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Old 04-25-2011, 04:47 PM   #1
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Controller wiring to bus bar or batteries?

The 8wg wire coming off the controller - where does it connect to? The battery buss bar in the 12v fuse panel or directly on the batteries?
I have 2 battteries in separate compartments, 2' appart on the front of the AS. I guess I would need to somehow link these two in series right? I will probably run a 2' battery connector through the boxes somehow.
Athough there is plenty of info on other things for install, no one actually ever says where and how to connect from the converter to the batteries.....
Please help answer this for me.
Where on the buss bars or where on the batteries. If I link the batteries do I only need to connect the controller to one of the batteries?

I think I need to link the two batteries in series and then connect the controller to the buss bars in the panel. Correct?

bus bar photo with cover and without. 4 large wires coming down from the top say, 2 on left say positive battery - 2 on right say battery Negative
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Old 04-25-2011, 08:20 PM   #2
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Your picture links say:
sorry, forbidden. you don't have permission to access this url on this server.

To add pictures to my posts I click on "go advanced" at the bottom of the reply window. Then I click on the paper clip in the toolbar above the reply window. I upload the pictures from my hard drive, then I close the "Manage Attachments" window and I go back to the text window and click on the paper clip again and click on the picture attachment I want to add to the post.




The other way is just to grab a picture I have stored on the forum and copy and paste to the reply window.
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Old 04-25-2011, 09:20 PM   #3
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I'm assuming that you are talking about a solar charge controller. A little more descriptive narrative would help.

If this is the case, you should connect the positive AND negative charge lines from the controller directly to the batteries thru an appropriate sized fuse or DC circuit breaker. If you have 12VDC batteries and they are in a parallel connection, it shouldn't matter where you connect the charge lines.

And BTW, if you have 12VDC batteries, they should be connected in parallel, not series, as a series connection would give you 24VDC!
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Old 04-25-2011, 11:03 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lewster View Post
I'm assuming that you are talking about a solar charge controller. A little more descriptive narrative would help.

If this is the case, you should connect the positive AND negative charge lines from the controller directly to the batteries thru an appropriate sized fuse or DC circuit breaker. If you have 12VDC batteries and they are in a parallel connection, it shouldn't matter where you connect the charge lines.
I connected both the 120VAC converter (protected via 120A battery circuit breaker) and vehicle charging lines (fused @20A) to the DC bus bars when I rewired our Airstream; when we add solar this summer we'll tie the solar controller into the same bus bars. This prevents ground loops, and also allows battery monitors such as the Trimetric (or, indeed, regular ammeters) to correctly measure the current flowing into the batteries since the shunt "sees" all the current flowing in or out of the batteries.

- Bart
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Old 04-26-2011, 06:10 AM   #5
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Boy I have a lot to learn. I thought parallel and series was the same thing... Back to the books! Some one needs to write a book on hooking solar to airstreams... I would be the first to buy it.
I have 2 12v deep cycle 175 battteries in separate compartment boxes stock from the factory on the front of my AS. Yes, sorry, I am talking about the controller that goes between the solar panels and the batteries. I understand how to do mot of this project. I am just unclear about the proper connection to the two batteries. So, I would need to link the batteries in parallel by linking the postive to posotive an negative to negative, correct? Then, once that is done, run two 8wg wires from the controller to the buss bars in the 12v fuse panel. Hooking those under the lug for the two positive connections for both batteries. Is that correct? Does anything need to go on the negative lugs?
Photo of completed 12V panel hookup anyone?
Lynn
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Old 05-31-2023, 11:03 AM   #6
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Black or copper bus bar for charge controller?

Hoping for a simple answer here... When connecting my new Victron MPPT controller to the positive bus bar, should it be on the black side or the copper (brass) side?

Also, my negative/ground bus bar is already maxed out on wires. Best suggestions for adding additional space to that?
Thanks!
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