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EchoGale View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Battery & wiring
    Posted: 24 Sep 2020 at 10:19am
You're kind. 
So I did solve one mystery.  There is a red wire (that was not in the photo) that goes from the "other" battery to the disconnect switch and then into the camper.

I'm increasingly thinking that those are the zamp wires. So my priority is to figure out about adding a fuse.  I'll check youtube.
Julie
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 2020 at 11:04am
Good, mystery solved. I agree, those are most likely the zamp wires. 

I don't recall if you have a multimeter or not yet, but here's how you could confirm 100% if you want to. 

Leave the two wires loose at the battery end. Put your multimeter on the dc volts scale and touch the two probes to the two ring terminals on the two wires. Confirm there is no voltage on them.  Now you know you can safely connect the two wires together, so put a clip or a bolt through to hold the ring terminals together, or get someone to hold them together for you.

Then go to the zamp output port, insert the meter probes in the two poles of the port and confirm there is no voltage there. Then put the multimeter on the ohms (resistance) scale and check the resistance between the two poles. It should read zero or very low, like about 1 ohm, because you shorted the two wires together at the other end. 

Finally, go back to the terminals you connected together and disconnect them. If you now read high resistance (thousands of ohms) at the zamp port you know you have found the other ends of the same two wires. You can just set those two wires off to the side as you are not going to be using them.

For a fuse for your solar kit, you could use something like this


You would need to crimp a ring terminal on one wire so you can connect it to the battery + terminal, and probably use a butt splice connector on the other end to connect it to the positive lead going to your solar charge controller. Get one of these to cut, strip, and crimp the wires. Use the strip holes and crimper for the size of wire you have, squeeze hard when you crimp, and tug on the wire to test to be sure it doesn't pull out of the crimp later on. 

The ring terminals, butt splices, and crimp tool are available at your local big box, you might want to get a kit of assorted splices and terminals for your pod tool box. That way the next time a crummy connection somewhere on the rpod comes apart you can fix it. 



1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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EchoGale View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 2020 at 11:46am
In trying to find videos on installing a fuse at the battery, I found this great rpod video on getting an adapter and using the zamp connector. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF_H3Q2mFCQ

I have also learned that the renogy alligator connectors already have a fuse!


I guess I would have to still figure out how to connect those two loose wires to the batteries though. Can I just leave them connected?

If anyone sees any mistakes in my thinking I'd appreciate a heads-up.

YAY!!!!
Julie
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 2020 at 8:18pm
Yes, you can just leave the wires to the zamp port connected to the battery. I would run the positive connection through an inline fuse. 

Confirm the polarity you have is what you expect at the zamp port using you multimeter before making your final connection to the Renogy system. 

I think what you have planned should work fine. 
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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EchoGale View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 2020 at 9:59pm
Thank you!
Julie
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