Why won't my solar work??

[grahampa]

So I tested the solar panels myself and they seem to be working just fine (15v produced at sundown). I made some of the connections myself (mc4) but even the renogy cables that came preinstalled don't seem to be producing power. Do I need to ground the solar panels separately from the entire system for them to produce energy? Or is it just my poor electrical connections made causing the system to fail?

Set up : 3 100w Renogy solar panels (new style?) Connected in parallel through a male and female 3 to 1 mc4 splitter for positive and negative. Fusing the positive end through a 20a inline mc4 fuse. Into the van using 8 awg (the mc4 connectors I used accept up to 10awg but I made a solid connection) wire and through a 40a fuse before reaching my charge controller. The eco worthy 40a mppt charge controller I own appears to be working. Connected to the battery from there. 

The wire is brand new, connections are my are biggest guess as to the issue, but does anyone have any helpful tips on using my multimeter to where I can find the disconnection? Could it be the mc4 splitters I am using? 

Thanks in advance!

 

[B and C]

MC4 connections are a tight fit and waterproof. It's been a couple of years but I seem to remember they clicked when connected. Pull on the connections to see if they come apart.

 

[highdesertranger]

you can work either way top to bottom or bottom to top. or if you suspect your connectors start there. do you know how to do continuity tests with your multi-meter? highdesertranger

 

[MrNoodly]

My system didn't work when I first installed it. Then I remembered I forgot to put a fuse in the fuse holder. Doh.

 

[Seminole Wind]

basic trouble shooting, start at the wires right at the solar panel with good sun, if you have power (reasonable voltage) then connect one wire and check to see you still have voltage. keep connecting one at a time and checking to see you have voltage. it when you add a wire all of a sudden you get no power/voltage through it. then either the wire it's self or the connection is the culprit. fix and keep going. then when you end up with all your wires connected and down to the charge controller passing power through, hook up the controller ( following the manufactures connection order) and see how it goes

 

[tx2sturgis]

We're kinda blind here...tell us what is not working and what is...and what is showing on the controller display, and your panels should show around 20-23 volts open circuit with a meter, a lot less when under load.

Why did you buy an MPPT controller with 3 panels wired in parallel? I mean, it will work but a primary benefit of MPPT (converting higher voltage to current) is lost when 3, 20v panels are wired in parallel.

 

[grahampa]

I'm not exactly sure how to do a continuity test I suppose I should YouTube that. Thanks for the suggestions guys unfortunately I work the next two days so I'll be plugging in the batteries for the night if i can correctly install my RV charger / converter. Batteries must be close to 50% by now.. been using the fan a bit

 

[jimindenver]

The easiest mistake to make when making MC4 connectors is putting the wrong insert in. The male insert will go into the male MC4 plug but it will not make a connection.

The second thing is that I know the Eco-worthy 20 amp MPPT would not do anything until the battery voltage was set. I have a 40 amp waiting for install. I will check the manual to see if it is the same.

So the first thing I will suggest is to check for voltage either off of the two connections at the controller or pull the wires out and check it. At the same time make sure that you have the polarity right.

If you get no reading at the controller then start working your way back up the line starting with the fuse/switch. Do not just check for voltage at the MC4 connectors but also look and make sure that you have the right inserts in them. As I mentioned, you would still get a reading if the wrong insert is in the male MC4 plug but it will not make the connection.

 

[Seminole Wind]

good point on the proper assembly of parts when making up mc4 connectors. the right parts location is not exactly intuitive. yet if the parts are in the wrong side you dont see the problem and they still click together just fine, only no electrical contact.

 

[grahampa]

Thanks for everyone's help so far, I still do not have any charging occurring but I do have voltage running through the wires into my charge controller. There also seems to be power from the battery running to the charge controller because I get a reading of 12.6 volts on the charge controllers display. It is an Eco worthy 40 amp mppt charge controller the "new style". I have it set to charge AGM batteries. I'm wondering if I just have to set it to a 12 volt battery system setting. 

Is the charge controller not working properly possibly?

 

[Seminole Wind]

ok, most of the 100 watt panels should be around 20 volts in good sun. is that what you were seeing at the controller?

other possibilities. please dont be offended that i ask. can you confirm the solar panel leads are connected with correct polarity? positive to positive, negative to negative? also, does this controller have connections for a "load" if so can you confirm the panels are connected to the solar input and not the load output?

in good sun, if you have 20 volts going into the right connection with the right polarity that pretty much leave the issue at/in the controller. if as jim suspected, the controller needs something configured first, then i would check the instructions on how to do that.

it is possible, but not an everyday occurrence the controller is bad. if you confirm the above and it still doesnt work a call to ecoworthy for trouble shooting would be my next step

 

[wayne49]

Advice for novices to solar, buy the pre fab cables for your first system. Plug and play.

Do not attempt to make your own MC4 cables, unless you have the necessary crimping tool and an understanding of how the connectors are designed as to mechanical connections versus electrical connections.

 

[wayne49]

If you don't have a clamp on ammeter get a hold of one. Voltage is useful, but power is current, expressed in amps, flowing through the cabling from the panels to the controller and from the controller to the battery bank.

Try hooking up only one panel to the charge controller. Leave the three into one connector out of it for the moment.

What is the resting voltage of the battery? With no load and no charge. 12.6V could be just the battery voltage.

First connect the controller to the battery. Then connect one panel to the charge controller. Voltage should be greater than that resting voltage.

Are you in an area with decent solar? Humid areas in the northern latitudes suck.

I started in Northern NJ and NE PA in the summer. Never got to full power until a clear, dry, crisp day in October. I had been running all summer with a 15 amp fuse on a four panel parallel solar setup. That day that underrated fuse blew.

 

[tx2sturgis]

If you don't have a clamp on ammeter get a hold of one.

I found this amusing as written...wordsmiths are everywhere, even here...

 

[Seminole Wind]

If you don't have a clamp on ammeter get a hold of one. Voltage is useful, but power is current, expressed in amps, flowing through the cabling from the panels to the controller and from the  controller to the battery bank.

with voltage getting to the controller but not beyond, there is no current flow to measure. sure the could do a short circuit current test to confirm there was not a high resistance connection causing a problem when current started to flow. but by simply checking the volts at the controller while connected is sufficient to find out if the controller is working. no need to go find a different meter

Try hooking up only one panel to the charge controller. Leave the three into one connector out of it for the moment.

the op has already confirmed voltage at the controller. that shows the the connector is working sufficiently to test the controller. leaving out the connector and only testing one panel at this time gains us nothing

What is the resting voltage of the battery? With no load and no charge. 12.6V could be just the battery voltage.

quite correct, 12.6 is a reasonable resting voltage. it is also a clear indicator the charge controller is not doing anything. any modern controller would at least be trying to hold float voltage

Are you in an area with decent solar? Humid areas in the northern latitudes suck.

while in general you are right, humidity and low sun angle can have significant impact in reducing solar gain. it would not be enough to completely stop the controller from doing some charging. we need to find out why there is NO CHARGE first before trying to improve

 

[jimindenver]

I might have missed this but what does the app say?

 

[grahampa]

I might have missed this but what does the app say?

I can't seem to find an app for the Android phone I have, can you tell me the name of it on your phone? I am hoping it is a simple clerical error and I just do not have the controller set to a 12v system.

The charge controller is hooked up properly in the correct positive and negative terminals. The panels produce power. The controller reads the battery voltage. The controller is set to charge AGM batteries. I tried to contact the company yesterday, they responded and I was not able to respond to the email they sent. Hopefully will get through to them tonight (Chinese company) and they can walk me through manually changing settings.

 

[jimindenver]

I have a iphone and found the app by searching the app store for Eco-worthy. My version is called solar regulator. There are scan codes on the Eco-worthy page for both codes. Scroll down

https://www.eco-worthy.com/catalog/...ommunication-module-android-iphone-p-702.html

I do not know if you have done this but try disconnecting the solar, then the charge controller. Then reconnect the controller to the battery for a minute and then the solar. It is suppose to auto detect 12 or 24 volts.

 

[grahampa]

Just to update everyone finally got it working today had to order a special 8 gauge mc4 connector. Two out of three are definitely working I believe i made poor connections for my third one as I am only drawing about 15 amps max right now off of 3 100w solar panels.

 

[highdesertranger]

" 15 amps max right now off of 3 100w solar panels"

that's about right for three 100 watt panels. what were you expecting?

highdesertranger