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Solar controller to Battery disconnect

Clemj

New Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2022
Messages
15
Location
Albuquerque, NM
I have a question about the importance of maintaining a connection between a solar charge controller and the battery it charges. The instructions for my charger say hook up the battery first before the panels, or damage may occur. There are also instructions for fusing the connection between the charge and battery. If the fuse blows, or the connection is interrupted between the two , will that damage the charger?
 
I have a question about the importance of maintaining a connection between a solar charge controller and the battery it charges. The instructions for my charger say hook up the battery first before the panels, or damage may occur. There are also instructions for fusing the connection between the charge and battery. If the fuse blows, or the connection is interrupted between the two , will that damage the charger?
Some controllers, like mine, are dual voltage. Mine is 12/24. Depending on your battery config, your controller will read voltage from the batteries and set itself to proper voltage. Some controllers will need to be programed for correct voltage. I put a blade disconnect breaker between the controller and the battery that acts also as a disconnect. That is why it is important to connect batteries first and then to the panels for proper voltage setting. And yes, it is theoretically possible for the breaker or fuse to blow leaving the panels hot with the batteries no longer hooked up, but the power can't go anywhere so I do not understand how it would hurt the controller. Don't know what to tell you about that, that is just a fact of life. But incase that happened, you would power off the panels first, power up the batteries next and then power the panels back on.
 
So as long as the controller has seen the battery voltage, it would stay at that setting? (12,24,36,48)
Depends on your controller. Is it dual voltage? Can you give me a brand/model? PWM or MPPT? If it is dual voltage and reads automatically like mine, once it loses power, I have to go through the same sequence, batteries on first where it reads the voltage and then the panels.
 
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