Solar Panel Wiring Route

[Mtwem]

Hey all

Just bought a fixed solar panel off 4wdsupa for a damn good price to mount to my roofracks on the roof of the van to charge my second batt and subsequent stuff i have wired up.

Just been trying to research into potential ways to run the cables to my DC DC charger fit under my bench seat of my t5.1 Transporter. I must admit i am very wary of having to drill into the roof to run the cable. Has anyone had any experience with running solar and the cable route for a tailgate t5.1? I have seen some that mention they can run it through the back door but dont really go into detail how or if that causes waterproof issues.

If not has anyone had any experience drilling into the roof to run it and potential locations?
Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.
cheeers

[Bryn23]

I've seen posts on people feeding through the tailgate on the uk forum sites.

I installed a Maxxfan Deluxe in my roof, so a extra hole for the solar cable through a solar gland sealed with SikaFlex 252 wasn't a huge issue.

If you take off the door piller trims, you will be able to see were you can run the cable through there and under the floor to the bench seat base.

Im not sure if its clear, but in the far top right of the picture is where the factory cables run down the pillar on my van

[hoddy]

Theres a rubber flexi tube that connects to the tailgate up high in the roof gutter. I made a small slit on the underside and fed solar panel wires through there. You can then run the wires across and down rear pillar, then forwards to where you need to go.
No drilling roof required!

[Gold Coaster]

I drilled through the roof and then used cable glands to make it watertight. I also placed the entry points under the raised solar panel so that it keeps both the cable and glands out of the weather.

Been there for over 4 years now and no leaks. I guess the benefit of going through the roof is that you have a greater choice of where you would prefer your entry points to be located.

[formatview321]

I copied what this guy did: Installation of Solar Panel fitted to Roof bars - VW T4 Forum - VW T5 Forum

Ran the wiring down the rain channel on the roof, then down and into the tail light. One note is that I didn't cut a hole in the plastic trim for the rear tail light, I just have the trim pushing against the cables.

I bough these to hold the cables, although you might want to stick them down with a stronger glue, the adhesive backing that they come with is not particularly strong:

50PCS 50 PC 1" x 1" Black Self Adhesive Stick on Mounts for Cable Ties / Routing Looms, Wire & Cable Base Clamps Clip-in Stowing Tidying from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group


Two years with no issues. I was also hesitant about cutting a hole in the roof. Just get the appropriate wire size to ensure that you don't suffer from voltage drop and you'll be right.

[Mtwem]

Awesome, thank you everyone for all the info, keep sending other ways in if anyone has any! I'll be doing the install hopefully over the long weekend and will look further into which method i'll do then. But this is great info to refer to.

How did everyone mount the solar panel? I was hoping to mount in between rhino roof racks hopefully mounted flush with them or a tad below in case I ever throw anything on the roof here and there.

[Gold Coaster]

How did everyone mount the solar panel?

I used 50x25x3 aluminium angle riveted to the sides of the panel and then glued to the van roof using Simson ISR 70-03.
This takes into consideration the curvature of the roof (T4) and also allows for air circulation under the panel which is important for best performance.

[formatview321]

How did everyone mount the solar panel? I was hoping to mount in between rhino roof racks hopefully mounted flush with them or a tad below in case I ever throw anything on the roof here and there.

I have the cheap chinese flexible solar panels and mounted them to the roof using industrial velcro: https://www.velcro.com/products/indu...in&color=black

They have been on the roof for over two years with no issues, also means that you can adjust them if required.

I have two 100w flexible panels and when I panels setup where the shadow from one of the roof rack cross bars throwing a shadow over only one of the panels it basically dropped the output of the panels SIGNIFICANTLY. So ever the shade from a single cross bar will make the panel useless. This also applies if you have shade casting onto the panel from a roof vent, roof basket or pod, etc..