SmartSolar 100/20
See the Victron MPPT 100/20 connection points and wiring example. Open the diagram in Crimp to add your equipment and plan the cables between them.
Open this example as a new project. Use your own parts and cable lengths to make the plan yours.
Use the diagram as a starting point for your installation. Replace the example equipment and cable lengths with your own, and check the connections against your exact model's instructions.
10 ft one way
12 V system
Sized against ABYC E-11. The design current is the unit's rated output. The length is one way; voltage drop includes an equal-length return.
The editable example uses 3.048 m (10 ft) runs unless a shorter run is stated. Metric overviews round these to 3 m. Adapt the parts and lengths to your installation before choosing cable and protection.
Wiring diagram
Open this example in Crimp to use your own parts and cable lengths. Review the assumptions and installation notes as you adapt the circuit.
Installation notes
Guidance for this model, with sources linked beside the relevant advice.
Verified against the manufacturer's documentation (rev. 2023-07), checked 2026-09-04. Manufacturer documentation →
MPPT solar charge controller for a small array: up to 100 V open-circuit on the PV side, charging a 12 V, 24 V or 48 V battery at up to 20 A. Nominal PV power is 290 W on a 12 V bank, 580 W on 24 V and 1160 W on 48 V, which makes it the only controller in its family that charges a 48 V bank at all — the 75/10, 75/15 and 100/15 beside it are 12/24 V only. Battery voltage is selected automatically, and Bluetooth plus a VE.Direct port handle setup and monitoring.
The PV side connects to the array, whose short-circuit current must stay under 20 A; a string above that can damage the controller, and it is the one PV number with no margin behind it. The battery side goes to the bank through its own fuse. Power terminals take 6 mm² (AWG 10), so a long battery run cannot be fixed with heavier cable at the controller — keep the controller near the bank and let the array side, at its higher voltage, carry the distance. The controller needs the battery connected first to detect the bank voltage, and the array has to reach the battery voltage plus 5 V before it will start.
This model also has a load output with a programmable low-voltage disconnect. It carries 20 A continuous on a 12 V or 24 V bank, but only 1 A on a 48 V bank, where the datasheet expects it to drive a relay rather than the load itself.
Running an inverter, or anything beyond a couple of hundred watts, from the load output. An inverter's input capacitors pull a large inrush at switch-on, which trips the load output's short-circuit protection, so the inverter never starts even though it runs fine straight from the battery. Victron's own community threads on this controller return to it repeatedly. Feed inverters and any real load from the battery bus through their own fuse, and leave the load output for the small DC loads it was designed for — or use it as the control signal for a relay when you want its low-voltage disconnect on something bigger.
Build it out
Add SmartSolar 100/20 to your diagram, then connect your batteries, chargers and loads. Crimp calculates cable sizes and checks the connections as you draw.
Every cable you draw there is sized against ABYC E-11, from the same tables as the reference on this page.
Technical reference
Check the model, ratings and connection points against your own unit before choosing installation hardware.
Check stud sizes, fuse type, run length and how warm the space gets against the gear you actually have before you order.
Catalog connection points, current direction and planning limits. Check the manufacturer's pinout and connector ratings before installation.
PV +
pv-pos
positive · input
PV −
pv-neg
negative · input
BATT +
batt-pos
positive · output
BATT −
batt-neg
negative · output
Method & provenance
Manufacturer specifications describe the equipment. Crimp calculates cable results from the circuit and assumptions you enter.
From the maker
Manufacturer, model, ratings and which terminal does what come from the catalog. A newer revision, or the nameplate on the unit in your hand, can say something different — when it does, the nameplate wins.
ABYC E-11
Sized against ABYC E-11 — the US reference, and what Transport Canada accepts as an alternative to TP 1332 for pleasure craft under 24 m. The run length and the current above are what drive the result. Crimp doesn't know how warm your space gets; draw the cable inside an engine-bay zone on the canvas and it sizes for the heat.
Next step
Open this example as a new project. Add your equipment and cable lengths, then review the sizing and checks for your setup.