day night setting Renogy Rover

[gregutah]

HOW DO I CHANGE Night MODE TO DAY ON RENOGY ROVER 40A MPPT

 

[mopat]

don't think it has that.

 

[gregutah]

HOW DO I CHANGE Night MODE TO DAY ON RENOGY ROVER 40A MPPT
See the night icon just before the panel icon? The "charging" icon is also also blank.

 

[Whinny]

It isn't a setting, you are not getting any power from the solar panels-the controller thinks it is nighttime.....

 

[Jimbari]

Great Question!
I rolled out a solar generator with the onset of hurricane Ian.
My Renogy Rover PG will not get off night mode. The 2 20V 100-watt PV daisy chained panels were kicking out 36.8V but the Rover would not recognize the PV units that for 4 days were steady in that range of voltage output.
Nothing I could do would convince the Rover to accept the PV input.
Where did I fail?
With some jury-rigging a 750w 12v inverter to run my variable power supply from the 6-6V golf cart batteries, I kept my refrigerator/freezer working and supplied a fan and CPAP machine.
I was crestfallen that the generator I put together after hurricane Erma 5 years ago, failed me in my hour of need.
Any suggestions would be more than welcome and appreciated.

 

[mopat]

Had this worked previously?

Is the polarity correct? You've measured 36.8 at the inverter PV input?

 

[Jimbari]

Had this worked previously?

Is the polarity correct? You've measured 36.8 at the inverter PV input?

NO. I stupidly tested the panels but never the whole system. Not making excuses, I'm 80 and still working retail 30 hours a week.
I've put my meter on the panels I set up on an east-facing patio table (gated community). Yes, the polarity is correct to the Rover.
It shows "night" mode only.

 

[Jimbari]

I have forgotten how to post here, thus started a conversation with you, as I found the thread from 2021 about the Rover on night mode.
Thanks for picking up the pieces here.
Unable to reach out to Renogy via phone because of a lack of cell service at full capacity. Lucky to have internet now that much of the power has been restored here in Highlands County after nearly 5 days out. 83% of the population was without power.

 

[mopat]

Did you connect charged battery FIRST then connect PV?

 

[mopat]

You've measured 36.8 at the inverter PV input?

Have you measured PV voltage at inverter input?

 

[Hogheavenfarm]

from my manual (rover elite) Symptom: The battery and solar panels are connected but the controller shows nighttime" - "the solar panels are connected in reverse polarity....correct the reverse polarity to continue normal operation"..

 

[Jimbari]

Yes. the batteries were at 13.5V when I started the generator and then connected the PV to the input of the SCC through a 40 amp fuse on the + side of the panels
The panel wiring is clearly marked + & - so that is how I have hooked them up.
The battery is hard-wired and fused to the Inverter.
Plus from the panel goes into the plus of the SCC and negative to negative............

 

[Hogheavenfarm]

Did you check polarity with a voltmeter? Would help to confirm that. The batteries are fully charged I see, so battery to SCC should be hooked up, then you connect the PV IN lines (with a fused positive), is the fuse good? (meter check here). (apparently, as you are reading the panel voltage).
I cannot see anything else to check at that point. Hopefully others will have more expertise at this than me. For that size system, a cheap PWM might be a better bet, certainly would help to swap one in.

 

[Jimbari]

Did you check polarity with a voltmeter? Would help to confirm that. The batteries are fully charged I see, so battery to SCC should be hooked up, then you connect the PV IN lines (with a fused positive), is the fuse good? (meter check here). (apparently, as you are reading the panel voltage).
I cannot see anything else to check at that point. Hopefully others will have more expertise at this than me. For that size system, a cheap PWM might be a better bet, certainly would help to swap one in.

Thanks for your comments. Covered all these bases I could touch.
After the hurricane, when I got the internet back, I was able to contact Renogy. Mostly a good experience with them. My problem was I did not test the whole system back in late 2020 when I finished building the generator.
The big question they asked me was how many amps the panels (2 Renogy 100-watt PV) were able to produce. Was able to get them set up yesterday (10/17) as I have MANY irons in the fire, plus working T-Sat.
On an overcast day yesterday, PV kicked out 39.3 volts. TechSupport wanted to know amps, they were producing. A=4.45. They were happy.
Since I purchased the Controller in 2020 it was no longer under warranty........I knew that!
Out of warranty, you're on your own! We (Renogy) don't do repairs, take it to an electronics shop, and they can fix it for you! I broke out in laughter, I'm in rural Central Florida, Sebring, Orlando is 80 miles north. I've not Googled a shop yet. Good luck with that.

 

[littleharbor2]

After verifying the PV polarity is correct, have you rebooted the controller? Shut down PV first then battery input. Reconnect the battery first, allow the controller to boot up, then turn on PV.

 

[Hogheavenfarm]

I would swap in a different controller, even a cheap PWM and see if you get some results. Looks like the panels are fine as they are kicking out 173 watts. And definitely try a reboot first as littleharbor2 recommended.