> A 40 amp fuse needs to be placed in the positive wire connecting the charge
> controller to the battery

exactly. In my case, controller to battery, and battery to load fuses,
are left out until I make my connections (to battery). After that,
fuses are inserted in proper order.

I'd liken leaving a live solar panel connected to a controller with no
load connected,
to a leaving a stereo on "full blast" with no speakers connected. Why
would one do this?

But I defer to my earlier comment on a dark garage. ha ha.    ;)

From the user manual for my solar controller:

"Before battery is connected, make sure that battery voltage is
greater than 6V so as to start up the controller."

For me, if I've run my battery below 6 Volts, something is really
wrong. This likely won't happen in my case as the Truckfridge has a
cut out voltage is much higher than 6 Volts. It's the only appliance
in the solar panel system.

My smart charger will charge a dead battery IF battery will take a charge.

Neil.

--
Neil n

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