Charge controller doesn't work correctly after changing battery

[JohnB352]

I have 1 solar panel (20 watt I believe), 1 12v gel battery and a 20A charge controller. The whole thing was given to me 4 years ago by someone that never used it. All of that was purchased April 2018. It always worked great. I have it in my shed powering LED ceiling lights that draw 3A total. After replacing the battery, I bought the same make and model, it doesn't seem to be charging correctly. I have the discharge stop set to 11.3 (that's the max available), the discharge reconnect set to 13.5v.
For some reason it will no longer charge past 12.6v. And, I no longer see the solar panel icon on the display when it's charging. The other odd thing is, it seems to now discharge much more quickly. When I turn on the ceiling lights, it immediately drops to 12.4 (from 12.6). Within 60 seconds it drops to 12.3. Previously, when the original battery was working well, it would take hours of running the ceiling lights to discharge that much.
What could be wrong?

 

[Mattb4]

I would suspect you got a bum battery. If you have a regular battery charger or load tester you can check it out. It is possible the SCC is bad, though you say it is putting out amperage. Problem with a bad SCC is can end up destroying the battery. Frankly at the bottom end of this stuff it is almost best to simply buy an all new SCC and battery at the same time.

 

[JohnB352]

I would suspect you got a bum battery. If you have a regular battery charger or load tester you can check it out. It is possible the SCC is bad, though you say it is putting out amperage. Problem with a bad SCC is can end up destroying the battery. Frankly at the bottom end of this stuff it is almost best to simply buy an all new SCC and battery at the same time.

Ok, I just disconnected everything - and ordered a new SCC. Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[time2roll]

20 watt panel needs a 100w booster. Otherwise the controller is probably shot too. To service the battery was the solar disconnected first? Some controllers have an issue with solar but no battery.

 

[JohnB352]

20 watt panel needs a 100w booster. Otherwise the controller is probably shot too. To service the battery was the solar disconnected first? Some controllers have an issue with solar but no battery.

Honestly, I was just guessing 20 watts. I'll check with the person that gave it to me. I did not disconnect the solar first. Also, I read that when connecting the new battery, the solar should get connected after the battery is. I probably did that 4 years ago, but forgot to do it this time.

 

[JohnB352]

I would suspect you got a bum battery. If you have a regular battery charger or load tester you can check it out. It is possible the SCC is bad, though you say it is putting out amperage. Problem with a bad SCC is can end up destroying the battery. Frankly at the bottom end of this stuff it is almost best to simply buy an all new SCC and battery at the same time.

It ended up being a bad solar panel.