Renogy Mppt not charging battery properly?

[Phil0021]

Ok I know the renogy mppt voltage display is useless apparently, however my battery readying on voltmeter is 13.03 which I believe is 30% approx soc. Reading taken just now after a week of standing and not connected to anything. Why after reconnecting back to mmpt today I'm only getting 0.04amps at 38ish volts approx = 1.5watts going in to my battery? Got 390w solar panel in full sun. Mppt Battery display is 14.3 and capacity says 100% which I belive is incorrect. Surely at 30% soc, the mppt should be smashing the amps into the battery? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just using standard lithium settings on mppt btw. Battery is renogy 50ah.

 

[SamDeleted]

Is the renogy mppt set correctly for the lithium battery

 

[mikefitz]

The Renogy Rover, using the lithium setting, charges the battery at maximum solar power until the volts detected by the controller reach 14.4. (note due to calibration spread on the units, battery actual volts may differ).
At this point the controller stops charging, charging will resume when the battery volts fall below 13.2.
Readings from the Rover for SOC can be ignored.
As it seems your battery may not fully charged, ( it could be in protectition mode) try the following ,

Reset the controller, disconnect solar then battery, reconnect battery then solar.

If the charger shows 14.4 with no current, put a high current load on the battery.

Set the Rover for LA batteries. GEL setting.

It's possible the battery charge volts are too high , causing protection. With the user settings reduce the charge, boost, volts, to less than 14.4. Reduce in 0.1 volt steps and evaluate. Renogy have stated that a charge voltage of 13.8 may be necessary.

Let us know the result of your investigations .

Mike

 

[DIYrich]

Voltage at battery while charging? Do you get 14.3 volts everywhere along the cables? Can't have 14.3 volts and 13.0 at the same time, unless bad connection somewhere. If 14.3 volts at the battery, then it is a bms issue.

 

[Phil0021]

Is the renogy mppt set correctly for the lithium battery

Hi I'm just using the standard lithium profile that Renogy pre-programmed

 

[Phil0021]

Voltage at battery while charging? Do you get 14.3 volts everywhere along the cables? Can't have 14.3 volts and 13.0 at the same time, unless bad connection somewhere. If 14.3 volts at the battery, then it is a bms issue.

Thanks for your reply. Tried a different battery, same problem. Thinking either the mppt or a connection issue. Ran out of time today so will have a look tomorrow at all the connections.

 

[Renogy Solar]

Hi, I'm very sorry for the bad experience.
From the picture you uploaded, at this point our controller recognises a voltage of 14.3V, at which voltage the controller considers the battery to be fully charged. So at this time the controller will enter the float charging stage with a small current to keep the battery charged. From this point of view the controller is working properly

 

[mikefitz]

the controller will enter the float charging stage

Comment to Renogy.
The Rover solar controller using the lithium default setting does not have a float charging stage. This is clearly show on page 28 in the instructions for the Renogy Rover.

 

[Renogy Solar]

Comment to Renogy.
The Rover solar controller using the lithium default setting does not have a float charging stage. This is clearly show on page 28 in the instructions for the Renogy Rover.

Thank you for your review and also for your knowledge of our products!
It is true that for Li-ion batteries our controllers do not define the float stage.
But our controllers need to maintain a low current charge in this state for LiPo to keep the battery charged and counteract the self depletion of the battery. This process is similar to the float stage

 

[Tomthumb62]

D

Reduce in 0.1 volt steps and evaluate.

Minor detail. My Renogy Rover 30A only allows changes in 0.2v increments. 14.6, 14.4, 14.2, etc. but not 14.5, 14.3, etc Seems strange but I deal with it. Not sure if this is normal behavior for the Rover series or not.

 

[Dynoman]

Ok I know the renogy mppt voltage display is useless apparently, however my battery readying on voltmeter is 13.03 which I believe is 30% approx soc. Reading taken just now after a week of standing and not connected to anything. Why after reconnecting back to mmpt today I'm only getting 0.04amps at 38ish volts approx = 1.5watts going in to my battery? Got 390w solar panel in full sun. Mppt Battery display is 14.3 and capacity says 100% which I belive is incorrect. Surely at 30% soc, the mppt should be smashing the amps into the battery? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just using standard lithium settings on mppt btw. Battery is renogy 50ah.

Read this message about setting up the Renogy Rover 40 amp MPPT solar charge controller.

Renogy 40a mppt Li settings

Thanks for the info, I get no heat from the 2 awg wire so that's good for me. Just ordered a 40a circuit breaker to go between the charge controller and batteries plus the Blue Sea 5191 terminal block and 200a fuse today. The 8 guage is less than 2 feet and I did find a little heat when the...

diysolarforum.com

After reading the message in the link read the entire thread as you may find it helpful.

 

[Dynoman]

D


Minor detail. My Renogy Rover 30A only allows changes in 0.2v increments. 14.6, 14.4, 14.2, etc. but not 14.5, 14.3, etc Seems strange but I deal with it. Not sure if this is normal behavior for the Rover series or not.

The 0.2 volt increments are correct for a 24 volt system. Should be able to adjust 0.1 volt increment in a 12 volt system using the Bluetooth module to program the Rover if I remember correctly? Granted it has been a few years since running a 12 volt solar system, but that is what I recall.

 

[Tomthumb62]

The 0.2 volt increments are correct for a 24 volt system. Should be able to adjust 0.1 volt increment in a 12 volt system using the Bluetooth module to program the Rover if I remember correctly? Granted it has been a few years since running a 12 volt solar system, but that is what I recall.

This is on 12v mode. I don’t have the Bluetooth module. Just programming directly on the device. Am going to get the Bluetooth as it allows access to many more charging parameters.

 

[Phil0021]

Hi, I'm very sorry for the bad experience.
From the picture you uploaded, at this point our controller recognises a voltage of 14.3V, at which voltage the controller considers the battery to be fully charged. So at this time the controller will enter the float charging stage with a small current to keep the battery charged. From this point of view the controller is working properly

I'm still having issues. It isn't the Mppt controller, as I charged up a lead acid with no problems. I believe it's the BMS. How do I get passed this issue? The controller just goes into boost mode and I'm unable to charge the renogy battery's to full capacity. When the battery gets to about 13.1 the cc just goes into boost mode and trickles 0.02 - 0.04 amps into the battery. The cc controler shows about 36-38v coming in from the solar which is normal for my 390w panel. The display on cc says 14.3/14.4v. I'm struggling to get passed this capacity which is around 30%soc? I think the battery's have gone into protection mode? How is this resolved please?

 

[Tomthumb62]

I'm still having issues. It isn't the Mppt controller, as I charged up a lead acid with no problems. I believe it's the BMS. How do I get passed this issue? The controller just goes into boost mode and I'm unable to charge the renogy battery's to full capacity. When the battery gets to about 13.1 the cc just goes into boost mode and trickles 0.02 - 0.04 amps into the battery. The cc controler shows about 36-38v coming in from the solar which is normal for my 390w panel. The display on cc says 14.3/14.4v. I'm struggling to get passed this capacity which is around 30%soc? I think the battery's have gone into protection mode? How is this resolved please?

14.3 or 14.4 is a fully charge lithium battery. Why do you think it is only 30%?

Also, when boost mode stops, it will drop down to float, which is usually set at 13.5 to 13.8v. Then if you disconnect the battery from everything, wait a few hours, it should settle to down around 13.3 to 13.4v. This is a LiFePO4 battery fully charged. The 14.3 or 14.4 or 14.6v is simply the charging voltage required to put energy into the battery, but it won't remain there once the charge source is turned off or disconnected.

 

[Phil0021]

Read this message about setting up the Renogy Rover 40 amp MPPT solar charge controller.

Renogy 40a mppt Li settings

Thanks for the info, I get no heat from the 2 awg wire so that's good for me. Just ordered a 40a circuit breaker to go between the charge controller and batteries plus the Blue Sea 5191 terminal block and 200a fuse today. The 8 guage is less than 2 feet and I did find a little heat when the...

diysolarforum.com

After reading the message in the link read the entire thread as you may find it helpful.

Hi thanks for your help. I tried to follow instructions on the link as you said, but still unable to charge my battery's past 13.0-13.1v. At which time the cc just goes into boost mode and then just trickles 0.02 - 0.04 amps. I'll try again today and adjust the parameters in increments of 0.1 as it suggests. Apologies for delay I've been super busy with work.

 

[Tomthumb62]

Hi thanks for your help. I tried to follow instructions on the link as you said, but still unable to charge my battery's past 13.0-13.1v. At which time the cc just goes into boost mode and then just trickles 0.02 - 0.04 amps. I'll try again today and adjust the parameters in increments of 0.1 as it suggests. Apologies for delay I've been super busy with work.

Ok, I missed this and had forgotten about your low voltage issue. Have you yet reached out to Renogy customer service? This does sound like a BMS or balance issue. I would try putting a load on the battery and drain it down until the BMS cuts it off. Then charge it back up to full and see if that fixes the problem. If not, leave it on the charger for a week and see if the BMS can fix a possible balance issue. Does the BMS have Bluetooth with an app where you can see cell voltages or error messages?

 

[mikefitz]

It would be useful to make clear the conditions when, where and how voltages are measured.

13.1 volts ( at the battery?) and no charge current, suggests the battery is in protection.

Remove from the charger and apply a load of several amps for a few minutes.

Does current flow into the load ?

Remove the load, has the battery volts increased? ( measured with a meter).

What is the battery voltage now?

When evaluating the battery start off with a low charge, boost volts, of 13.8 , if successful increase by 0.1 volt and repeat.
When you encounter BMS protection reduce the volts to the previous setting and use the battery normally.
Re evaluate charge volts every few weeks.

Mike

 

[Tomthumb62]

When you encounter BMS protection seduce the volts to the previous setting and use the battery normally.

I know that's a typo, Mike, but is this some sort of Freudian slip?

 

[mikefitz]

OK , now corrected. I dont feel any 'attraction' to Renogy products.

Renogy products are spreading like a plague due to the attractive cost, intense advertising, and you tube reviewers glowing reports on their gifts ( and earning via affiliate recommendations).
This will increase the grief and dispare encountered by many with the Inadequate support from Renogy.