2021 Imagine XLS 23BHE Solar Prep Installation

[rmcarter96]

We just received delivery of our 2021 Imagine XLS 23BHE yesterday and one thing has changed on this new year model that I am still at a loss about. It no longer has the exterior Furrion solar port on it. It does have the solar prep but there are no instructions on how to hook it up and such. Has anybody else come across this and can give me some guidance? The dealer has no idea and I haven't found anything about it on the Grand Design site.

[TucsonJim]

Hi there. Welcome to the GDRV technical forum.

The other forum moderators and I had a video meeting with Grand Design this past week and this was one of our topics. GDRV has promised to provide us with detailed information on both "solar prep" and solar packages. Once I get those details, I'll share what I can on the solar channel on this forum.

In the mean time, based on what I'm being told, your "Solar Prep" provides a pathway and 10 AWG wires to attach solar to panels on the roof and connect them to a solar controller of your choice near the batteries. This important step allows you to attach solar on the roof without having to drill holes and route wires on your own.

The Furrion port was a nice feature, but provided limited benefit. If you connected it to the Furrion solar panel, you only had 95 watts of charging. On a good sunny day, that might be enough to charge up one partially depleted battery. In fact, I won a Furrion panel at a rally a few years ago. I gave it to my son to use on his trailer. I was able to purchase the Furrion port and install it on his trailer with very little effort. So you can still install the Furrion port if desired. It comes with directions on wire size, fuse size, etc. that you'll need.

Another option for using portable solar is to just connect a portable panel (with a solar controller) directly to the battery with battery clamps that many panels provide.

If you're interested in solar and have questions, please hit us up and we'll all try to help you.

In the mean time, I've placed a "Solar 101" presentation in the linked thread which provides a lot of basic information.

https://gdrvowners.com/forum/solar/2...national-rally

Jim

[Famtraveler24]

Jim,

Thanks for the info. I am also a new 2021 23BHE owner, and I just called GD about this very issue today. Learned about the wires that come out of the roof. Zippo about this in the manual, etc.

[dwelcel]

I have the same unit and was wondering the same. My Renogy 100w panel, brackets, charge controller came the other week and I’d like to attempt the install soon so any information will be helpful.

it looks like the wire from the port on the roof is actually run all the way to the battery. With extra wire looped in the front storage area. Would just need to cut the wire and figure out which end goes to battery and which to roof (as it’s not labeled) and then connect Appropriately to the charge controller. I was planning on using a multimeter to test.

[TucsonJim]

I have the same unit and was wondering the same. My Renogy 100w panel, brackets, charge controller came the other week and I’d like to attempt the install soon so any information will be helpful.

it looks like the wire from the port on the roof is actually run all the way to the battery. With extra wire looped in the front storage area. Would just need to cut the wire and figure out which end goes to battery and which to roof (as it’s not labeled) and then connect Appropriately to the charge controller. I was planning on using a multimeter to test.

I'm curious. Are there any connectors on the wire? Specifically, are there any MC4 connectors? I'm including a photo of MC4 connectors so you have an idea of what they look like.

[dwelcel]

I’m pretty sure up on the roof is where the MC4 connectors are. My unit has the Jaboni port on the roof, I have not opened it up to expose what’s inside but from the research I’ve done there should be MC4 connections there so just need to plug the solar panel into that.

[TucsonJim]

I’m pretty sure up on the roof is where the MC4 connectors are. My unit has the Jaboni port on the roof, I have not opened it up to expose what’s inside but from the research I’ve done there should be MC4 connections there so just need to plug the solar panel into that.

That would be really nice if they have the MC4's at the roof. That would make installation much quicker.

Jim

[dwelcel]

I’ll be picking up my trailer from storage today and will take a look and post pics either later today or tomorrow

[dwelcel]

Ok, got my trailer back home. On the roof is the Jaboni solar port with MC4 connectors. Also, down in my front storage area I have wire labeled as Solar/Inv. My assumption is that the wire is a single run all the way from the roof to the battery as I see the same wires run all the way to the tongue. So my plan was to cut the wire in the storage area. I’ll get two ends now...where one should go to the roof MC4 connectors and one end to the battery and will just need to connect those ends to the charge controller. Obviously need to determine which end goes where as it’s not labeled.

has anyone been able to confirm with the factory?

[Country Campers]

I would check to make sure the red is positive on the roof , black being negative as well. Along with everything else it is possible that these may be wired backwards and should be checked.

Brian

[dwelcel]

Interesting...I Guess I’ll have to check that. I can see up at the tongue the red is going to positive and black to neutral.

[TucsonJim]

Ok, got my trailer back home. On the roof is the Jaboni solar port with MC4 connectors. Also, down in my front storage area I have wire labeled as Solar/Inv. My assumption is that the wire is a single run all the way from the roof to the battery as I see the same wires run all the way to the tongue. So my plan was to cut the wire in the storage area. I’ll get two ends now...where one should go to the roof MC4 connectors and one end to the battery and will just need to connect those ends to the charge controller. Obviously need to determine which end goes where as it’s not labeled.

has anyone been able to confirm with the factory?

I really like how they did that. It would have been nice if they labled the POS and NEG wires at the bottom though. But once you connect a panel, you can just check polarity with your meter before connecting to the controller.

I'm attaching a simple diagram that includes the basics of both a solar charging set up and a simple inverter set up. Make sure that you put a fuse or circuit breaker on the positive wire between the solar array and the controller, and another between the controller and the battery. If you need help selecting a fuse, just give us the details of your set up and we can help you determine what to use.

[dwelcel]

Update...Last night I decided to tackle the solar install on my 23BHE. As I assumed the wire is one continuous run from the port on the roof all the way to the battery with extra wire looped up in the front storage area.

It was pretty simple. Here are the steps...
1. disconnect shore power and battery
2. cut the wire that is looped up in the front storage area so you now have two ends. One goes to the battery and one goes to the roof port
3. Reconnect battery
4. Connect solar charge controller, In order to test which wires go to the battery vs. the roof (since mine were not labeled) I just picked one set and plugged into the battery terminals on the charge controller. If the charge controller turns on then you have the correct wires. If the charge controller does not turn on then use the other wires. Once the charge controller is on, set to the correct battery type.
5. Once you have the charge controller connected to the correct wires that run to the battery, take your solar panel up to the roof and mount it making sure you have enough room to still plug in the MC4 connectors to the roof port. Also, make sure to seal appropriately with Dicor.
6. Plug the solar panel MC4 connectors to the port
7. Enjoy your battery charging from the sun

[TucsonJim]

Update...Last night I decided to tackle the solar install on my 23BHE. As I assumed the wire is one continuous run from the port on the roof all the way to the battery with extra wire looped up in the front storage area.

It was pretty simple. Here are the steps...
1. disconnect shore power and battery
2. cut the wire that is looped up in the front storage area so you now have two ends. One goes to the battery and one goes to the roof port
3. Reconnect battery
4. Connect solar charge controller, In order to test which wires go to the battery vs. the roof (since mine were not labeled) I just picked one set and plugged into the battery terminals on the charge controller. If the charge controller turns on then you have the correct wires. If the charge controller does not turn on then use the other wires. Once the charge controller is on, set to the correct battery type.
5. Once you have the charge controller connected to the correct wires that run to the battery, take your solar panel up to the roof and mount it making sure you have enough room to still plug in the MC4 connectors to the roof port. Also, make sure to seal appropriately with Dicor.
6. Plug the solar panel MC4 connectors to the port
7. Enjoy your battery charging from the sun

That certainly sounds simple enough. Did you install fuses on the positive wires between the panels and the controller and the controller and the batteries?

Jim

[dwelcel]

TucsonJim - No, I didn't do any fuses for the time being. I did confirm with Renogy about fuses and while it's recommended, it's not required and the goal of the fuse was to protect components when you are approaching the limits of your charge controller. With my one 100w panel I should be ok. If I add more panels then I will add the fuses in.