SmartSolar 150/85
See the Victron MPPT 150/85 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. 2022-09), checked 2026-09-04. Manufacturer documentation →
MPPT solar charge controller for a large array, charging a 12 V, 24 V or 48 V battery at up to 85 A. Nominal PV power is 1200 W on a 12 V bank, 2400 W on 24 V and 4900 W on 48 V. It carries VE.Can as well as VE.Direct and Bluetooth, so up to 25 controllers can be daisy-chained for synchronised charging and read individually by a GX device; the same unit is also sold without Bluetooth. The Tr version takes screw terminals, the MC4 version two pairs of MC4 connectors.
The PV side connects to the array, whose total short-circuit current must stay under 70 A. On the MC4 version no single connector pair may carry more than 30 A, since both pairs feed one tracker — a bigger array is split across them, or combined with splitters, rather than forced into one input. The battery side goes to the bank through its own fuse; at 85 A this is a heavy run, and the 35 mm² (AWG 2) battery terminals are sized for it. Keep the controller close to the bank so the battery run stays short, and let the array side carry the distance. Connect the battery first so the controller detects the right voltage; 36 V banks are the exception and have to be selected by hand.
Two limits get read as one. The voltage ceiling is 150 V absolute maximum in the coldest conditions, and only 145 V for start-up and normal operation — a panel's open-circuit voltage climbs as temperature falls, so a string that measures comfortably under 150 V in summer can exceed it on a winter morning. The current ceiling is 70 A of short-circuit current, and it is the one people miss when a 12 V bank's 1200 W ceiling tempts them into parallel strings: four strings of modern high-current panels reach 80 A to 90 A of Isc while the wattage still looks fine. More array power than the controller can use is harmless — it limits its own output. More short-circuit current than 70 A can damage it. Put panels in series first to raise voltage and cut current, then check both numbers separately.
Build it out
Add SmartSolar 150/85 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.