solar panel question
Submitted: Saturday, Apr 09, 2016 at 14:59
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Member - mechpete
hi everyone could someone explain to me about my 120w panel
with an amp meter in the system ,it flashes between 4.5amps an 0 amps
constantly several seconds reading 0 an a quick flash of anything up to . 4.5amps is this how they work when I put my 64w panel beside it ,it shows pretty much constant 2.5 to 2.9amps ,none of this flicking around , no smart comments thanks ,yes an ebay purchase RICH Solar panel
cheers mechpete
Reply By: HKB Electronics - Saturday, Apr 09, 2016 at 15:11
Saturday, Apr 09, 2016 at 15:11
It will be the regulator, different types of regulators behave differently, with a basic single stage PWM type you'll see erratic current flow, if the battery is near fully charged you may see it simply turning on then off every few seconds etc.
If you put a load on the battery you see a more constant current flow.
AnswerID:
598402
Follow Up By: mike39 - Sunday, Apr 10, 2016 at 08:16
Sunday, Apr 10, 2016 at 08:16
Will second that comment.
In addition, the PWM controller on
mine has the occasional hissy fit where instead of the regulator "pulsating" 0-5a. as the battery nears full charge it just keeps on charging with the volts climbing above 16+. (not good for the battery)
My solution to this is to simply detach the Anderson plug and short circuit the panel side (**not the battery side**)
Reconnect and all is
well again.
mike
FollowupID:
867595
Follow Up By: Member - mechpete - Monday, Apr 11, 2016 at 08:43
Monday, Apr 11, 2016 at 08:43
when I contacted the seller ,an aksed him the same question ,he said how can you get those readings when theres nothing there to read it , you can,t put anything between the battery an solar panel to measure the output because the regulator won,t work ,
he didn,t know how to
check the output !!
go figure !!!!
mechpete
FollowupID:
867661
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Tuesday, Apr 12, 2016 at 09:04
Tuesday, Apr 12, 2016 at 09:04
Mike - thats not a hissy fit. It sounds like you have a solar controller that can be used for both 12 and 24V. The battery must be connected to the regulator before you connect the solar panels, so it senses the correct the voltage of your system. In your case, the hissy fit is the regulator thinking you've got 24V.
If you ever disconnect your batteries or you use a switch to turn them off, you must also disconnect the panels. Then when you reconnect, you must connect the panels last.
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Follow Up By: nickb - Sunday, Apr 17, 2016 at 21:20
Sunday, Apr 17, 2016 at 21:20
I have 2 rich solar panels, they both did the same with the original regulators. I bypassed them and ran just 1 different brand regulator and it does the same.
They did it when the the battery was full and accepted no more charge.
FollowupID:
867952