One way cable?

[OlyPenAaron]

Hi all,

I think I know the answer and reckon I should run it by a smarter crowd than just me, myself, and I. I got this cable with the expectation that it would simply plug into a 100W folding panel I have had for a while and charge a small battery bank via the PD 60W In/Out port. As you can (hopefully) see from the pic, it appears I got the connectors backwards. When I plug the USB C end into the PD 60W port on the battery and the XT60 end into the panel (full sunlight), the display on the battery bank reads 0 watts. When I plug the DC Out cable (DC 5521) from the panel into the battery bank Input port (DC 5521), the display reads something like 52 watts. So, I can tell the panel is putting out juice and the battery is operable. I guess I expected the connectors to carry current in either direction, but I can see that may have been folly.


That's about it. Thanks in advance for any thoughts or input!

OPA

 

[pollenface]

What equipment are you using?

 

[OlyPenAaron]

Hi - the battery is a GOLABS R300 Portable Power Station and the panel is a NECESPOW 100W Portable Solar Panel.

 

[42OhmsPA]

Pics of your panel and battery bank would be helpful.
I'd suspect the panel isn't delivering the minimum input needed for the PD port.
The DC port is designed to accept panel power and likely has a controller for it.

 

[42OhmsPA]

As I suspected the PD input is for charging from USB the DC input has an mppt controller.

"Q3: What is the maximum input from solar?

• A: Our GOLABS portable power station is built in an MPPT controller, the voltage is 10.8-23.5V (3A), the maximum input power can reach 60W(depends on sunlight). We recommend 80W to 100W solar panels."

https://www.amazon.com/GOLABS-Portable-Station-Generator-Emergency/dp/B08P5SFV4D

 

[OlyPenAaron]

Thank you for the follow up! Since I was able to get a partial charge on it with the DC input, that was at least something. I ended up charging the battery to 100% with a PD wall charger power adapter and a USB-c cable.

To close on this, since the PD input does not have an MPPT controller, it can't use the DC current from the panel. So my issue was really not about the cable I used, but the basic structure of the battery. Do I have that right?