Drilling the roof for solar panel & Starlink cables

[Alchymist]

Hi,
did anyone drill the roof to get multiple cables inside?
I need to get 4 cables from 2 independent solar panels + Starlink antenna connector inside.
So far I only had 1 solar panel with 2 cables that can be easily guided through the rear door without any drilling (I just had to be careful opening/closing the door as the cable can move and get squeezed if it gets out of the grove).
But as I'm scaling the system up, I wonder how to handle more cables.

So if anyone has a similar experience, could you please share how did you handle it, where on the roof the hole should be drilled for minimal impact and minimizing risk of leakage and also keeping the interior tidy without a bunch of cables hanging from the middle of the car's ceiling?

Or, of course, any tip on guiding 6 cables from the roof in without drilling would be highly appreciated.

 

[JasonH]

Couldn't you just seal it up like any other roof penetration? My RV roof uses lap sealant like Dicor ultra.

 

[eddytheexpy]

Different application here but possible similar solution.

When I was running wires in from my light bar relay to the switch that I replaced the cigarette lighter in the dash with, I had a tough time finding a sneaky way of getting the wires in without splicing and extra ~6 feet of wire into the harness. So I took a razor and made a tiny cut in the boot protecting the wires that go into the front passenger-side door and worked the wire in behind the glove box over to the dash. Once everything was sitting properly I gooped the ever living shit out of the boot (clean the boot very well before cutting it so the goop can bond better). Also I rigged up the wires coming in behind the glove box with a zip tie to create a high point in case there is any leaks in the boot.

It’s been just over a year and it’s holding perfectly. Granted, I live in Phoenix so the quality of that seal rarely gets put to the test. I have checked after the few times it has rained and there was zero moisture in the boot. I checked by folding out the glove box and snuck a q-tip into the boot.

It sounds like a real janky solution but the end result is really nice and you’d never see it unless it was pointed out.

Since you have more than one wire you’ll probably have to do this to multiple boots/doors or cut the boot, round off the incision so the cut doesn’t walk and install some sort of grommet with goop to seal it, that way you could put all the wires through that one grommet and seal between the wires with more goop. You’ll have all the freedom you want to sneak the wires around behind the dash and it’ll look real clean.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

You might take it to an Upfitter shop. These are the places that outfit police vehicles. They can drill holes in the roof properly (Antennas etc.) and likely have weatherproof grommets used for light bars. Be careful routing wires through the seals of the rear hatch. While that may be an easy method, any air leaks can introduce Carbon Monoxide from the exhaust into the vehicle as that is a low pressure zone when in motion.

 

[cmc3]

I ran wires in through the left rear tail light. There is a rubber gromet I cut and gooped. Inside there is a airvent. Inside access is by the removable left rear panel or the top ttrim-tray pops out. There is a lot of room behind the trim for storing tools & supplies.

 

[fuzzmanmatt]

Cable glands! My HAM radio antenna is run through a punch, but it's got sealing washers on the top, and I slathered the bottom with silicone sealant. We use cable glands all the time in the construction equipment world. They have sealing washers, and clamp down on the wires as they run through. Get a waterproof connector, like Deutsch, and a multi-conductor cable to run through the gland, and you shouldn't have any water intrusion issues.