Solar roof cable entry, how to get through the roof?

[Lumpy70]

Lots of options, but as to the drilling the hole through the roof and the cable entry, what are people using?

I see lots of these:



But I really like these, they seem like the most secure and lowest profile. Someone posted one in this thread:http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/98600-FWC-Solar-Install?p=1304957#post1304957 , but all the sellers seem to be in the UK.



Anyone know of a North American source of the one in the bottom picture?

Craig.

 

[Semi-Hex]

I use Scanstrut product. You can get them in the us. https://scanstrut.com/products-22/electrical-accessories/ds-h6-deck-seals-plastic-detail
Works well.

 

[john61ct]

Called "clams" from Marine suppliers, not expensive.

Other standard terms for googling include

split Cable Glands
Cable Bushings
Cord Grip Connectors

wire and water-tight of course

Ones with good strain relief are more secure

 

[john61ct]

Called "clams" from Marine suppliers, not expensive.

Example: http://www.defender.com/category.jsp?path=-1|328|2289986&id=2289996

 

[Lumpy70]

I wouldn't drill holes in the roof. Did that in my (ex) canopy once and regretted it since the day of.

Most vehicles have rubber grommets in the floor, under the carpet, for water drainage purposes (should you ever flood the vehicle). Find one of these, poke a hole in it, seal it up (butyl-based sealant, or even silicone), run the cable under vehicle and up the side/rear somewhere. With a little thought, it can be done cleanly and without much/any permanent modifications.

I agree with that in principal, however that means I need to run the solar cable from the roof down the side of the vehicle, which is what I'm trying to avoid.

 

[FJR Colorado]

I wouldn't drill holes in the roof. Did that in my (ex) canopy once and regretted it since the day of.

Most vehicles have rubber grommets in the floor, under the carpet, for water drainage purposes (should you ever flood the vehicle). Find one of these, poke a hole in it, seal it up (butyl-based sealant, or even silicone), run the cable under vehicle and up the side/rear somewhere. With a little thought, it can be done cleanly and without much/any permanent modifications.

This is the way to do it.

I agree with that in principal, however that means I need to run the solar cable from the roof down the side of the vehicle, which is what I'm trying to avoid.

What kind of vehicle are you mounting on?

Got a rear door? (you can usually route down the side of the door from the roof; this works great on my FJC; if it's a P/U truck it is even easier, just go between the cab and bed)

 

[Lumpy70]

It's an 80 series Landcruiser

 

[C-Fish]

I used a Scanstrut on my FJC 4 years ago and have not had any issues with water intrusion at all...

 

[rayra]

I agree with that in principal, however that means I need to run the solar cable from the roof down the side of the vehicle, which is what I'm trying to avoid.

what is the solar panel attached to? If you have a roof rack already, particularly a factory option / install, it should be fairly easy to penetrate the roof under / thru one of the existing rack support footings. Those structures on my Sub's Z71 roof rack are so large that I can readily remove one mounting bolt and just pass my wire thru that hole, making no permanent changes. And still have 15 other bolts holding the rack on.
In fact the footings are so large I'm thinking to add either capped marine 12v receptacles or Anderson couplings fitted to the rear / trailing faces of the rack footings, for various purposes. Including connecting a rooftop solar panel and adding LED floods for campsite lighting.

 

[Lumpy70]

Attached to an aftermarket roof rack, which is attached to the rain gutters.

 

[4xdog]

It's pretty easy to get stuff from the UK. That shouldn't stop ya if there isn't a US source.

Here's how the light bar was wired on one of the Porsche Cayenne Transsyberia cars on display at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show:

Here's how the Monegasque police wire the light bars on their Renault police cars (from this years Monaco Grand Prix). Not exactly elegant...

 

[OnWalkabout]

These are the cables running through our roof:
1) positive and negative for 280 watts solar panels
2) 2nd positive and negative for additional solar panel
3) television antenna
4) wifi antenna
5) cell phone booster
6) grounds for wifi, tv and cell antennas

We had to use a separate hole for each antenna, a foot apart from each other to prevent interference.

We used the Blue Seas Cable Clams from Amazon for all. No leakage.

 

[jeegro]

I have 2 cable glands on my roof: one for solar (multi-wire cord grip from Mcmaster)
And a 12/7 trailer cable on the other (basic 1/2" cord grip from Mcmaster). Both are plastic and work great. I used marine adhesive sealant as well.
I combined 2 of the wires in the trailer cable for a common ground and stuck a BlueSea busbar on the rack. Leaving 5 wires to use for whatever accessories I want (which is currently only rear flood / reverse lights).

 

[Matpoo]

I've been using Amphenol circular connectors for making 12V electrical connections through the hardtop of my JK Wrangler. I have two circular connectors installed: one for a 75 Watt 12V solar panel and a second for running 12V power from my house battery to my roof top tent.

In the 2-3 years I've had these connectors installed there have been no leaks whatsoever.

A version of this style connector was likely used on the roof / bar mounted lighting of the Porsche Cayenne illustrated earlier in this thread.

Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

The amphenol connector and the Deutsch connectors that 4xDog posted can be found from sources like Mouser Electronics or Newark.

Just started a project using Deutsch connectors and am loving them. Selection process can be a bit overwhelming for those that have never worked with circular connectors before.

The top pic that 4xDog posted is from the Deutsch Autosport AS line they are expensive but top of the line. The second pic is either an HDP20 or HD30 connector. If for some reason you disconnect them for a long period of time I do recommend getting the caps to seal the connector. Remember these are polarized and correct installation socket (female) pins in the roof and the powered device will be male pins. If connecting a solar panel then the opposite would be true. Gets really screwy if you are not using a charge controller and connecting straight to battery, both sides would be powered. Rule is connector with power will be female. This prevents foreign objects from shorting connector.

Deutsch connectors are not cheap but are tier one quality. Crimping tools from Deutsch are too expensive for the average driveway guy but there are others that offer a less expensive crimping tool.