Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

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westcoastslider
westcoastslider Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
I am installing a new inverter/charger in the school bus. I've read threw the manuals and have a good idea of wire size and breaker size. http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/53/p/docs/pt/29/product.asp

The part that's a little unclear is where should I introduce the power coming from the PV charge controller? The inverter has three large DC terminals. Positive battery terminal, negative battery terminal, and chassis ground. Apparently there's a shunt between the negative and the chassis ground for battery monitoring.

There is also a row of smaller terminals. Some labeled gen run and gen start are mentioned in the manual. However there are some terminals in the same row that aren't mentioned in the manual at all. There is a SOLAR + , SOLAR - ,and DC LOADS . I called xantrex tech help and they where less than helpful. First they said run + and - from charge controller to the inverters SOLAR + and -. Then I asked how many amps it could handle. After putting me on hold for a while he came back and said the engineers where going to incorporate a solar charge controller but never did so those three terminals where not for anything. He said just to hook the power out of the charge controller directly to the battery. This would bypass the shunt and not monitor power in to the batteries from the PV.

I hooked the + out of the charge controller to the battery + and the - to the chassis ground so the power would go threw the shunt. When I make that connection the inverter buzzes for a couple seconds and then stops. Am I going to fry something with it wired this way?
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #2
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

    if they decided not to use it then you shouldn't use it. keep the cc directly to the battery's + and - and the inverter properly wired separately.
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  • Windsun
    Windsun Solar Expert Posts: 1,164 ✭✭
    #3
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

    Are you sure you have the GS version? Your description sounds more like the old Trace version.
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  • westcoastslider
    westcoastslider Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭
    #4
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

    It is the M model. RV2012M instead of RV2012GS. It was manufactured in 2005.

    My worry with going directly to the battery from the charge controller is that I will bypass the internal shunt of the inverter and not get accurate battery monitoring.

    To tell you the truth I'm not too sure how familiar the tech help at xantrex was with the inverter I have. When I asked what the difference was between the M model and the GS model he told me the M was the older version... I can't find any info on the M model but it looks behaves very similar to the GS.
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  • Windsun
    Windsun Solar Expert Posts: 1,164 ✭✭
    #5
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012
    westcoastslider wrote: »
    It is the M model. RV2012M instead of RV2012GS. It was manufactured in 2005.

    My worry with going directly to the battery from the charge controller is that I will bypass the internal shunt of the inverter and not get accurate battery monitoring.

    That is basically the deal, but we sold so few of those so long ago that we no longer have a manual around, and nobody recalls the exact hookup. That internal shunt setup did not last long, was made only for a few months as people kept blowing it out.

    I vaguely recall that the solar panels have be "floating" - that is, no other connections to power or any ground, only on the terminals.
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  • westcoastslider
    westcoastslider Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭
    #6
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012
    I vaguely recall that the solar panels have be "floating" - that is, no other connections to power or any ground, only on the terminals.

    When you say "only on the terminals" do you mean battery terminals or inverter terminals?

    I am currently running output from the charge controller to the + terminal and chassis ground terminal of the inverter. Everything seems to be working fine but it made a funny noise when I connect - from charge controller to chassis ground on inverter(buzz or hum for a couple seconds). If I go from the - from CC to - terminal on the inverter it doesn't make that sound but it bypasses the shunt.

    Another thing that makes me think I should be using the SOLAR + and SOLAR - in the instruction manual for the remote display it shows a screen that is monitoring solar input(on page 29 and 40 of this manualhttp://www.xantrex.com/web/id/458/docserve.aspx). Without using these two terminals marked SOLAR to run the PV threw there would be no way to separately monitor power from PV.

    Do you remember having any trouble with the display or connections between display and inverter? I got the RC7 GS remote with it but haven't been able to get it to come on. Without the display I can't use the battery monitoring ability anyways. For all I know the internal shunt is already blown. That's what you get for buying used equipment.

    How where people blowing the internal shunt? Probly trying to wire the thing when they don't really know what they're doing.:roll:
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  • tallgirl
    tallgirl Solar Expert Posts: 413 ✭✭
    #7
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

    Your shunt is in the wrong place. The shunt should be between the common DC bus that connects B- from the charge controller and inverter together, and B- on the battery itself.

    If you have multiple shunts, which is a much better solution (but may require a better battery monitor, such as the Bogart PentaMetric (http://store.solar-electric.com/pe3chbamosy.html). The setup is a bit more complicated, but the capabilities of the PentaMetric are very high, including the ability to use their PComm software, or the software from third parties (including us).
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  • westcoastslider
    westcoastslider Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭
    #8
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

    The shunt is in the inverter so I don't have a lot of choose for location.

    When using only the inverters internal shunt, which is all I have, the chassis ground terminal on the inverter is to be wired to the chassis of the vehicle and the chassis of the vehicle is the negative buss bar. That's how I understand it. Please correct me if I'm wrong. The chassis ground terminal on the inverter is connected with a internal shunt to the negative terminal of the inverter. The negatived terminal of the inverter is suppose to be the only thing connected to the negative terminal of the battery.

    From what Windsun said It doesn't sound like the best shunt and I may be going a different route anyways.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,448 admin
    #9
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

    I don't know anything about the product--so my question is more generic...

    Chassis ground in a vehicle is typically the "negative" bus bar. Connecting the chassis of the inverter to chassis ground and then connecting that Batt "-" to the battery seems either redundant (parallel turn current paths to the battery--if the battery is also connected to the chassis) or incorrect if you want the internal shunt to function correctly (may be correct if battery is "floating"--but then is the battery powering only the inverter loads or the whole vehicle--starter/alternator, etc.).

    What is the correct connection--I could only guess at--But is probably not useful (again, because I don't know enough about the product or application).

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • westcoastslider
    westcoastslider Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭
    #10
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

    The inverter has three large DC terminals.

    Battery +
    Battery -
    Chassis ground

    The only thing connected to the battery's negative post is the invert's terminal labeled Battery -. The chassis of the vehicle is not connected to the negative battery post. It is connected to the terminal on the inverter labeled chassis ground.

    The battery is powering all loads, inverter and DC of the vehicle. To get a ground any of the DC loads are connected to the chassis of the vehicle. This makes all the current travel threw the inverter.

    Without a working display screen or a solid idea of how to wire it I think I'll give up on using the inverter as a battery monitor.
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  • dwh
    dwh Solar Expert Posts: 1,341 ✭✭✭
    #11
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012
    westcoastslider wrote: »
    Please correct me if I'm wrong. The chassis ground terminal on the inverter is connected with a internal shunt to the negative terminal of the inverter. The negatived terminal of the inverter is suppose to be the only thing connected to the negative terminal of the battery.

    According to manual at the link you posted:

    http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/458/docserve.aspx

    Page 17 clearly states (and shows in a diagram) that you are correct.
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  • westcoastslider
    westcoastslider Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭
    #12
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

    That part I was pretty sure I had right. The thing I am unclear on is where to connect the PV to the inverter in a way that the power monitoring all works. Including the amps in from the solar array.
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  • Solar Guppy
    Solar Guppy Solar Expert Posts: 1,989 ✭✭✭
    #13
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012

    The inverter can not monitor the charging currents and the solar must have its own charger controller which directly connects to the battery bank, not the inverter
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #14
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    Re: Wiring help for Xantrex rv2012
    dwh wrote: »
    According to manual at the link you posted:

    http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/458/docserve.aspx

    Page 17 clearly states (and shows in a diagram) that you are correct.

    sorry i disagree. the heavy wires are straight to the battery and the shunt they elected not to employ so all of that extra confusing wiring is null and void. no cc circuitry or monitoring is done in the inverter and should be handled as a standard inverter without the shunt meaning a cc and a battery monitor can and should be wired as like any other inverter is being used and is irrelevant if the inverter even exists for the battery charging and monitoring purposes as the inverter is just another load to it all.
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