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:
Here are things I've noticed:
- The fan and sink pump both wire in to the fuse box and neither works currently.
- The wiring on the solar panels looks good and it is firmly mounted to the roof.
- 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.
- 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.
- The load output shows as off when I look at the VictronConnect App. In the direct sun, the watts coming in are around 30w.
- 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)
- 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.