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Post by Admin on Sept 14, 2018 20:16:59 GMT
Hi folks, I have a trailer in my garage with 2x100 panels, a Wanderer 30a CC and 12v, 105 AGM battery. When I've turned the garage door opener light on, I'd get the CC PV light in normal charge flash. Surely not enough light to charge the battery. Last night I left the light on overnight and now I'm getting the CC flashes fast, which, according to the manual, is "PV terminal is over-voltage". I can't believe a 40 watt incandescent bulb would cause an over voltage. It's flashing even as it sits in the garage with no lights on. Any ideas as to what I should be looking at? Thanks, Light is light.... And I don't believe it's over charged it's just fully charged... If it was over charged it would kick out and no flashing light it would be red... While light is light, I don't think a defused 40 watt above the panels is enough light to even offset the self discharge rate of the battery. The battery isn't fully charged. It sits at 12.63v. The PV indicator light is quick flashing which, according to the manual means the PV terminal is over-voltage, not that the battery is fully charged. Your getting feed back from somewhere... Call renogy if you can get them on the line... manual "Use a multi-meter to check the voltage of the panels. Ensure that they meet the specification of the controller to not exceed 25 VDC. " manual "Use a multi-meter to check the voltage of the panels. Ensure that they meet the specification of the controller to not exceed 25 VDC. " I know about that but it just seems a stretch to think a defused 40 watt incandescent is capable of causing or driving the panel to over-voltage. I don't have a light meter but I'm sure it's not very many foot candles on the panels. I've disconnected the battery and I'll reconnect it and drag the trailer out into the sun in a couple days to charge. I'll see if it happens again. Why do you find it hard to believe something when you see it with your own eyes... It's not like your watching it on youtube... Believe it... Like I said above light is light... Why do you find it hard to believe something when you see it with your own eyes... It's not like your watching it on youtube... Believe it... Like I said above light is light... It takes a minimum amount of light before a solar cell will start converting it to voltage. With the panels I have I don't know what that light level is but just because you have light, doesn't mean you'll have enough for a solar cell to convert it to a charging voltage. Anyone that just believes something because of what they only see, is pretty ignorant. The charge controller is a piece of electronics, made in China. Frankly, the reason it's fast blinking could be simply because it's malfunctioning. Seeing you so smart, why is it now fast blinking after being disconnected from the battery, reconnected with no load and in a dark, light-less garage? Like Bird said what is your voltage from the panels?? And with you disconnecting the battery with the panels still hooked up I bey you burnt up your CC.. Like Bird said what is your voltage from the panels?? And with you disconnecting the battery with the panels still hooked up I bey you burnt up your CC.. How could I possibly burn up the CC when the solar panels had no light on them, which means no voltage, when I disconnected the battery? Before, You know when you started having problems not your resent unplug.. Have you tried pulling it out in the sun to see if it works normal?? Like {I} said above it could just be interference/feedback... Can I ask why you even have them working at all in a building?? That seems silly to me... to confirm what you know is in the manual, measure and report. I regret you can not measure the voltage at the PV terminals and report that the voltage is BELOW 25v which I would bet it is, this would further confirm the poor quality of the Wanderer which I hope you can tell I believe is crap! Like you I do not believe the light source is doing much and certainly did not cause any overvoltage. During bulk charging the controller is supposed to connect the panel directly to the battery (like there is no controller and this is why one can connect the panel directly to the batt). The panel is 'drawn' down to the match the battery voltge plus the voltage drop from the panel to the controller. During 'regulation' (constant voltage phase 'boost' or float) the panel disconnects and reconnects at a very high freq. The disconnect time increases to keep the voltage constant, there is no power during the disconnect and full panel power connected. The increases disconnet time causes less and less power to the battery to maintain constant voltage and yiels a tapering current. During the connect the panel operates at batt voltage and during the disconnect time the panel operates at 'Voc' of 19-22 depending on light and panel temperature. There is possibility of it 'operating' OK and the fast flashing still going on. So ya measure the PV terms while the battery is charging and it is close to batt voltage, then ya get to boost or absorption and the PV voltage will rise cuz your meter can NOT measure as fast as it is on and off so ya get an average. If the on/off time is 50% each then you should measure an average of batt voltage, say 14.6v and Voc of 20v, that average is ~17v, later as the the OFF time is longer than the ON time your meter will read a higher average ... at the end of boost or absortion there is very little power needed to keep the batt at say 14.6v so the OFF time is 90+% and the PV terminal should measure near 20v. Same during float of 13.?v, there is little panel power needed to keep the batt at float voltage so the PV terms should measure ~20V. A '12v' panel would never operate @ 25v or over (never say never cuz at extreme cold temps and bright light, Voc does increase). I agree with bird Wanderers are crap... You bought cheap you got cheap... Before, You know when you started having problems not your resent unplug.. Have you tried pulling it out in the sun to see if it works normal?? Like {I} said above it could just be interference/feedback... Can I ask why you even have them working at all in a building?? That seems silly to me... As I said in my post, I'll pull it out in a couple of days. As to why I have them "working" in a building.....They're on a trailer...in my garage. Really "silly" because I store a trailer in my garage? Your brilliant conclusion is now...."You bought cheap you got cheap... ". Yep cheap is cheap... See if it works out side... |
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Post by Admin on Sept 14, 2018 20:18:47 GMT
the controller is powered by the battery, ya hook it up first and the panels should not be in series. Even at little light the panel can 'make' a wide range of voltage, not sure how much light you light is but it does not take much, of course there is very little POWER with low light levels. Here is a graph of the output of a panel at various light conditions, note the dashed lines at various light levels, even at low light there is enough voltage to exceed batt voltage, this does not mean there is enough to do much or any charging but enough for the logic to light an led. i-v curve for ~140 watt '12v' panel  1000w/m2 is bright sun perpendicular to a panel on a clear blue sky day. 200 is very low light, but at lower level the panel may be able to produce a tiny amout of power over a wide range of voltages. I would be reporting to Renogy fast flashing, the terminal voltage and a replacement request. If you have a volt meter measure the PV terminals when fast flashing. I just thought of something... Have you ever had your system out in the sun or is this a new system you are setting up... I've had this system for a while and it's worked great. I monitor the voltage for self discharge and every few weeks I'll drag it outside to solar recharge and have used the system on road trips without issue. I don't have a light meter but a 40 watt incandescent bulb, behind a white defuser, that's a few feet away from and 45 degrees to the surface of the panels, is not much more surface lumens level than the light on them from a street light or a full moon on a clear night. I can except that it's enough to power the led but hard to believe that it would cause a PV terminal over-voltage. I'm starting to think that leaving that light on overnight, as I originally posted, had nothing to do with the issue on the CC. Maybe just a coincidence that the CC failed then. Maybe just an anomaly with the CC. As I said, I'm going to disconnect everything, measure voltages, reconnect and leave it out in full sun for a couple days and see what happens. Thanks, I'm starting to think that leaving that light on overnight, as I originally posted, had nothing to do with the issue on the CC. Maybe just a coincidence that the CC failed then. Maybe just an anomaly with the CC. agreed and a simple voltage reading would confirm this as you know and is what is suggested in the manual. a '12v' panel does not make 25v or more. 2 in parallel does not make 25v or more. There are folks that have reported some current in moon light FWIW., not my poly panel, on dreary days of 200w/m2 or less based on others weathers station it barely makes power. Ok another thought... Is this the first time you have had the camper in the garage??? Or is the first time you seen the over voltage... Also have you ever seen a slow flashing light on your CC?? Ok another thought... Is this the first time you have had the camper in the garage??? Or is the first time you seen the over voltage... Also have you ever seen a slow flashing light on your CC?? those thoughts seemed to followed by question marks, so what is the thought ? The answers have been provided. No, yes, yes to be more precise, he has not confirmed an over voltage (which is damn near impossible with paralleled '12v' panels). He has seen a LED indicator that there is PV terminal over voltage, doubtful. He has a manual and knows what it suggests to test. those thoughts seemed to followed by question marks, so what is the thought ? The answers have been provided. No, yes, yes to be more precise, he has not confirmed an over voltage (which is damn near impossible with paralleled '12v' panels). He has seen a LED indicator that there is PV terminal over voltage, doubtful. He has a manual and knows what it suggests to test. If he knows all the answers why all the questions????I don't think I asked you anything did I?? But if I had, I'm sure you would have come back with a graph or an equation or both!!!! I know the manual says to test the voltage but beyond that it gives you nothing, such as cause or what to do if voltage reads above x. I hadn't checked the voltage for 2 reasons. I didn't think the small amount of light would have caused an over voltage and because I disconnected the CC from the battery when there was no load and no light on the panels, but still got quick flash when I reconnected to the battery. As I've stated, when I'm able, I'll disconnect everything, pull the trailer out into the sun, check the volts and amps then reconnect everything and leave it out to see if it still happens. I know the manual says to test the voltage but beyond that it gives you nothing, such as cause or what to do if voltage reads above x. I hadn't checked the voltage for 2 reasons. I didn't think the small amount of light would have caused an over voltage and because I disconnected the CC from the battery when there was no load and no light on the panels, but still got quick flash when I reconnected to the battery. As I've stated, when I'm able, I'll disconnect everything, pull the trailer out into the sun, check the volts and amps then reconnect everything and leave it out to see if it still happens. Can I ask my question again and I could care less what bird thinks of my question.. And I agree the manual is useless.... Have you ever seen a slow blinking on your CC?? Another question.. What did your CC do when you unhooked the battery from it?? Yes, I've seen it slow blink. As I said.....it's worked fine up until this issue. When I disconnected it from the battery....the lights went out, as expected. Yes, I've seen it slow blink. As I said.....it's worked fine up until this issue. When I disconnected it from the battery....the lights went out, as expected. I'm thinking it's your CC and your getting just enough power for it to show up... But using a meter to check voltage or getting it outside will be the ticket... Good luck.. i have the problem my batt is 12v and my pv is 30.9v cc is showing pv over volt i have the problem my batt is 12v and my pv is 30.9v cc is showing pv over volt One has nothing to do with the other..... As long as you also have a CC of some type... the open circuit voltage of a '12v' panel should not exceed 22 or 23v if you are measuring ~40v then this would be a '24v' panel and best no to be used with pwm controller 12v system. The manual "Use a multi-meter to check the voltage of the panels. Ensure that they meet the specification of the controller to not exceed 25 VDC. " I agree with the sentiment 'Wanderer is cheap'. I have had mine less than a year. Worked great for the first few months. Hasn't worked since. LED's tell me it's working fine, but VOM meter readings and uncharged batteries tell the real story. Junk! |
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Post by Admin on Sept 14, 2018 20:19:10 GMT
I agree with the sentiment 'Wanderer is cheap'. I have had mine less than a year. Worked great for the first few months. Hasn't worked since. LED's tell me it's working fine, but VOM meter readings and uncharged batteries tell the real story. Junk! Yes sir you are right.... They are priced cheap for a reason.... You shouldn't expect to run much for long off of a Wanderer.... After noticing flashing pv over voltage led and verifying no over voltage at terminal I pressed and held the battery type select button for several seconds and the flashing led reset to normal. |
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