durovenia
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2022
- Messages
- 1
Hi everybody,
On our camper we have 4 victron solar panels of 175W (~24V, ~9.5A). We have sets of two panels in series wired to their own 100/30 SmartSolar Charger which are connected to our 12V battery system. This has been working for many months without issues, but since a week one of the two charge controllers is not working anymore. The other one seems to be working just fine.
Instead of the expected 32-48V PV voltage during the day it only displays 16-24V in the app - about half of the voltage that is measured directly on the PV pins of the controller. And as a result, the controller turns itself on and off because it drops below battery voltage + 5V sometimes.
To rule out the wires, connections and the array itself, we have swapped the two controllers - and as expected (by the fact that a different voltage is measured on the pins) it's the controller that is acting weirdly. The problems persist.
The dealer told us there is probably something wrong with the controller and we should get this one tested and replace it with a new one. But I would like to understand a bit better what could have gone wrong. Did anyone experience similar issues with a controller like this? Is there a way to prevent it? Is there something I can do to fix the problem without going to a Victron dealer in a foreign country (we are on a long trip)?
Cheers,
Joy
On our camper we have 4 victron solar panels of 175W (~24V, ~9.5A). We have sets of two panels in series wired to their own 100/30 SmartSolar Charger which are connected to our 12V battery system. This has been working for many months without issues, but since a week one of the two charge controllers is not working anymore. The other one seems to be working just fine.
Instead of the expected 32-48V PV voltage during the day it only displays 16-24V in the app - about half of the voltage that is measured directly on the PV pins of the controller. And as a result, the controller turns itself on and off because it drops below battery voltage + 5V sometimes.
To rule out the wires, connections and the array itself, we have swapped the two controllers - and as expected (by the fact that a different voltage is measured on the pins) it's the controller that is acting weirdly. The problems persist.
The dealer told us there is probably something wrong with the controller and we should get this one tested and replace it with a new one. But I would like to understand a bit better what could have gone wrong. Did anyone experience similar issues with a controller like this? Is there a way to prevent it? Is there something I can do to fix the problem without going to a Victron dealer in a foreign country (we are on a long trip)?
Cheers,
Joy