Bobtail Discovery Solar Panel Fitting

I decided to get a panel for the bobtail after it worked so well for the Mazda and Freelander.

First I needed to add proper screw terminals to the solar controller, this one had solder terminals and they were annoying. Although the spacing for the pins is correct I needed to add little extension boards.


Controller Board
Screw Terminals

Time to sit on the roof of my car and drill holes in it, then stick things down with black silicone and screws. 3D printed mounts saved me quite a lot of money. This is just a 10W panel.


Solar Panel Mounts

I bought the gland as it's a bit more important that this is the correct size and doesn't degrade like PLA.


Hole Cutting

Not bad, should be well sealed against water. Second port of the gland can be used for powering an external GoPro.


Gland Fitted

The rollcage does just about cover the solar panel, although if the truck is upside-down to the point where it would be touching the ground I think I'll have more issues. Cable is siliconed to hopefully stop it from moving around.


The panel is connected to the controller , which is stuck to the roof. So far it hasn't fallen off due to heat. Screw terminals make fitting the cables much easier, I will be 3D printing some caps for those screws so nobody cuts themselves on them.

Controller Connected

The cable then goes down the A-pillar. This is neatest that this bundle of cables has ever been.


Pillar Wiring

The cable comes out to waterproof CTEK cable to a connector in the scuttle, I wanted to keep the option to plug in a mains charger. There was a factory bung on the bulkhead that I replaced with a rubber grommet and fed the cable through, Heat shrink makes the 2 core cable round so it seals... hopefully.


CTEK Connector

Voltages are great, seems to be better than I get with the 20W charger despite having two batteries to charge.


Voltages

I added the 3D printed caps, along with a cable clip thingy to stop the panel cable ever getting cut on the metal. Now I won't cut myself if I wave my arms around, I'm prone to cutting my hands as it is without adding extra sharp things.


Caps 1
Caps 2
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