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This wiring diagram will show you everything you need to know about installing the core elements of a high-end camper solar electric setup. This system features a 3000 watt inverter, can handle MANY different configurations of solar panel arrays up to 1200 watts with almost no changes to the core wiring of this diagram, and allows for charging from the alternator as well as shore power. This is a long read and if you have questions, drop them in the comments below or if you feel you need additional guidance, you can set up a call with me: CLICK HERE for more info.
History of Changes to this Page (Click to Expand)
Changes Made July 17th, 2020: Changed main DC Distribution busbars to be the Victron Lynx Distributor system instead of the EXPLORIST.life busbar. The EXPLORIST.life busbar is still available to be a DIY solution but I simply could not keep up with the demand for making these. Building busbars was taking up so much time I was having to neglect producing more videos and blog posts, which is what EXPLORIST.life is really about. The Victron Lynx Distributor is an all in one DC distribution unit that houses the fuses, positive and negative busbars needed to take the power from your battery bank to your individual main components. This product is an EXTREMELY elegant solution I think you will be very happy with. I also added an inline fuse and fuse holder between the battery bank and Victron Lynx as well as an inline switch. If you have any questions, as always, leave them in the comments below.
Changes made to diagram July 8, 2020: Changed equipment case ground wires to daisy chain back to the negative busbar instead of each having their own individual runs all the way back to the negative busbar. This results in less wire used, less clutter, and more free space at the negative busbar. I also removed the 300 amp terminal block at the house battery in favor of a 400 amp ANL fuse attached to the busbar. The 300 amp terminal block is adequate but I have heard of isolated events of this fuse blowing prematurely. When a 3000w Inverter is running at full capacity, it could be pulling near 250 amps. At surge capacity and heavy DC loads from around the camper, it’s possible the 300 amp terminal fuse could blow under normal, safe operation. If you are reading this and already have a 300 amp terminal fuse attached to the house battery bank; you do not need to replace it UNLESS it starts blowing prematurely. Finally, the 50A terminal fuse attached to the house battery bank protecting the wire going to the battery to battery charger was replaced with a 60A terminal fuse as I could not find a 50A terminal fuse in stock. If you have a 50A terminal fuse in that location, that’s completely fine and you need to make no changes.
Changes made to the parts lists July 8, 2020: A complete audit of all of the parts on this page was performed. Supply chain issues took a toll on this page recently and left many of my links incorrect. I have found a way to keep up with my links in a much easier way I have been doing in the past which means the links on this page should be MUCH more accurate going forward. Also, I added MULTIPLE different solar wiring examples to the bottom of this page so you can choose which solar configuration suits your own needs rather than providing a crash course in solar array design as that was proving to be too complex and therefore leaving the ‘done for you’ nature of this blog post lacking.
This page was originally published February 27, 2020
Thanks for your patience with these changes. I’m constantly trying to find better ways to teach this stuff and these parts lists and diagrams will be continuously optimized over time. -Nate
DIY Camper Van Wiring Diagram
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE HI-RES PRINTABLE PDF OF THIS DIAGRAM
Pre-Packaged Wiring Kits
In the next section, I’ve put together a list with all of the wires, lugs, fuses, heat shrink, terminals and such consolidated and totaled up into a parts shopping list, but…
If you would like to buy all of the wires, fuses, lugs, and accessories from me, I have made that available for you and you can check out that wiring kit here: https://www.explorist.life/shop/wiring-kits/3000w-150v-600ah-camper-solar-wiring-kit/
Although this won’t save you much money, it’s priced the same as if you were to buy all of the parts from Amazon and I’m hoping that offering this wiring kit will simplify the process as sometimes Amazon runs out of stock or switches products on me out of nowhere. If you’d rather go through Amazon or shop around for the best pricing, that’s totally fine and I hope this list below helps.
A Note about Quantities
For the ‘Quantities’ in the below shopping list, each singular component is listed a quanty per each, wire is listed a quantity of feet, and heat shrink is listed as qty 1 = 2.25″.
For Example:
Qty 1 – Inverter Charger means you need to purchase 1 Inverter Charger
Qty 3 – 4/0 Wire means you need 3 feet of 4/0 wire. This may mean you need to buy 5ft from the product page
Qty 5 heat shrink means you need 5 pieces of 2.25″ heat shrink. This means you’ll need 5 x 2.25″ pieces of heat shrink for a total of 11.25″ of heat shrink.
Camper Solar PARTS shopping list
Camper Solar PARTS detail
The section below will tell you where each of the parts from above fits into the wiring diagram. This is quite lengthy, but if you are having trouble seeing the diagram or just want more clarification that the diagram above doesn’t deliver, hopefully this will help:
Choosing your Solar Panels & Charge Controller
The following section provides you with several different options for solar charging. The above parts list can remain completely unchanged and the diagram above can remain mostly unchanged except for the alterations noted by the diagrams below, but whatever solar array setup you choose below for your needs, these parts will need to be added to your shopping list. These are broken up by total solar wattage. As a general rule, you want to have twice as many watts of solar as you do amp hours of batteries. So, 300Ah Batteries = 600W solar. 400Ah Batteries = 800W solar. 600Ah Batteries = 1200W of solar. This is just a rule of thumb. Not a law.
400 Watts – 4x100W Solar Panels (Click to Expand)
600 Watts – 6x100W Solar Panels (Click to Expand)
600 Watts – 3x200W Solar Panels (Click to Expand)
800 Watts – 4x200W Solar Panels (Click to Expand)
1000 Watts – 5x200W Solar Panels (Click to Expand)
1200 Watts – 4x300W Solar Panels (Click to Expand)
Nate, this is a great diagram.
I’m going to take a couple of days to absorb it.
I’ll be joining your private DIY group soon to ask some specific questions.
Thanks a TON for developing and posting this!!!!
First off Thank You for putting this together! Obviously it was done with great detail. As a novice in solar I’ve been doing a ton of research and my only question is can this be done with a 3500-4000 watt inverter? Most of what I’ve read says that 3000 isn’t quite enough.
Thank you,
David
This wiring setup would likely not work with a 3500-4000w Inverter. For anything bigger than a system with a 3000w Inverter, I’d be recommending switching the entire system to a 24v system. BUT… a 3000w Inverter is big enough for most loads. It can provide about 25A, which is more power than a single circuit on a household breaker. So… Ultimately it depends on what you are trying to power. In my solar power audit, once you put in your values, it will also give you an Inverter size recommendation. Here’s a tutorial for that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a406IxiU-Xg
Could I use this setup with a 3kw Victron Inverter along with a separate 800w inverter? The 800w inverter would be always on to power some necessary appliances
You could, indeed add another positive and negative connection to the + and – busbars and run those to your 800w Inverter. The 800w inverter should go to it’s own seperate distribution panel depending on the type of inverter you’re using.
Hello, Your videos and site have been most helpful in building a skoolie for my daughter. We are struggling with the electrical part a bit. I decided to go with a Victron multiplus just to make it cleaner and neater, but I am not understanding why if the Victron has the charge controller and the MPPT in it already we need to add another charge controller and MPPT exterior to this? We will only use shore power and 800 watts solar. 400 amps lithium batteries to start and add more later as funds are available. I thought for the most part with the Victron, you brought the shore and solar in to it then out to the distribution box, the house batteries, receptacles etc? would it be just as easy to set up without the Victron?
Thank you so much for your help.
The Victron unit with the Inverter and MPPT integrated into one single box (Victron EasySolar) only has an output of 230V (European Electrical Output) and will not work with devices in North America. The EasySolar you are referencing is only really useful to the European market (or the other places in the world where 230v power is the norm).
The Victron MultiPlus is an Inverter/Charger (Charger referring to Charging via shore power) does not have an integrated MPPT for solar charging.
Hi Nate,
thank you for all your hard work. This site has helped tremendously. Just had one quick question. I noticed on this configuration using a 3000w inverter you elected to pair with 100amp fuse at the busbar. But conversely on other diagrams that use a 2000w inverter use used a LARGER 250amp fuse on a smaller system. that seems backwards? The amp fueses also change conversely to the A/C D/C distrubution panel and solar charge controller.
How can i determine what fuses to use on a 3000w inverter but a 400amp hour batter stack? please advise.
Thanks!!!!
That’s a 400A breaker. The low-res must be making the 4 look like a 1.
Does a solar panel array of 1600W and using a 2000W inverter instead of a 3000W inverter change the components/wiring of this diagram any aside from the charge controller? I also need 800 Ah of Lithium batteries rather than the 600 Ah specified, would this change the wiring diagram to the battery bank?
You could downsize most of the wire to 2/0 instead of 4/0 going with a smaller inverter, but for 1600w of solar, I’d recommend either two charge controllers or going to a 24v battery bank. A single victron controller can only handle 1200w of solar into a 12v battery bank and can handle 2400w of solar into a 24v battery bank.
Nate, I’m curious too if the wiring changes if I went with a 800ah not 609ah?
The extra two batteries would simply wire in the same method as the 6 batteries. You’d just need to add 4 wire lugs, 2 black heat shrink, 2 red heat shrink, 1ft red wire, 1 ft black wire per battery you want to add to your master shopping list.
Hi. I’ve been following you recently on YouTube. Question. Why do you connect the ground wire to the negative bus bar? Shouldn’t ground wire be connected to the chassis or proper ground conductor if it was at a home/cabin?
Thank you,
Trung Tran
The ground wire is connected to the negative busbar which is connected to the chassis ground. It’s all tied together.
Hey Nate, I appreciate the great wiring diagrams.
Why do you suggest a dual pole breaker between the panels and controller, rather than a single pole Breaker on the positive side only?Thanks!
I recommend it because it’s required by NEC 690.15 for ungrounded solar arrays: https://allstarce.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2017-NEC-Code-Ch-6-Article-690-2.pdf
I have everything I need (after ordering the wiring kit from you) aside from the solar panels. I was wanting to get 4 – 300W panels but I noticed that it seems I can only find them in 24V versus 12V. Does that matter when it comes to the wiring diagram that you have here?
Sounds great! This wiring diagram will handle that. You’ll want to go with the Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150|100 and wire your solar panels 2×2 in series and then the two series strings in parallel by using a 2-to-1 branch connector. If you opted to wire all 4 panels in series, you’d want to use the Victron SmartSolar MPPT 250|100.
I am planning on doing the same, eventually have 1200w solar array and a 12v battleborn lithium bank. I am on a budget, so I was wondering if I could start out with just two 300w (24v) panels and wire those in parallel. If I did the math right, that means I would only need a 60amp mppt charge controller to set up those 2 panels. Later on, I can add the other two panels with an additional 60amp charge controller? If this is something that would work well, what kind of fuse would I need between my two panels and my charge controller. For fuse sizes, be sure to check the solar wiring diagram drop-downs at the bottom of this blog post as I think that will help.
I wouldn’t recommend doing the dual charge controllers once you upgrade. It will just add cost and complexity. If you want to do this in phases, I’d recommend just getting the 150/100 now, and only using 2 panels wired in series for now. Then, once you wanted to add the other two panels, you could simply add the other two panels in series, and then wire those two series strings in parallel.
I think that would be the easiest way to accomplish what you are trying to do.
Possibly a dumb question, but I’m new to this. I noticed that the bus bar you link to has four terminals, but there are more than four connections made on both bus bars. Are you doubling up on some of the terminals?
The positive does not require doubled up connections. The negative busbar has wires on both the top and bottom of the busbar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrZ-cr5qEwU
Nate these diagrams are invaluable.
You have a 50 amp circuit breaker and a 20/20 circuit breaker on this diagram. I understand that the 20 amp breakers are for the 110 outlets. what is the 50 amp breaker for?
That’s the 50A main breaker protecting the entire power distribution panel. Tutorial: https://www.explorist.life/how-to-wire-a-power-distribution-panel/
Hi! I am doing my solar set up and I have decided to use the Renogy 50amp Dc to dc with MPPT. There is not a lot of info on this system and I would love to see you do a solar diagram for this charge controller. Will Prowse has done one but has not done a full diagram with all the components linked to it. I also have questions to check on wire sizes and what monitors I need for the control center of the van. Another question i have with this system is that it allows 25amps from solar and 25amps from the alternator, I am only having 300watts of solar on the roof, which will push 25 amps, so does it matter if i put my panels in series or in parallel?
Hey Sami! I will likely never make a wiring diagram featuring that device as the MPPT on it only has a max voltage of 25 volts, which defeats the purpose of an MPPT in my opinion.
For wire sizes for various components, you should check out this calculator (https://www.explorist.life/wire-sizing-calculator/) and tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki3WXVR48eM)
For series vs parallel: if you are using that device, since it has a maximum input voltage of 25 volts, you are forced into only being able to wire your panels in parallel.
Hi Nate,
I looked through your part lists. In the first list you’ve mentioned 2 x 400 A ANL fuse but in the following list, there is only one used. I think the 400 A fuse is for the positive wire on the battery.
Do you see any advantages / disadvantages from the parallel connection of the batteries that you’ve shown in your layout and the way victron shows it here: https://www.victronenergy.de/upload/documents/1.6KVA-12V-MultiPlus-230-Volt-system-example-5-PIN-VE-Bus-BMS-Lithium-Orion-Tr.pdf
What yould be the correct fuse for a parallel connection of your setup and that shown by victron. Planned are 2 x 200 A @ 12.8 V LiPo in parallel.
Regards Flow
That method of wiring is also adequate. If you are using 4/0 wire, you can use 200A fuses.
I noticed that you used a fuse on both the negative and positive wires in your diagram. My understanding is that a fuse was only needed on the positive wire. Am I missing something? Thanks.
That ‘fuse’ you are referring to between the solar panels and the charge controller is, indeed, on both the positive and negative wires. This is a code requirement of NEC 690.17(B):https://www.energy.gov.bb/web/component/docman/doc_download/71-article-690-solar-photovoltaic-pv-systems
Will this set up work without the inverter (as a 12v DC system)? If possible I would like to start without It and add on later.
Also, would this set up work with (200 ah) of battery initially, adding the other (200 ah) of battery later? Thanks….Great resource here!!
Yes. It would work just fine like that. 🙂
Hey Nate,
Just love your videos, very easy to follow. I’m just about to pull the pin and get going with my install. I just have one question. I’m in a class A and though it was to expensive to have all of the 120 outlets powered while off the grid. I seem to me that with just a little more investment I could do power the whole coach. I was able to get the build prints from Coachmen and this will help me find where the wire are going. Sorry to go on, can I add another Victron Charge controller and power the other circuit giving me my two legs of 120 going into my distribution panel? I’m looking for a 50 amp shore power wire diagram if you have one. Once again thank you for all you put out there for us to absorb.
Wayne
Unfortunately, I don’t have a 50A wiring diagram publically available. I’m hoping to release one by the end of summer but that probably doesn’t help you now. Sorry about that!
I will say, though… a charge controller is DC power and will NOT be able to power the “other circuit giving me my two legs of 120 going into my distribution panel”. Without going into the full diagram, You’ll need to look into the Smart Phase Selector from AM Solar.
Hey Nate,
Love this diagram, man… you crushed it. I’m getting ready to install the Li-BIM on our van, but the more I read about the Victron Orion Smart B2B Charger… the more I’m intrigued by it’s simplicity. Is it really so simple as to connect a wire to your positive and negative car/van battery, run to the B2B charger, then connect the B2B charger to my positive and negative bus bars? Seems too good to be true.
Also, is the bluetooth interface where you can control the “on/off switch” for charging B2B? Thanks, man!
Yep! That’s it!
…and yes, the VictronConnect app is how you can turn on-off your victron components.
Hi Nate, great website, I’m all the way over in Australia and just starting out on my bus conversion and wanted to wire a similar system to the diagram above, my problem is I want to run a 12volt system but the bus is 24volt, how can I use the bus 24volt starter battery to charge my 12volt house battery system while the bus is running and being supplied 24volts from the alternator? Can I simply change the dc-dc charger for a second mppt controller that will take 24v from the bus battery and supply 12v to my house batteries or would this continue to discharge the bus battery when the alternator is not supplying power.
Cheers
Brad
For that, you’d just need to convert the 24v from the vechile system down to 12v for the house system. In my diagram on this page, you could just replace the Victron Orion 12/12-30 with the 24 to 12v version: https://www.invertersupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1304_263_267&products_id=189680
Hey Nate,
thanks for the excellent resources! Truly amazing! I’m talking to Battle Born about getting one of their kits, with some small adjustments.
In my system I have 6 x 100W panels (Series of 2, 3 rows of parallel) and would like to get 3 100ah batteries and the Victron Mulitplus 12V|3000W inverter/charger. In addition, I will get the Victron 150|60 MPPT charge controller for the system and some kind of battery isolator for alternator charging.
My question is this: because I have the 3000W inverter/charger, will I need to upgrade the cable size from 2/0awg, that you use in many of your diagrams, to 4/0awg? Do I only change it between the batteries themselves, the batteries to the busbars, and busbar to inverter? It seems like a bit much, and the representative at BB thought I may be alright with 2/0awg, even if I were to eventually add another battery for a 400ah total. She did recommend I check with you on it as well (you come highly recommended and I see why). Hope to have your opinion as I am a rookie with all this and want to be safe. Trying to keep costs in line but not be dangerous.
The diagram on this page shows the wire sizes for systems with a 3000w Inverter. You will need 4/0 between the batteries, from the batteries to busbar, and from busbar to Inverter. The 4/0 wire size recommendation for 3000w inverters is a recommendation from Victron (Pg 8 of the 3000w Victron Multiplus manual: https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Manual-MultiPlus-3k-120V-(firmware-xxxx4xx)-EN.pdf)
Hi Nate, great website. I’m starting a bus conversion and will likely wire it as per the above diagram, I do have one issue, I will be using a 12v system as in your diagram, however the bus start battery and alternator are 24v. I want to be able to charge my 12v house batteries from the 24v bus start battery while driving the bus. I thought I could use a seperate MPPT controller between the 24v bus start battery and the 12v house batteries, would this work? Would it continue to drain the bus start battery when the engine is not running? Would it interfere with the inverter/charger or the solar power?
Cheers
Hey Brad! For that, you’d just need to convert the 24v from the vechile system down to 12v for the house system. In my diagram on this page, you could just replace the Victron Orion 12/12-30 with the 24 to 12v version: https://www.invertersupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1304_263_267&products_id=189680
Hi Nate,
Love the detailed work you have done here. I already bought several items from Battle Born & they were the ones who referred me to you. I want to make sure you get credit for my future purchases. I’ve been clicking a few items & adding them to my Amazon wish list to order as money comes in. Will this way work for you or should I go back & click add to cart when ready?
I also wanted to ask if there is an advantage to using the DIN rail breaker you suggested over the surface mount type from makers like Blue Sea? The link you have takes me to a 16A dual pole. When I search i can only find a 16A, 32A or 64A as options. I have four 160w 12v panels getting wired in Parallel. Thank you,
Chris
For the DIN rail breaker… it just needs to be a dual pole disconnect of some kind. As long as it disconnects BOTH the positive and negative wires, it will be good to go. 32A breaker will be fine for you as well as it’s simply acting as a disconnect and not offering overcurrent protection.
Quick question about the positive load bus. It seems you try to keep separate the supplies from the load before the disconnect switch. With the exception of the dc-dc charger. What was the reason for this?
This allows us to disconnect ALL loads while sill allowing the solar to continue charging the batteries during times of, say, storage.
Nate,
Thank you for all your work here, been studying your videos and website for a while now preparing for a promaster conversion and it has been super helpful! After a lot of debate I think this layout is the most ideal for my plans. I was looking at just going ahead and buying your pre-assembled wiring kit here (do you have a general lead time?), plus either the “EXPLORIST.life 400 Ah Bundle with 150/85 MPPT” or “EXPLORIST.life 400 Ah Bundle with 250/100 MPPT” from battle born. Those kits come with the isolator versus the Orian B2B…I know it is a bit more complicated to install those based your page on alternator options, but would it cause any large changes required from these plans? I plan to install an Air Conditioning unit so I was going to add a easy start system, any conflicts you might see with that in this layout? Also, is the BMV monitor all you think is needed or are there any more monitor systems you advice adding to the plans like an inverter monitor? Looking forward to joining your private DIY group once I start getting stuff together!
Thanks,
Tyler
I would recommend requesting Battle Born to switch out the Li-BIM for the Orion. They will usually sub out parts if requested. Easy start will cause no conflicts. No additional monitoring is NECESSARY, but is available depending on what you want out of your system. At the time of responding to this, I actually have 4 wiring kits in stock and ready to ship.
Hello Nate,
Thank you for this awesome guide, getting ready to buy most of it within a week or two. I’ll probably get your buss bar too, nice 3d printed model.
Does it hurt if I get for example 8 batteries instead of 6 for my 1000 watt system? (5×200). Would I have to change any configurations when adding additional power storage?
The reason why I ask is because I would like to have extra power some days in case I want to run the AC a little longer.
Thanks
Nice! 8 batteries is totally fine and can be added in the same configuration as the other batteries. A few extra parts you’ll need to add to the master list to use 8 batteries:
(8) 4/0 x 5/16″ Wire Lug
(2′) 4/0 Red Wire
(2′) 4/0 Black Wire
(4) 3/4″ Red Heat Shrink
(4) 3/4″ Black Heat Shrink
Hello again,
On your 100w solar components you have:
2 AWG Red Wire. qty 2
2 AWG Red Wire qty 2
Did you mean red and black? Also, it points to a 25 feet roll in Amazon, do we need only 2 feet of each? Thank you
Good catch. Yes, 2ft of each red and black. I’ve made this change in the parts list.
Could I run a 13,500 btu roof ac unit for 3-4 hours durring peak hours of the day with 1200 watts of solar and 400ah of batteries without being in a deficit?
Most rooftop air conditioners use about 120A DC when they are running. The charge controller in this diagram has a max output of 100A @12V. So, if the air conditioner was running 100% of the time, you would be losing power from your battery bank at a rate of at least 20 amps per hour. If your air conditioner was duty-cycling off and on during this time, there is a good chance your batteries could potentially stay full.
Nate,
Thank you for pointing that out. I just bough you high resolution diagram. Keep up the great work.
Is the Victron Lynx Distributor necessary for a 3000w inverter setup? Can we use your DIY bus bar in place of it? What is the pros/con of using a distributor, it looks like it does the same as the DIY bus bar with LED lights.
You can, indeed, use the DIY busbar. The biggest advantage of the Lynx is that it’s already done for you, so there’s no drilling of copper and less arts-and-crafts with it. If you want to go that route, you’ll need to use ANL Fuses instead of the MEGA fuses from this list.
I WAS offering the DIY busbar as a made-by-me option to send out to everybody but keeping up with demand meant I did not have time to write new blog posts, shoot new video, and answer questions. I was turning into a manufacturing facility more than a source of information, so I had to provide a done-for-you option as they were in such high demand.
Hey Nate,
Do you have to ground the inverter/charger to the chassis? I see that the negative terminal is bonded to the chassis but do you have to do that for the inverter?
I assume the ground while on shore power would go back to the shore power ground but what about when we’re using our 120V system without shore power.
Same for the DC/AC panel, do we have to ground the ground bus bar to the chassis?
Inverter equipment ground needs to be connected to chassis by means of the negative busbar but not the AC side of things. If you follow the diagram, all necessary grounds are included.
Confirming the diagram, the MPPT ground is connecting to MultiPlus ground, and that goes to the negative bus bar, which is then connect to the chassis.
Does the Orion Tr Smart need a grounding point as well?
It looks like here you’ve got the solar charge coming in to the Lynx bus on the right side of the master disconnect switch. Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep this power input source on the left side of the disconnect switch as you have in previous diagrams?
It doesn’t REALLY make a huge difference one way or the other. In the previous diagrams, when making a DIY busbar, it was easy enough to drill the holes wherever we wanted to in the copper, so it was no extra effort to put it on that side. With the Lynx, everything is on the “Right” side of that switch and the minimal convenience of having the solar input on the “Left” isn’t worth the hassle of adding addional fuses/busbars/ripple/stuff on the left side of the switch in this diagram.
Also what are the parts coming off the battery positive terminal right before the battery switch and alternator right before the 6 AWG positive line?
Hello Nate,
would there be any major changes if I wanted to go with 3 x 320 watt solar panels? Would the 10AWG cables work as well?
Thanks
Nate,
I bough your high res diagram and there are 4 places where there seems to be 2 AWG x 5/16″ Wire Lugs, however the part list only indicates we need 2 x 2 AWG x 5/16″ Wire Lug.
For example there is a 2AWG lug going from the Multiplus to the MPPT Controller, the contoller has a smaller looking lug, is that an 2 AWG x 5/16″ Wire Lug? Is the general rule just to match lugs according to the cable size?
FYI: I bough a ton of stuff from Amazon via your links to support your work, thanks
Thank you so much.
Good catch! Parts list updated and SHOULD be accurate now.
Also,
It looks like you don’t have the 2 AWG Wire on your part list to connect from the Bus Bar to the MPPT 250 (red and black). Unless I’m missing something.
(I bough the parts now and I’m checking what I could be missing)
Thanks
Good catch! Parts list updated and SHOULD be accurate now.
Hi there,
Looking at your wonderful wiring diagram I’ve noticed that the black wire that is grounding the solar charge controller is not labeled. What size is that?
Thank you,
Phoebe
Good catch! I’ll update that. It is 2 AWG to match the same size as the + and – wires.
Nate,
It looks like you updated the diagram to include the “Victron Lynx Distributor” (Thanks).
I bough your previous diagram last week, how can I get the updated version? When I go to my downloads, it now shows empty.
Also, what is the part that is connected to the black battery cable, the sensor and the distribution? I can’t find it on the parts list.
Thanks!!
Diagram taken care of. 🙂 The parts connected between the black battery cable and the distributor are the shunt included with the Victron BMV-712 Battery Monitor and the BMV-712 to Lynx Distributor Adapter.
Hello Nate,
One more question: Do you have some directions for the nut/bolts sizes/type used in things such as the 400 AMP FUSE between the battery and the switch.
The latest diagram looks great! good job!
Thanks
Yeah! If you check out the detailed parts list below under the Battery bank to Distributor section, it will tell you all of the parts necessary to make those conections.
I’m working on designing the electrical system for a custom flatbed truck camper that I will be ordering (Phoenix Pop-up in Denver area). I’m basing it on this system with the 3000W inverter/charger, 500aH batteries, and 600W solar. I’m having trouble figuring out where to attach the main chassis ground (the 4/0 to ground in your wiring design) for the system as the camper will be removable from the truck.
Right now, I will have the 7 way connected for the DOT lights (which has a 10 or 12 AWG chassis ground) and I will run 6 AWG cables (+ and -) to the starter battery (connected with a Pollak 2 pole socket connector in the truck bed) for the DC to DC charger. Is it overkill to run a 2/0 or bigger cable to a chassis ground on the truck (with a single pole 2/0 connector between the camper and bed) or will my chassis grounds be taken care of by just connecting to the 7 way ground and/or connecting to the negative at the Pollak connector that will go back to the battery?
Ground the big 4/0 cable to any metal spot on your camper. That will ground the Inverter to the camper and will allow your GFCI’s to work properly. For alternator charging, you’ll have to run a dedicated positive and negative wire from the starter battery through an anderson connector (or similar) for the alternator charging.
Thanks, Nate!!! The camper will be mounted to the bed with four bolts at each corner. I think I can probably attach the 4/0 chassis ground at one of those bolt locations. Then run a strap from the bolt location on the bed to a ground on the frame.
Hey Nate! Is the HOM breaker between solar and MPPT a 2 pole version (looks like it from the diagram?), or is the regular single pole version listed twice in the parts list the right one to use there as well? Thanks!
That breaker is the “50A Solar Disconnect Breaker” listed in each of the solar panel wiring options available at the bottom of the page. Everything solar related is at the bottom of the blog post under the “CHOOSING YOUR SOLAR PANELS & CHARGE CONTROLLER” section.
Hi Nate – so much great info here!! I am attempting to order everything needed for the ‘3000W INVERTER | 400-600AH | 400 TO 1200W SOLAR -CAMPER SOLAR KIT’ for 4ooAH and 660W Solar for now and will expand to 600AH in the future. I see your wiring kits are currently out of stock, but when i compare the list of materials within your wiring kit, it is a bit different than the list of materials above (specifically one item that i found, the bladder, but there could be more). Is there one master materials list for this system vs going through each section above? Also, the Victron Orion-Tr DC-DC Charger Isolated 12/12 30A is currently out of stock, so is there something different I can use in place of this unit? Would it be better to book a call with you to discuss? Appreciate your help very much!
The consolidated list is under the “CAMPER SOLAR PARTS SHOPPING LIST” header. This includes everything found under the PARTS DETAIL header. I recommend waiting until the Victron Orion is back in stock. If you need to get started on the wiring without having the Orion in-hand, just plan for where it will be mounted and run the wires with a bit a loop where the orion will go so when it comes it, it’ll just be as simple as connecting 4 wires.
I made a your version of the DIY BUSBAR and have regular ANL Fuseholders, is there any reason why we need a heavy duty 400amp fuse holder? It’s quite big compared to the regular ANL Fuseholders. Can we use the regular installgear ANL Fuseholder over the Blueseas System heavy duty one?
I ordered everything from your parts list and link btw. Great resource, happy to support you
If you decide to go with a different fuse holder, just be sure the fuse holder can support the amount of amps that will be flowing through it. The 3000w inverter running at full power from a 12v battery bank could reach 250A by itself plus whatever DC loads you will be running.
Thanks so much Nate, really appreciate your help on this response plus everything you have available here and YT!!
Hello,
Another small fix:
3/4″ Black Heat Shrink & 3/4″ Red Heat Shrink are both pointing to the 1/2 listing instead.
Cheers