2017 TABmax-S Zamp plug

mladetto

Recently tried feeding power to my RV's battery via a Bluetti solar generator, through the Zamp outlet to the battery. I used a reverse polarity plug but was unable to get power to my battery. I'm trying to figure out how to power this RV via 12V so that we can boondock more efficiently than running power through the 30amp socket. Any thoughts on trouble shooting the Zamp outel? Everything appears to be connected, the Bluetti has a built in solar controller.

Also, as the direct wires from the Zamp plug go to the battery terminals, couldn't I just swap them to the opposite terrminals thereby reversing the "Zamp reversed polarity" back to normal poalrity?

Grumpy_G

The inherent problem with the SAE plugs is that the polarity is different depending on which end you look at. That's why solar "generators" use a different connector for solar panels which is non-ambiguous. 

Troubleshooting is easy with a simple voltmeter: Check the voltage at the trailer side and note the polarity, then check voltage at the cable from the Bluetti and the polarity should be opposite to the trailer side (see the problem here... ?). You can swap the connections at the battery to avoid using a polarity adapter but it adds to the confusion. 

pthomas745

The SAE port is pretty simple once you get a multimeter on it.  In 99 percent of the cases.....you want the plug going into the camper to have the positive output from your device to be "inside" the plastic plug going into the port. 

The cables and the SAE are not "reversed" anything.  They just have to be connected properly. 

There are a couple of posts about people connecting a battery like that into the trailer.  On page two of this thread.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/7008/anyone-carry-a-spare-battery/p2

AnOldUR

For me, the best way to keep it straight is to be sure that from the battery to our solar panel (in your case your solar generator) the red wire is always positive and the black negative. The SAE accessories make it possible to mismatch colors. Being consistent is an easy way to quickly identify problems.