Anyone know if the solor panel on the roof

[chrislana]

of my Promaster Tellaro Charges even if vehicle is off and switch is off inside?

[engnrsrule]

According to another post, the solar charge controller is located behind the bottom drawer in the bathroom. You could see if any indicator lights are displayed when the battery isolation switch is open. I would suspect opening the battery isolation switch (I.e. turning off coach power) would interrupt charging. Here is the other post. You may want to contact other owners to get first hand guidance.
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f4...ion-32235.html

[chrislana]

thanks for the help

[Dogman]

Originally Posted by chrislana

of my Promaster Tellaro Charges even if vehicle is off and switch is off inside?

You rase an interesting question. But YES, I have no idea why it would not if you have Solar TURNED ON, it would not charge. if the VAN is turned off. NO they keep charging, unless you turn then Solars off. Now when SOLARS ARE ON, and the VAN engine is OFF. Even on a dark and cloudy day, or if parked under a car port on a bright and Sunny day. Your panels will still charge the VAN Lithium Batteries. That is what they do. True they want be getting a 100% direct sun light. But even a little or indirect will still charge or should be charging up you VAN batteries.

Now, if it is indirect sunlight and you "say" have something on like the regenerator, or something on to drain the batteries. Then you will be draining what little charge you are getting to the VAN. Here is the hardest part for folks who have Solar Pannel VANS to understand. Let's say you just returned from a trip, and you parked the VAN at a State of Charge at 100%. Over the next 30 days you should let the batters, die down to 40% SOC, try never to let them go down below 32% or 35%. I do this every month and then jump in and drive the van, charging the lithium back up in about 2-hours of driving. I do in a day back to a full 100% SOC and let the VAN set with Solars off to start discharging all over again. But I'm turning the Solars off to let the van die over the next 3-weeks or so. I call the EXERSIZING the VAN and keep the batteries doing what they were made for charging and discharging.

You cannot do this with a car battery, as once they drop below 60% or 10-amps just one time they will never go back up to their full SOC charge and if it happens more than two or three times the DC Batteries need to be replaced. in other RV House DC Batters. Unlike the Lithium batteries, which need to stay in and out of State of charge. Doing this keeps them well maintained, unless you drop them below 30% SOC.

I have a Mercedes-Benz 3500XD Galleria with Li3 and have found that keeping them exercising also seem to keep them and the full system working nicely together.

If you have your Solars turned on, and the vehicle is off. They should be recharging back up, and if not, then something is on in the van causing a discharge.

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by chrislana

of my Promaster Tellaro Charges even if vehicle is off and switch is off inside?

It isn't clear if you have lithium batteries or not. With Roadtrek AGM systems, the solar is always charging the batteries unless they have gone to float. It is the best thing about solar and I would never have an AGM based rig without it. Lithium based, the batteries have to be on to charge from any source.

Of course, the Tellaro could be set up differently.

[chrislana]

Wow this is good learning stuff im a new bee at this and learning and yes it is Lithium batts,, mine is new and ill keep them plugged in if i know I'm not camping ...but when plugged in does the front batt charge also?

[mumkin]

Since no one has shown up with the same unit as you, I suggest that if you can tolerate the negatives of Facebook, there is surely a Tellaro owners' group. We have a very active one for the Promaster based Roadtrek models and it is fabulous, fun, and friendly... with lots of techy owners who can explain things and walk you through lots of minor fixes to cut down having to get an appointment with the too busy dealers.

For instance, we are told when parked with our lithium based units that there is no need to be plugged in... get to a certain setting and just shut it down... and they will hold their charge for months. Our systems won't charge the starter battery under your feet, so that is the one that needs either a trickle charger or if you open the cover, the battery comes from Promaster with a manual disconnect... because that battery has lots of parasites from computers and most will die in 10-12 days. We all carry one those handy little jump starters that are about $100 on Amazon.

[chrislana]

Well thats good to know that it won't charge the front batt,but mine has a button on the dash that will let the back one start the promaster,,And thanks ill look for the FB one too as far as keeping the back ones charged ,,knowing me i can for get to charge up the rear ones and it sits under A carport so the solor is out and keeping it plugged in will keep it charged or will it hurt them?

[Dogman]

Originally Posted by chrislana

Wow this is good learning stuff im a new bee at this and learning and yes it is Lithium batts,, mine is new and ill keep them plugged in if i know I'm not camping ...but when plugged in does the front batt charge also?

First you should not keep your van plug in the 30- AMP. Understand you need to exercise them Here let me explain. First NO the under-hood battery won't charge when plugged in to an outlet. That is a D/C and you need to drive the van to charge or trickle charge the under-hood battery. this is why you need to drive your van about every 30-days or so. You need to understand what I call exercising.

Here is what a VAN EXERCISE - Let's start with FULL STATE OF CHARGE 100% SOC. Step 2. turn everything off in the VAN even the regenerator. Step 3. Check it about every 3 days and the SOC drops to between 32% to 40% and then. Step 4. Drive and charge, plug into an outlet, also a good idea to turn on the Solar and let them charge the VAN on fully as this will help you understand Direct sun rays and indirect sun's rays better as well as learning how long it takes for everything to reach their full potential as SOC.

In this forum we also have a Group called Solar. Hope this was helpful.

[mumkin]

A Promaster will not start if it sits for 30 days. One is lucky if it lasts 2 weeks. lol Quite a few won't even last a week. Since you have access to electric, just put on a trickle charger. Since it is close by, it is good to run the engine once a month or so... even better if the roads are clear, take it for a drive for 30-60 minutes.

I don't know the set up of your lithiums... but they can only be used above freezing unless they have a heating system. Even with heaters, it can take a very long drive to get them to a temperature where they will take a charge. You really need to talk to other owners and their process for safe battery storage for your set-up.

[Sleeping Dog]

On our Pleasure Way Lexor, that has lithium batteries, there is a shut off that disengages the batteries from the solar panels. If the batteries are engaged, they will charge, even if all the other circuits are shut down. The reason for the shut off, is lithium batteries shouldn't be charged if they are at or below freezing. The charging circuit does have an auto disengagement feature that stops charging from occurring if the cabin temp falls below ~37 degrees.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Dogman

this is why you need to drive your van about every 30-days or so. You need to understand what I call exercising.

Here is what a VAN EXERCISE - Let's start with FULL STATE OF CHARGE 100% SOC. Step 2. turn everything off in the VAN even the regenerator. Step 3. Check it about every 3 days and the SOC drops to between 32% to 40% and then. Step 4. Drive and charge, plug into an outlet, also a good idea to turn on the Solar and let them charge the VAN on fully as this will help you understand Direct sun rays and indirect sun's rays better as well as learning how long it takes for everything to reach their full potential as SOC.

I see things a bit differently:
It is true that in the presence of parasitic loads, your battery charge will not last long in storage. But if you have the ability to fully shut down the system, it becomes a non-issue. Most rigs have (and all should have) a master shut off switch. Sprinters have them for the chassis, and it is easily added to any other vehicle.

If a modern battery is truly disconnected, it will hold a charge for a very long time. One full year is not an unreasonable expectation. If you store a lead-acid battery at 100% charge, or a lithium at 80%, you can and should forget about it for many months. An exception would be a lithium battery stored below zero degrees F, in which case you need heat, not charge.

As for the powertrain, "exercising" it typically causes more harm than good, as we have discussed at length in the past. Either get a good battery disconnect, or build a solar setup that charges all your batteries properly (and not too much), and you will be fine. The former is a lot easier than the latter.

In summary: My opinion is that instead of expending effort on "exercising" your rig, you should spend it on relieving the rig of all parasitic charges, and then let it sleep.

[chrislana]

Ok i got it and still have a lot to learn

[chrislana]

It looks like ill have to drive it around <<Which i dont mind

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by avanti

I see things a bit differently:
It is true that in the presence of parasitic loads, your battery charge will not last long in storage. But if you have the ability to fully shut down the system, it becomes a non-issue. Most rigs have (and all should have) a master shut off switch. Sprinters have them for the chassis, and it is easily added to any other vehicle.

The catch is the starter battery... not the lithiums. There is a manual disconnect on the battery from Promaster, but the access is not easy... and many are loathe to use it for some reason. There is parasitic draw, and these batteries tend to go dead quickly. She said that her storage area is covered, which excludes her solar. But there is a receptacle so that she could connect a trickle charger.

[chrislana]

Very interesting ill have to try and find this ,,i was thinking of putting a knife cut off at the battery ,,but thanks for the input

[avanti]

Originally Posted by chrislana

i was thinking of putting a knife cut off at the battery

Yes, exactly. Such a switch at the battery will take parasitic draw on the starter battery off the table. The worst that can happen is the loss of some ephemeral settings like radio presets or at worst some minor tuning to your driving style. Even these things are not affected on modern vehicles, since such data are now stored in flash memory.

[chrislana]

Good thought Avanti ,,i got to give this some thought ,,i don't store anything on the radio or Van but maybe a trickle charger on the front batt maybe the way to go and i do plan the run it at least once a week thru the winter

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by chrislana

Very interesting ill have to try and find this ,,i was thinking of putting a knife cut off at the battery ,,but thanks for the input

As I said, it comes with a much better manual disconnect from the Promaster factory already. Some of the Roadtrek owners have added an exterior switch like this which is handy if you plan to drive it now and again over the winter:

https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-Water...hlbWF0aWM&th=1

But, it you are going to leave it disconnected all winter, I would just use the easy one already on the battery. You would only have to open that cover under the driver's feet once... and then re-connect the battery and shut it once. And, of course, you would have to reprogram the clock and such with the menu on the radio. This way you don't have to bother to run it once a week. I used to leave my Toyota Sienna disconnected for 6-7 months every year with no problems.

[chrislana]

Well we will see i think ill drive it once a week and check the front batt level every so often ,but first im going to find the cut off switch for the front batt ,,RV place i bought it from said there isn't any but they have know tobe wrong,,,but at least iv leard now i got several different ways to go ,,,thanks for the help guys