealers and owners is pretty low.  (This stuff is hard!) We should point out to all potential owners what they should/must do to make sure that their solar panels are working before anything else happens on checking out the rest of the trailer.  Dealers and potential owners should have the Victron app ready to go.

trimtab

"We should point out to all potential owners what they should/must do to make sure that their solar panels are working before anything else happens on checking out the rest of the trailer." Apache dealer in Portland did not do this.

AirBoss

@trimtab...I'd guess this has been pointed out elsewhere on this forum but I would agree that a "checklist" should be available for owners to walkthrough in much the same manner as a "punchlist" is completed before taking possession of a property. 

Don't get me wrong, I remain very impressed with materials and in large measure with workmanship of the T@B. That said, this Forum has more than a few threads regarding a variety of issues with systems (electrical, mechanical, water, waste, etc.) that one would reasonably expect to be discovered and rectified prior to shipment. 

Not saying it is incumbent upon nuCamp to produce the checklist (though that would be welcomed, I'm sure). nuCamp does use some components that are, shall we say, somewhat non-standard in the industry (Alde, Elwell, etc.). However, strictly speaking from a QC standpoint it would seem the majority of these "delivery faults" could be addressed in a more robust QC program at the factory. 

I've no idea how nuCamp conducts QC, nor do I know what the final checkout at the factory may look like. But it seems obvious that there's an opportunity to enhance that portion of the delivery process. 

Nonetheless, I find the T@B 400 to be an upper-shelf rig in almost all regards 

Sharon_is_SAM

Here is a thread on Dealer Prep and Walk Through Checklist.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/134969#Comment_134969

awahl

@trimtab - We had the same issue with our 2021 400.... downloaded the Victron app, connected to the controller, and 0 watts from the panels, but showing voltage on the batteries, and (in our case) blue led flashing about every 3-4 seconds. 

We took the bed panels up to check the connections under there- nothing.
We checked to make sure the positive and negative wires were corrected to the right ports on the Victron controller- yep. 
We probably checked 3 or 4 other things I have since forgotten- nothing.

Needless to say we were frustrated.. Why didn't we check this at the dealer, why didn't the dealer check it, and why wasn't it checked at the factory in the first place? I think it was a Saturday around 4pm when I decided to call NuCamp customer service- keep in mind this was in early April during the height of the lock-down. Still, I got a call back from Creed within about half an hour. He suggested a few more things to check- test the wiring, see if any signal from the panels, etc.... Did that. Nothing. 

After that we were somewhat resigned to having to take the T@B back to the dealer for them to check & fix.... but I thought I'd check a few more things to see if I could figure it out... 

I removed an access panel in our wet bath and found a red and white wire that had a lot of length to them... I kept pulling until there was no slack.... lo and behold- wires attached to nothing.... Could they be our solar panel wires? 
 
I sent an email to Creed/NuCamp - he checked with the shop foreman, who provided the following response: 

We forgot to connect to the panel, if they remove the radio there should be a red and white pig tails connected to the solar panel all they need to do is connect the wires red to red, white to white, with yellow but connectors which are probably on the other end. FYI the radio is a tight fit and they will need to remove the screws and then probably pry it out. Should be a 10 minute fix.

Sounded a lot easier than going back to the dealer (and unlike yours ours is only about 10 mi away....) - so we proceeded, and here are the pictures...

The radio was pretty tight but with a little patient wiggling it came out fine. Not sure on the 320 but it may be worth a try and save you that long trip and hassle. You can see the wires with the open butt connectors near the radio opening... 

We fished the other end of the wires through, crimped the connectors, the Victron did it's thing (solid green light) - and we could connect and could now see power from the panels... Yay. 

I must admit I was impressed with the responsiveness of NuCamp to my inquiries. Ultimately they provided quick and accurate information (albeit I had to get under the hood on my new trailer way more than I would have preferred....) But, a simple check of "does everything work" before the unit leaves the factory would help both them and us. After all, these are T@B trailers.... 

Sorry for the long winded post.... I probably could have just said "take out the radio and check the wires- should be a 10 minute fix. :-)

HTH

Denny16

No, the detailed description is grand, shows what was involved in your troubleshooting journey.  If the wires are connected to the Victron controller and no solid green light on the controller, then a shortcut is to meter the PV leads to see if any voltage is present, saves some of the searching, then, based on yours and other response see if the wires are connected at the PV roof wires in the radio compartment in the TaB400, or at the entry point on other models.  

Seems this is the most often overlooked connection on a Solar install, followed by the controller connections.  If you look at some of the factory build videos on UTube from Paul the Air Force Guy and others, you can see how these are built assembly line fashion, and how easy it would be for the odd connection to get missed.  Since the build is indoors, hard to get voltage readings on the PV’s, which are not on every unit built.  It is the odd option add on like the Solar system, that seem to have the most issues.

I think using a specific wire color code for the various hookups would solve a lot of wiring issues, PV to Controller wires should be the same color color from PV to controller, yellow for example since this is the color from the panel.  Then primary DC wires can be Red for positive and white or black for negative.  DC accessories should have their own color, like connection from Inverter to its control panel and outlet.  This would make seeing missed connections a little more obvious.  

Also, in the case of a Solar install, once the unit is outside, check that the controller has the correct color light on, showing it is connected.  Then this persons should go round and make sure the battery systems and water systems are working correctly, in total about a 15-20 min check out.  An outdoor station could be set up to move the trailers to from the factory line, then some water added to the tank, and a quick systems check done, like an aircraft preflight check.  A lot of missed connections could be caught here, and quickly fixed. 

Cheers

N7SHG_Ham

I sure wished a bit more QC went into electrical. I am guessing there is little to no system check on the solar, it isn't going to be found on the production line inside a building.

Really solar is simple, two wires from the panels to the controller and two wires  the controller to the battery.

 Take the wires off the controller and check voltage from the panels and voltage from the battery wires.

 If voltage is present reconnect everything is present at controller.

If it still isn't charging, then it is your controller.

Yes this should of been checked by someone, but since it wasn't it is way faster to figure it out and fix yourself rather than make a 180 mile round trip to a dealership.

trimtab

(Edited for clarity and photo size.  Sharon)

Above quote from Denny16:

“There is no fuse, the bottom light on the controller ( the three dots on the lower right side) should be on.  Trace the battery wires to make sure they go to the battery, or put a meter on the two leads and see if it has 12VDV.  GTge cittern connection labeled PV are the wired to the solar panels, and should go up through the closet or a wire chase on the driver’s side. If you have the big frig instead of the closet, they may be behind the frig.  You could also meter the PV wires and see what the voltage is.

cheers“


Here is a picture of the fuse...

Sharon_is_SAM

@trimtab - did you get it fixed?