custom garden lights not working

[DMP]

A friend came to visit last week and put a small garden light system together for our patio area. It worked for a day, then stopped working, sort of...
Can anyone help resolve the issue? The solar panel is 10W, the charger is an "Eco-Worthy CE-1S09001 3a solar charge controller", and a "Photo Controls" switch marked "AS-10-12-10A", a battery pack with rechargeable AA batteries, which powers 7 refurbished light units each with a T-10 base LED bulb. All of the wires are intact and connected properly, and show correct voltages. When the panel is in the sun the "charging" light is on and the photo sensor does not turn the lights on (per design). When I cover the photo sensor the lights come on for a few seconds and then I hear a "click" and the lights go out. I have to reset the batteries (turn the battery switch off and back on) and make sure the charging light is on, then cover the solar panel and the photo sensor and it repeats coming on and then going off after about 20 seconds. I can't figure out why...are the switch, charger, and batteries not configured correctly? The solar panel has these specs: PMax 10w, Vpm 18v, Ipm .56A, Voc 22.41v, and lsc .61A. (I have no idea what this all means.) I looked at the LED bulb but there's no markings on it so I don't know the exact wattage per bulb or the total watts for all 7 lights. Thanks in advance.

 

[MisterSandals]

The solar panel has these specs: PMax 10w, Vpm 18v, Ipm .56A, Voc 22.41v, and lsc .61A

This is a very tiny solar panel. Its probably not charging your batteries enough to run for more than a second or two. You can verify this by testing the voltage of your AA cells.

If you can put the panel in the earliest sun of the morning and move it to follow the sun all day, it would help charge your AA cells.

 

[DMP]

Thanks...how do I know what size solar panel will keep the batteries charged to run well into the night? With 7 led bulbs what is a good size in terms of watts and amps? I'll get a pic of the current configuration and send to you. Maybe that will help.

 

[Q-Dog]

Thanks...how do I know what size solar panel will keep the batteries charged to run well into the night? With 7 led bulbs what is a good size in terms of watts and amps? I'll get a pic of the current configuration and send to you. Maybe that will help.

The very simple answer is, you need to have more watts coming in than going out. Without knowing the wattage of the bulbs it will be difficult to figure out if you are producing more power than you are using. Maybe you can disconnect all but one light and see if it runs? Or make sure you let it charge up fully for a couple of days before using the lights?

 

[DMP]

This is a very tiny solar panel. Its probably not charging your batteries enough to run for more than a second or two. You can verify this by testing the voltage of your AA cells.

If you can put the panel in the earliest sun of the morning and move it to follow the sun all day, it would help charge your AA cells.

I'm attaching a pic of the solar panel. Since it is marked as 10w I assume that the total wattage load would have to be 10 or less, correct? I can find any markings on the led so I'm thinking that I'll have to buy 7 new bulbs whose combined wattage is less that 10...??

 

[MisterSandals]

Since it is marked as 10w I assume that the total wattage load would have to be 10 or less, correct? I can find any markings on the led so I'm thinking that I'll have to buy 7 new bulbs whose combined wattage is less that 10...??

Not really. I am assuming that the solar panel charges a battery during the day and the battery powers the lights at night. The total power produced by the panel has to be at least what the lights need.

The normal quality solar hours are around 5 (if you provide your location we can get a better number) so your 10W panel can produce 10W x 5h = 50Wh of power into your battery.

I have no idea what bulbs you have, how much power they use or anything about them.
For simplicity lets say your lights use 1W each (if you have a real number that would help).
1W x 7 lights use 7Wh per hour.

If your battery has 50Wh from your panel, then you can run the lights for 50Wh / 7W = 7 hours.

Thats how your system works but i don't know what your lights use in terms of power.

It was suggested that you try charging for a few days and trying to run with fewer lights. Without real numbers, you'd have to experiment with how much energy you can store in your battery and how many bulbs it will power and for how long.

 

[DMP]

Thanks for the help. I am going to do 2 things: 1) take all the bulbs out but one and see how it does under a test (assuming full charge on the batteries), and 2) since there are no markings on the LEDs I have to assume they are much higher than say, 1.5w. I just ordered replacement LEDs at 1.5w each and will shift to them after I do the test. I'll get the data off the batteries and send it later...raining like a monsoon at the moment in SE NC.

 

[DMP]

Update...not much success... I replaced all 7 bulbs with 1.5 W LEDs (Clear/White). I did a test using only one light fixture with one light, the solar panel, battery charger, photo sensor, and batteries. After adjusting for polarity I got a solid working light. I then hooked up all 7 fixtures (each with 1.5 W LEDs) and covered up the photo sensor. I got lights on, but only for about a minute. I am at a loss for what to do next, but I think it has to do with the battery storage and charging. The battery box has 11 AA 1.2 v (2.8 A) chained together; the solar panel has these specs: PMax 10w, Vpm 18v, Ipm .56A, Voc 22.41v, and lsc .61A; the charger is is an "Eco-Worthy CE-1S09001 3a solar charge controller"; and a "Photo Controls" switch marked "AS-10-12-10A". Can anyone help figure out what I need to do next? Bigger Solar Panel? More batteries? Thanks in advance!