Newby here.. I made a post awhile back regarding setting up my wifes coffee trailer.. well.. all was/is going well.. I've got my batteries hooked up to a bus bar with fuses at each positive terminal and one big one from the bus bar to the inverter... SO.. all is going well. .I am able to run power throughout the trailer and I hooked up the charge controller which was showing systems go... EXCEPT the panels..> I waited to do them last so I could make sure I wasn't about to burn the thing to the ground... Then I picked up a couple of used panels from a local farmer.. Anyhow, I got them up on the roof, bought a kit to put the ends on because they had been clipped, bought a couple of paralell connectors and hooked them up.. ran them to the charge controller and nothing... showing ZERO point zero... any thoughts would sure be appreciated.. is there a way to test the panels to see if I'm getting output? I thought I'd try to touch the neg to the positive for a second to see if I got a spark and nothing.. I then unhooked the battery from the charge controller and plugged the positive and neg into the panel input to see if it might be the controller.. That didn't give me any indication of power to the controller so maybe it's the controller?? AARRGGHH!
Need help with panels not giving any output
- Thread starter bbanjoboy
- Start date
Do you have access to a multimeter? First thing to do would be to check if there is a voltage at the panels.
42OhmsPA
What's in a title?
Also a photo or two of the setup would be very helpful.
How would I check the voltage at the panels? I am overdue for buying a meter.. so I can make that happen... but ???
What is an SCC?
Cronix
New Member
Disconnect panels. Set the multimeter to read volts dc (VDC) and hook the 2 probes from the multimeter directly to the 2 wires coming out of the panel. + to +, - to -. Do this in as bright of daylight as you can. You'll get a voltage reading on the meter.
Solar charge controller.
42OhmsPA
What's in a title?
If you zoom in on the photo you can see how I tested mine the first time, now I just stick the probes in while holding the MC4s.
Attachments
Hey.. So my meter came in and I checked the panels.. I am getting 32 volts but NO amps..... What does this mean?
pollenface
Solar Addict
You won't read amps unless there is load and your multimedia is included in the circuit. I wouldn't do that with a multimeter as they often only have a small inbuilt fuse.
Getting voltage at open circuit is a good sign
Mc4 connectors are not my favourite. I usually cut them off, solder and heatshrink (or solderstick) with arrays i don't intend to make changes to.
42OhmsPA
What's in a title?
What SCC are you using and how are the panels wired?
You check voltage with a volt meter.
You check current (Amps) with an ammeter.
If you plan to test the current of your panels with your multimeter, first make sure that the meter is rated high enough to test the panels. 10 or 20 Amps is generally the limit on a meter, depending on the brand. If the panel's short-circuit current (Isc) is lower than the meter rating, set the meter to the highest Amp rating (and move the probes on the meter if needed), then probe the panel connectors in the same way as for testing voltage. If the Isc of the panel is higher than your meter's rating, do not use that meter to test the panels since it will blow the internal fuse.
You may want to use firm and quick movement on the probe, especially when removing it if the panel is in direct sunlight. The current produced is easily enough to arc as you remove the probe, which could damage it if allowed to happen for very long at all.
JWLV
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- Joined
- May 27, 2020
- Messages
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There is a specific order to connecting battery, charge controller, and solar panel. When disconnecting, the order is in reverse.
You must connect the battery to the charge controller first. Then connect the solar panels to the charge controller. If you connect solar panels to the charge controller without the battery, you will fry the charge controller and it will no longer work. This is mostly true no matter what brand or type of charge controller you have. There are a very few all-in-one charge controller/inverters that can work directly from solar without a battery. But that's few and far between.
