No power from battery though solar works and can't figure out why

[Roxyone21]

I'm having trouble figuring out what is wrong with the solar setup in my van. I'm the second owner of this van and this is my first time having issues with the setup. A new charge controller was installed along with a new battery in the last few weeks, but the electric in the van only works when in the direct sunlight and is only enough to power the lights. I have no background in solar, so I'm not sure where to begin. I've spent hours combing through forums and blogs and can't figure out what's going on. This issue began when I started the van after the winter and noticed the battery for the starter was dead. I'm not sure if there's any connection there.

Here are things I've noticed:

1. The fan and sink pump both wire in to the fuse box and neither works currently.
2. The wiring on the solar panels looks good and it is firmly mounted to the roof.
3. As soon as I hit the shade while driving, the power fades and the inverter starts beeping, which tells me the power isn't drawing from the battery.
4. When in direct sunlight, if I plug the fridge in, the inverter starts beeping at me. The watts coming in (as shown on the VictronConnect app) also jump way higher as soon as I plug the fridge in. The power fades in and out though and the fridge never turns on.
5. The load output shows as off when I look at the VictronConnect App. In the direct sun, the watts coming in are around 30w.
6. Prior to the winter (when the solar stopped working), the watts on the charge controller would show something low and then when I would start the van the numbers would go up. I think this is because it's connected to the Alternator? I haven't had the app open when I'm driving, but on cloudy days when I've driven the van in the last month, the beeping from the inverter continues, which tells me the Alternator isn't charging whatever it used to charge (maybe that's because now there's a new battery that doesn't need to be charged though)
7. The issue of the electricity in the van happened the same time I noticed the starter battery was dead. I didn't get it replaced, but the mechanic did charge it for me - not sure if there's any connection there.

 

[snoobler]

1. check all fuses
2. good
3. I would agree with your assessment given the info presented.
4. Starting to sound like your batteries are completely trashed.
5. Load output is only if something is on the load output of the charge controller - not something I ever due, and you probably shouldn't either.
6. not sure
7. ?

How many batteries are in your van?

 

[Forbisher]

You only mention your starter battery so what is the battery for your solar system? Amps? Type? Age?
Do you have a voltmeter to measure that batteries voltage?

 

[Roxyone21]

Hi Snoobler -- thanks for your response. In troubleshooting the issue where it seems the power isn't pulling from the battery, we replaced the two batteries I had. We replaced with a single battery a few weeks ago, however with the brand new battery the same issue is occurring.

 

[MichaelK]

Do you have separate batteries in the van for starting and for solar? Usually, starter batteries are very good at releasing large amounts of current to start the engine, but MUST be fully charged immediately. Batteries optimized for solar are designed to more slowly charge and discharge. How are you starting the engine?
First, you need to separate the systems, with different batteries, so you won't drain the starter battery overnight when you are parked somewhere. You can though add a charging circuit that only charges the solar battery when the engine is running. We need lots of details here, but you need to have the tools to work out the problem. Do you have the voltmeter and do you know how to use it?

 

[MichaelK]

If you have two batteries, is one for starting the engine, and one for solar? What's the voltage of the starting battery with the engine off, and then with the engine running. A regular car battery will be ~12.5V at rest, and ~14.4V while the motor is running. Have you determined those numbers? If the voltage is not going up while the engine is running, most likely you have a bad alternator.

 

[Roxyone21]

Thanks for the replies! I'm working with an electrician to figure out the issue. He has the tools. We're both however at a loss on why the new battery isn't be used to pull from for power. It is showing on the MPPT VictronApp as being fully charged.

From the replies, it sounds like the starter battery for the van (which is not connected to the solar) is not related. I mentioned it because it happened at the same time and I thought it might be worthwhile to mention. I have since had no problems with the starter battery for the van and have taken the van on a few trips, with the electric not working.

This may be a dumb question, but could the alternator be bad even though the van drives fine?

 

[snoobler]

IMHO, if an electrician can't figure this out, and you have to turn to an Internet forum for help, you might need a new electrician.

Are the connections at the terminals on the coach battery tight (and all others for that matter)? Loose connections in the system could easily cause this.

If the connections aren't loose, LOAD test the coach and starter batteries. If they both pass a load test, you have a failed component or something causing high resistance. Your electrician should be checking for voltage drops.

 

[MichaelK]

This may be a dumb question, but could the alternator be bad even though the van drives fine?

With a dead alternator, a fully charged starter battery could run the engine long enough to go 50-100 miles. But, as the battery drains, more and more things like the radio, headlights, ect will start to malfunction, to the point that the van will just die and come to a stop. So, if everything seems fine, then I'd say your starter battery, and the alternator are OK. But, doing the volts test as I described above, would confirm that.
Agreeing with "snoobler", is the electrician an automotive electrician, or someone that does house wiring? It doesn't sound like anyone working on this has the "correct" expertise.

 

[Roxyone21]

Thanks for the replies and ideas! I appreciate the help.

I've driven over 100 miles on shorter trips, so it sounds like the problem lies with connections. We can start there and then with the load tests.

This is new territory for the electrician. His primary focus is electric in houses and businesses.

 

[Zil]

Start by reviewing all the controller settings fro the owners manual. Then check each wire connection to be sure they are where they should be. i prefer controller only used for charging battery and not hooked to loads, Take all loads from battery. Use your multi-meter to check the battery voltage.

 

[mopat]

Make sure your house battery disconnect is turned on.

 

[MrNatural22]

If you only have one battery and it is for the engine cranking and if there is a battery isolater (very common) installed in your system. (prevents power from being drawn from cranking battery when using the rear accessories so you can still start car) you will get no power from the engine battery to the other system. pump,coach lights, etc. you must have a second (house) battery connected in the rear system for those accessories to operate. Sounds like the rear is operating on the panels alone hence lights going off when in the shade.

 

[snoobler]

If the Victron isn't getting voltage/power from an attached battery, it's off. It's not going to provide any solar.

 

[Michael B Caro]

Had what sounds like the same problem for a couple days.
Today I realized the circuit break between the SCC and the batteries was off....I had been working in there and must have bumped it or something.

 

[HRTKD]

Wild guess, but is it possible the two old batteries were in series for 24 volts and the new single battery is only providing 12 volts? The SCC should figure it out so this doesn't seem likely.

Today I was in brand new trailers on the lot with no batteries at all. The only thing working in the trailers were the solar charge controllers. All were the Zamp brand. I found it interesting that the SCC panel was active without a battery connected.

 

[snoobler]

If it were 24V, I don't think he'd ever have inverter function during solar periods. I know for a fact the Victron is off if there is no battery.

I'll believe it when I see it. Did they show you where the batteries go, and you verified they were absent, or are you going on the word of a salesman?

 

[HRTKD]

I'll believe it when I see it. Did they show you where the batteries go, and you verified they were absent, or are you going on the word of a salesman?

Ye of little faith. Oddly enough, there were NO salesmen involved. Maybe I smelled funny or looked poor. Pulling up in a dusty, but late model, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and looking at 12K+ lb trailers seems to keep the buggers away. Plus, it was like 90° F outside. I did put a mask on when I went inside each trailer.

I very specifically looked at battery compartments and tongues. I had an eye for how hard it was going to be to either move the batteries to a different (insulated) compartment or insulate what they had. There were no batteries in the trailers. Those Zamp controllers were lit up and showing errors, complaining about no battery. I think they're all PWM. What I really found odd is that the travel trailer had a 30 amp controller, but the much larger fifth wheel had only a 10 amp controller.

I crawled all over those trailers, even climbing on top. I thought for sure that getting on the roof would elicit a response.

 

[snoobler]

Fair enough!!!!

 

[AzurePower]

Hi,
Thanks for the Information.