Another rash of solar panels not connected or miswired.

pthomas745

Over on the FB page there are several threads concerning solar panels not working, not connected, or miswired.  Just like the dozen or so threads that have been reported here.

Has anyone alerted NuCamp about this?  Been a big issue for months, and it shows no sign of slowing down.

IndieJCT

We're one of those. Picked up our 2021 400 BD on Saturday and no charge coming from the panels. Seems like an obvious thing to test before you ship...

4ncar

As much quality that goes into these builds, wiring is NOT Nucamp’s strong suit. It’s not just in the solar setups, it’s all things electrical, I’m sorry to say.  

Verna

Email sent

Verna

@pthomas745, per nüCamp, the problems have been addressed in the factory. Unfortunately, what has left the factory before it was addressed, may or may not have been wired correctly. 

Please, all of us, continue to help. We will refer the owners to their dealers first, then warranty@nucamprv.com. If the owners feel confident to correct their wiring issues, we will continue to help them. 

Thanks to all of us who help. 

IndieJCT

@Verna how recent was that communication? Ours shipped to the dealer just about 3 weeks ago. We're going to make a round of calls today and dig deeper, but good to understand what they said they're addressing. Thanks!

Verna

@IndieJCT within the past hour. (9:36am Tuesday morning here).

Michigan_Mike

Verna made contact with the factory this morning and per her note (and their response back) they did acknowledge that they had been made aware of these issues earlier, they have corrected the problem on their line and are confident they have eliminated the earlier quality control issue.  They don’t know how many issues are still out there with customers but ask that people contact them via the email address that Verna posted up earlier and they will address the problems.  

Thanks for asking and for your understanding.  

IndieJCT

Got it, thanks for the insights!

pthomas745

Thanks to @Verna, for the billionth time.

KCode

We have a 2021 T@B 320 and have this wiring frustration on the solar panels.  Been trying to troubleshoot via email with nuCamp for a couple months about it. Response has always been prompt and knowing nuCamp this will be resolved eventually, it's just a hassle when trying to camp without shore power and no extra batteries to rely on. It's somewhat comforting to know that this issue is on their radar. Thanks for this helpful forum!

VictoriousJane

We have reached out to NuCamp about it. Will.see what they say. Fingers crossed for an easy fix. 

Denny16

The fix is fairly simple, just requires removing the required bits to get access to the solar panel wiring connection, than connecting the panel back up, if this is the issue p, as previously discovered in some new TaBs.  A reverse polarity is easy to fix and is any Reversed wires at the MPPT controller, the other previously discovered and discussed issue.  Tricky bit it getting access to it in tight space, depending on the TaB model.  The hard bit is, just gaining access to fix the problem.

I was one of the project managers (there were quite a few on this project) on a ship overhaul/system modification project, and trying to work out all,of the undocumented changes to the ships systems, became a project in its own right, which I had to oversee in one section of the ship, and coordinate with with other manager/teams on either side of my area.
 Bottom line, we traded miles of wires, pipes and ducts, correctly relabeling them.  We found one pie labeled one way in the forward section, and labeled the opposite flow direction on the aft section.  

Bottom line, pipes are labeled with color code for fluid carried, ad an arrow showing direction of flow.  Wires cables also labeled in each compartment they pass through indicating what they are, where they are connected from and to.  This eliminates most of the confusion, and insures they get correctly connected at each end, especially the new cables that were pulled.

I think nüCamp could follow some if these procedures, labeling the wiring at each end, or connection point, with wire polarity (positive/negative) correctly color coded.  They could use different color wires based on function, yellow and black for solar, for example, red and white for DC accessory runs like lights, etc.  

This would take a lot of guess work, especially if they included a block diagram documentation for plumbing and wiring.  Crews assembly would be more consistent, and frequent continuity checks made while wiring things up would catch missed connections.  Part of my job on the ship, was to double check all runs were made, connected as indicated and labeling was consistent from one section to the other.  An assembly line coordinator could be used to do these checks at each stage, before cabinets/body shell covers every thing up.  Kind of like a building inspector does for each stage of a building construction, signing off each of the trades as they finish their part.
cheers

VictoriousJane

Yeah, Denney16, the issue is we are not well versed in electric systems or wiring (yet) and the space is small. It's hard for a complete lay person to just rewire anything, even more so when things are behind drawers and bathrooms. When you are working full time, and have young kids, finding free time to rewire a brand new trailer is not easy. Or quite honestly, something we expected to have to do right away. We will get there it's just super frustrating.

Denny16

I agree, a lay person/owner should not have to go back and correct wiring issues, nüCamp and the dealers need to do this.  If a dealer does not have an adequate tech, then nüCamp needs to setup one of their techs to address the issue for the dealer, like they did for the 2018 TaB500 floor problem.  Setup appointments at these dealers for the customers who purchased a TaB during this time period, to check and correct these issues.  It should not be on the owner to fix.
cheers

sunnynjer

Hi here, Brand new to the forum and trying to catch up here.  Trying to determine if we are in the bad solar connection boat.  I just learned about the Victron last night and am looking at the App now.  There is dead 0 voltage, but it is pretty overcast (and smoky here in San Diego).  Should there be something?  Also, we spent Labor Day weekend parked in seriously brutal sun.  The history show no production.  Does anyone know if the Unit itself has memory to report to the App, or will I not see history since I have just connected for the first time last night?  This is a 2019 320.  We got it slightly used, but, the people that sold it to us did not have any real knowledge to pass on.  Our battery has been dying in less than two days with lots of sun, and virtually no appliance use. Thanks!

tteam

We have a 2020, purchased in June of 2019.  Solar installed by dealer. Dealer tried to figure it out for a month, and was not able to solve.  We heard about the issue of reverse polarity on the T@B facebook page, and simply switched the wires leading to the solar controller.  According to the controller app, we now get solar power.  Is simply switching the wires to the controller not a suitable practice? 

VictoriousJane

Agreed. I think we are just a little traumatized because our last camper (a slide in truck camper we bought brand new direct from the company) had a million issues and that company basically took no responsibility. We were traveling through central America and they wouldnt even respond to our emails, we had to get people to visit us to bring us items to fix the camper that we were unable to find. it was a mess.  So here we are, 3 days in to owning our tab and we are unscrewing everything and pouring through forums, it's just bring up a lot of bad memories, ha! Thankfully this community is AMAZING and so helpful, and it sounds like nucamp is super helpful. On the upside, it's never a bad idea to understand your rig on a deeper level, so I'm looking at this as a continuing-ed opportunity. 

Denny16

Yes, but the bottom line is, the dealer and nüCamp need to be fixing this for you.  It is their responsibility not yours to get the wiring correct.  If you are out in the road, away form any dealer support, than fixing it yourself in the field is what needs to be done,  But a factory error you discover sitting in your driveway (which you should do on a new unit, test everything) need to go back to the dealer to get fixed.   This also gets these issues documented and helps nüCamp to prevent future issues like this.   Even you manage to fix the issue, it still needs to be reported back to nüCamp warranty dept to get the problem documented.

Cheers

VictoriousJane

Denny16 said:

Yes, but the bottom line is, the dealer and nüCamp need to be fixing this for you.  It is their responsibility not yours to get the wiring correct.  If you are out in the road, away form any dealer support, than fixing it yourself in the field is what needs to be done,  But a factory error you discover sitting in your driveway (which you should do on a new unit, test everything) need to go back to the dealer to get fixed.   This also gets these issues documented and helps nüCamp to prevent future issues like this.   Even you manage to fix the issue, it still needs to be reported back to nüCamp warranty dept.

Cheers

Yes, so thankful we are still in our driveway! Waiting to see what nucamp suggests as to support for us. Sounds like they are aware of the issue and have fixed it at the factory.

Denny16

Yes, but now they need to fix your trailer.  @VictoriousJane Have you also contacted your dealer?

VictoriousJane

@Denny16 we reached put to both the dealer and nucamp early this morning. Now we wait.

Marceline

Denny16 said:

I think nüCamp could follow some if these procedures, labeling the wiring at each end, or connection point, with wire polarity (positive/negative) correctly color coded.  They could use different color wires based on function, yellow and black for solar, for example, red and white for DC accessory runs like lights, etc.  

I agree. Everything should be labeled, including the plugs for the various AV components. Somehow some of the audio cables came unplugged from the back of my Jensen head unit and it took a little experimenting to figure out what went where. I think that labeling would help on the assembly line and it would help the owners when something needs to be fixed down the line.  

VictoriousJane

@Verna is there a better way to get in touch rather than the warranty email? We havent heard back. Should we call, I just dont want to be annoying but a response from nucamp would be appreciated 

Denny16

@VictoriousJane, I would call the dealer first, and if no joy, then call nüCamp, Warranty and put the dealer on report for not responding, and get nüCamp Warranty involved.  You sent an email, it has been a week, a follow up phone call is a reasonable thing to do.

We are following up with our dealer on our TaB 400 repair and update installs that are in progress, slow progress, but getting there.  The new floor is now back in, other issues being addressed next.  What was supposed to be a two,week project has turned into several months due to the current situation. 
cheers

VictoriousJane

@Denny16 we heard back from the dealer who suggested we reach out to nucamp warranty, ha! Knowing that they are aware of the solar issue and suggested that those of us with solar issues reach out to warranty I thought warranty might be a bit more responsive. Will try calling them I guess.

Denny16

Good idea, perhaps nüCamp can suggest a dealer who,can fix this for you, since your dealer is not willing to do anything to support what they have sold.

Our dealer didn’t even sell us our TaB, but they are doing the warranty work and adding the extras we wanted done.  After all. nüCamp pays the dealer to do the warranty work!

Cheers

VictoriousJane

@Denny16 the dealer is being supportive but they are 7 hours away and given the pandemic we would prefer to not have to drive there and stay in a hotel to limit exposure. We are waiting to hear from nucamp since the issue was at the factory, which they have acknowledged and fixed according to verna. I was hoping nucamp could suggest a closer dealer and work with them as I know some dealers wont work on trailers they didnt sell. I just thought we would have heard back from nucamp by now and since verna has been in touch with them she might know who to get in touch with since warranty isn't responding. 

Denny16

The nüCamp Warranty dept phone number is 844-823-9112, ext 822. Customer Support is at the same number, ext. 834
cheers

VictoriousJane

Thanks so much @Denny16

VictoriousJane

Just an update, we heard back from nucamp today, and with their help and the help of the folks on the FB page, we found that the panels were not connected and got them connected and everything is working fine now. Thanks for everyone's input and help! The disconnected wires were behing the access panel in the bathroom, in case anyone else has this issue.