I don't have my solar panels yet but I thought I'd charge my camper batteries by plugging in my Battery Tender to the SAE solar wall plug. The Tender immediately started flashing a reverse polarity warning.
Being the electrical genius that I am I immediately concluded that the plug was wired wrong. So red becomes the new black and black becomes the new red. The BT now charges the batteries and I feel pretty smug and start wondering about quality control at FWC.
I start to send an email to Stan and then decide there no way I can be right about anything that has to with electricity. I do some research and it appears Battery Tenders and solar hook ups are wired backwards from each other.
The following is a cut and paste from: http://www.sae2pin.com
"Polarity being which side of a particular connector is “hot” (+) positive, and which side is (-) negative.
In the case of Battery Tenders, the connector polarity is driven by the necessity for it to be the “protected” female side of the SAE 2 Pole connector at the end of the assembly connected to a vehicle battery to be the “hot” (+) positive side. Therefore, the exposed pin side of the SAE 2 Pin on the end of a Battery Tender output must be “hot” (+) positve.
Portable Solar Chargers are a different situation, since the solar cells are a power source. Their output connection must therefore be of the polarity which will have the “protected” female side of the SAE 2 Pin connection being the “hot” (+) positive. Accessory assemblies must then be of a polarity in which the exposed male pin of the SAE 2 Pin meant to be plugged into the output connection of a portable solar charger must be the “hot” (+) positve.
Anyone connecting leads in circuits such as those discribed above must be carefully mindful of polarity. There may even be times when it is necessary to use a multi-tester to confirm polarity. The continuity test function of a multi-tester can be employed to determine which contact (or pin) on the connector at one end of a lead is mapped to (leads to) which contact on the connector at the other end. "
Maybe everybody but me knows this?
Pray for me.....my house has aluminum wiring.
Being the electrical genius that I am I immediately concluded that the plug was wired wrong. So red becomes the new black and black becomes the new red. The BT now charges the batteries and I feel pretty smug and start wondering about quality control at FWC.
I start to send an email to Stan and then decide there no way I can be right about anything that has to with electricity. I do some research and it appears Battery Tenders and solar hook ups are wired backwards from each other.
The following is a cut and paste from: http://www.sae2pin.com
"Polarity being which side of a particular connector is “hot” (+) positive, and which side is (-) negative.
In the case of Battery Tenders, the connector polarity is driven by the necessity for it to be the “protected” female side of the SAE 2 Pole connector at the end of the assembly connected to a vehicle battery to be the “hot” (+) positive side. Therefore, the exposed pin side of the SAE 2 Pin on the end of a Battery Tender output must be “hot” (+) positve.
Portable Solar Chargers are a different situation, since the solar cells are a power source. Their output connection must therefore be of the polarity which will have the “protected” female side of the SAE 2 Pin connection being the “hot” (+) positive. Accessory assemblies must then be of a polarity in which the exposed male pin of the SAE 2 Pin meant to be plugged into the output connection of a portable solar charger must be the “hot” (+) positve.
Anyone connecting leads in circuits such as those discribed above must be carefully mindful of polarity. There may even be times when it is necessary to use a multi-tester to confirm polarity. The continuity test function of a multi-tester can be employed to determine which contact (or pin) on the connector at one end of a lead is mapped to (leads to) which contact on the connector at the other end. "
Maybe everybody but me knows this?
Pray for me.....my house has aluminum wiring.
