ZM-9130 Solar help

Submitted: Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 10:29

ThreadID: 83151 Views:7577 Replies:3 FollowUps:7

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twocans

Hey all.

Currently camping and using the new solar panels we bought and having a couple of dramas. The model is a Powertech ZM-9130 bought from Electus Distribution here http://www.electusdistribution.com.au/productView.asp?ID=12606&CATID=Search%20all%20Categories&keywords=zm-9130&SPECIAL=&form=KEYWORD&SUBCATID=

Finally got a day of sun today so I hooked it up and it keeps blowing fuses. We have a laptop charger and a couple of other charges hooked up to our 120 amp/h deep cycle battery. They've been working fine until the solar panel was connected.

My question is, what might be causing the fuses to blow?

Also, on the back of the panels is a meter, reading 25%, 50% 75% and 100%. It looks like the meter is meant to light up but after a few hours there's no reading at all.

I did read the manual when I purchased it, but I confess that was a year ago now and as I'm normally lucky to remember last week, I've no chance of remembering the details.

Cheers.

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Reply By: Notso - Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 10:41

Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 10:41

So which fuse is blowing? Is it in the supply line from the solar panel to the battery? What size fuse is it.

AnswerID: 439385

Reply By: dbish - Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 10:45

Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 10:45

Hi twocans, sounds like the regulator is faulty to me, unlikely to be a prob with the panels. I would remove the reg & just hook the solar panells to the battery with an ampmeter in the circuit & see if it will put a charge in to the battery. If it does then look for a new reg. Daryl

AnswerID: 439386

Reply By: twocans - Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 11:19

Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 11:19

Thanks guys. Since my post, I have found some friendly camper with a multi meter. The output from the regulator is erratically jumping from anywhere in between 10v to 20v, so I would say that is where the problem is.

Damn it, the whole unit is brand new.

The line from the regulator is connected directly to the battery. Connected to the battery is various 3 amp charges containing 5 amp fuses.

I suppose taking the regulator out of the equation would overcharge the battery and is a bad idea.

AnswerID: 439389

Follow Up By: Ozhumvee - Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 12:39

Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 12:39

As long as you disconnect the panels at night and monitor battery voltages during the day you can safely connect the panels during the day. Just keep an eye on them.

FollowupID: 711304

Follow Up By: Honky - Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 14:51

Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 14:51

Do you mean that it has a 3 amp regulator with a 5 amp fuse?
plus you are using a 80 watt panel?

If so I would assume that the regulator would be to small.
No where near an expert by the way.

Honky

FollowupID: 711312

Follow Up By: rooster350 - Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 15:02

Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 15:02

Sounds like a regulator problem to me....and you sure did pay a price to get a ( faulty ? ) regulator....more than twice what I paid...cheers..and good luck

FollowupID: 711315

Follow Up By: twocans - Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 15:05

Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 15:05

Hi, no the regulator that came with the 80w solar panel is actually a 15amp fuse.

So, the solar Panels just trickle feed the battery. Then from the battery I have various charges for mobiles, a TV and a usb hdd. No problems there.

When I returned the mulimeter I checked his regulator on the solar panel and it was outputting 14.98v and was not fluctuating at all. I can only assume mine is up the creek and the cause of the problems as it's fluctuating badly between 10v and 20v. Maybe a bad resistor????

I've emailed Electus to see what my options are.

FollowupID: 711316

Follow Up By: twocans - Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 15:11

Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 15:11

The whole unit including the 2 X 40w panels and the regulator cost me about $420 I think. I actually thought that was a decent price as I've seen plenty of 80w systems in the shops for about $650-$700.

Either way, if it's not working then it's not worth a pinch of pi%s lol.

FollowupID: 711317

Follow Up By: Mandrake's Solar Power- Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 19:12

Monday, Dec 20, 2010 at 19:12

Try the following steps carefully and in the correct order ..

Disconnect from battery .

Lay the panels face down ( No light on them at all ! )

Connect the reg to the battery terminals as normal .

Count to 30 ..

Now lift up the panels and aim at the Sun ..

If that doesn't fix your problem then the reg is kaput !! ..

A lot of regs NEED to sense the battery charge voltage before Solar input ..

I used to sell an MPPT controller that did exactly what you have described and the above is the ONLY fix ..

Cheers

Steve

FollowupID: 711334

Follow Up By: twocans - Tuesday, Dec 21, 2010 at 11:05

Tuesday, Dec 21, 2010 at 11:05

G'day Steve,

You are a legend mate. I did exactly what you said and it works perfectly now. Sitting on 14.88v as I type :-)

Hopefully this helps out others as well. Not sure if that's in the instructions or not. I'll have to check when I get home.

Cheers,
Craig

FollowupID: 711364