I have a fellow member on another site with a problem who has the factory solar package on his 2022 KZ Escape 231bh. The solar controller is showing code b001 (cannot see battery) and there is no voltage on the battery side of the solar controller. The manual shows that there should be a 30 amp fuse between the controller and the battery. The only thing I can find is 3 inline dc auto reset breakers. All three of those have continuity and appear to be working. Battery is full and all other 12v is working. I told him that the fuse should be in the Battery + line , and that if there is no battery connected, with the solar panel connected, that the controller may be damaged.. He said this rig set on the lot for weeks without a battery connected before it was sold. The sales guy even showed that the lights were working off the solar without a battery and has been working fine until this past weekend. How can this be ??? All I’ve read says to ensure you hook up the battery first , then you can connect the solar panels -- This is correct??? Any thoughts on his system???
Solar Controller not recognized
- Thread starter IDMT
- Start date
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
voltage at battery + no voltage at charger battery terminals = open circuit. He needs to start at the battery and find where he no longer has voltage. Keep the negative on the battery terminal and check volts at each connection moving away from the battery. He'll find the open circuit.
The whole "battery first" is mostly applicable to older hardware. Most MPPT don't care. The more important reason for connecting to battery first is to ensure the MPPT is configured for the correct system voltage.
Victron MPPT can actually safely operate w/o battery AFTER being connected to the battery to set the system voltage. They can even run load ports purely off solar.
The whole "battery first" is mostly applicable to older hardware. Most MPPT don't care. The more important reason for connecting to battery first is to ensure the MPPT is configured for the correct system voltage.
Victron MPPT can actually safely operate w/o battery AFTER being connected to the battery to set the system voltage. They can even run load ports purely off solar.
12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
That’s different than what I think (the problem may be).
There’s a fuse in the Epever. Last ditch self-protection
….Unless… So you are testing this where? At the cable clamps on the Epever? Then it ain’t the SCC.
That ain’t a good plan.
Some people say that doesn’t matter but most manufacturers are picky about that. Must be a reason.
Last edited:
Every trailer on the lot that I looked at with a PWM solar charge controller was active and didn't care if there was a battery present or not. So it's not unusual and I wouldn't worry about it. Once you figure out the connection to the battery, you'll be fine.
12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
I guess I can wrap my head around that slightly; voltage out on a pwm ain’t gonna be over 14.x volts generally and equipment being “on” presents a suppressive load.
But of the several pwm’s I’ve had they all warn about no panels before batteries. But what do I know?
Manufacturer instructions hit reality at the RV dealership. Trailers don't sit on the lot with a battery in them and there is no easy way to disconnect the PWM from panels. They all must be wired directly to the battery not to some common bus bars because none of the lights had power.
HI all -- Thanks for all the input -- the member gave me an update on his problem - and all is solved - here's what he found , and fixed
KZ support put me in touch with go power support. A technician there (who was very knowledgeable) confirmed there is an inline 30 amp fuse, but said only Kz would know where they put it. He said it should be located as near the battery as possible. I asked him if it was unsafe to have the controller disconnected from the battery (this controller, not in general) and he said no. If it’s going to be without a battery for a long time, he suggested disconnecting one of the leads from the panel into the controller and taping it off, just to not have low voltage (as the sun fades) going into the controller. He said the controller actually runs off the battery to power itself and for shorter periods it’s fine.
And then –
mystery solved. There is no 30 amp in-line fuse, only the 12 V breakers. I took the whole thing apart, and found that Kz had painted the bus bar behind the 12 V breakers. They had also used a 20 amp breaker when they should have used a 30 amp breaker. After removing the bus bar and sanding it free of paint, I put everything back together and now it works fine.
KZ support put me in touch with go power support. A technician there (who was very knowledgeable) confirmed there is an inline 30 amp fuse, but said only Kz would know where they put it. He said it should be located as near the battery as possible. I asked him if it was unsafe to have the controller disconnected from the battery (this controller, not in general) and he said no. If it’s going to be without a battery for a long time, he suggested disconnecting one of the leads from the panel into the controller and taping it off, just to not have low voltage (as the sun fades) going into the controller. He said the controller actually runs off the battery to power itself and for shorter periods it’s fine.
And then –
mystery solved. There is no 30 amp in-line fuse, only the 12 V breakers. I took the whole thing apart, and found that Kz had painted the bus bar behind the 12 V breakers. They had also used a 20 amp breaker when they should have used a 30 amp breaker. After removing the bus bar and sanding it free of paint, I put everything back together and now it works fine.
