Solar charges, SOC goes down?

[LeoKa]

if there are separate breakers for each panel/controller, bring them up one at a time. then check the battery meter and see when the problem happens.

I did. I brought up each controller one by one. They all behave the same. The positive charge turns into negative drain after few seconds the controller comes on.

 

[LeoKa]

The drain is almost equal with the amps the house is using.

 

[Bmarler]

I did. I brought up each controller one by one. They all behave the same. The positive charge turns into negative drain after few seconds the controller comes on.

ok, there's something fundamentally wrong with your installation. turn all the solar off and don't reconnect till you've gone through it all beginning to end.

 

[Bmarler]

i'd start at the panels themselves and check the connections for polarity. verify each wire back to the controllers. you might need a long single wire to stretch from the panels to the controllers to use for doublechecking that the wire is the one you think it is. disconnect the panels and hook your test wire to each connector and use the ohms setting to verify at the controller end. hook each wire one at a time as you verify them so they don't get mixed up, or label each one at both ends.

 

[LeoKa]

i'd start at the panels themselves and check the connections for polarity. .

Yes, I went through this during the installation. When I first connected the wires from the panels, it was incorrect and did not work. I had to switch them to get the proper polarity and get the proper voltage.

 

[Bmarler]

one more thought, take your volt meter out to the panels output connectors and verify the polarity. you should read the panels output voltage as a positive or negative voltage depending on how you place the test leads.

 

[LeoKa]

ok, there's something fundamentally wrong with your installation. turn all the solar off and don't reconnect till you've gone through it all beginning to end.

Yes, I am not using the panels. I am just trying to figure out the drain issue.

Am I correct that the breakers connection direction does not matter? It is either ON or OFF.

 

[Bmarler]

i wonder if the diodes on the panels are screwed up from hooking them up wrong?

 

[LeoKa]

one more thought, take your volt meter out to the panels output connectors and verify the polarity. you should read the panels output voltage as a positive or negative voltage depending on how you place the test leads.

Yes, that is what I did during the installation, because I had negative voltage at first. The polarity was wrong. I had to switch the wires.

 

[Bmarler]

Yes, I am not using the panels. I am just trying to figure out the drain issue.

Am I correct that the breakers connection direction does not matter? It is either ON or OFF.

the breakers are usually designed to have power in the top and out the bottom. they may still work the other direction, but they may not be as accurate.

 

[LeoKa]

i wonder if the diodes on the panels are screwed up from hooking them up wrong?

I've just measured the volts on the terminal of the upper right controller.
The panel terminals show 23.1V and the battery terminals 14.2V as it is set with the software. All positive, so it looks normal.

 

[Bmarler]

what is the open circuit voltage on the panels?

 

[LeoKa]

the breakers are usually designed to have power in the top and out the bottom. they may still work the other direction, but they may not be as accurate.

I think I found something.
I measured the connections from the breaker box to the small buss bar. At first, it showed proper voltage. Once I removed one of the wires independently, there was negative 0.02 volts. Next I removed the battery connected wire from this buss and the voltage was completely negative from the breaker box.
So, when the batteries are connected to this bus the voltage is correct, but it is using the battery as source. If this cable removed from the buss, there is no voltage.
It seems that this breaker box is in backwards.

 

[Bmarler]

I think I found something.
I measured the connections from the breaker box to the small buss bar. At first, it showed proper voltage. Once I removed one of the wires independently, there was negative 0.02 volts. Next I removed the battery connected wire from this buss and the voltage was completely negative from the breaker box.
So, when the batteries are connected to this bus the voltage is correct, but it is using the battery as source. If this cable removed from the buss, there is no voltage.
It seems that this breaker box is in backwards.

i'm not clear about what you're saying, but you may be onto something. for clarity, you removed the battery connection from the controllers output breakers buss? or did you just isolate one panel from the system?

 

[LeoKa]

i'm not clear about what you're saying, but you may be onto something. for clarity, you removed the battery connection from the controllers output breakers buss? or did you just isolate one panel from the system?

Both.
Disconnected the lithium bank connection from the buss bar.
I isolated one panel connection without the buss and there was no voltage.
I tested this connection at the controller and the voltage is there, meaning, the PV is providing and it goes through the controller. This goes into the breaker box which I can measure going in, but there is no voltage on the other side of the breaker. Thus, no voltage at the buss bar either.

 

[LeoKa]

Well, I am getting close.
Disconnected all breakers and tested one of them with the opposite direction. Voila. There is voltage coming to the buss bar and the monitor is not showing drainage. The amps are positive on the monitor.
Let me connect all the breakers and see, if did mess it up again, or found the problem?

 

[Bmarler]

Well, I am getting close.
Disconnected all breakers and tested one of them with the opposite direction. Voila. There is voltage coming to the buss bar and the monitor is not showing drainage. The amps are positive on the monitor.
Let me connect all the breakers and see, if did mess it up again, or found the problem?

interesting. can you post what breaker you are using? its quite odd that it only passes one direction.

 

[LeoKa]

interesting. can you post what breaker you are using? its quite odd that it only passes one direction.

No luck.
Even though the breakers are delivering now and I see the voltage on the buss, when I connect the battery cable, the drain starts again.

 

[Bmarler]

No luck.
Even though the breakers are delivering now and I see the voltage on the buss, when I connect the battery cable, the drain starts again.

bummer. you never did post the open circuit voltage of the panel. i'd be curious to see what that is compared to what voltage you see at the pv connections on the controller.

 

[Bmarler]

is this with only one panel and one breaker connected? if not, try that.

 

[mdstrum]

Silly questions idea and solved some of this for me, was to TURN OFF on LOADS, and Charge the bank. Then Zero out or reset the Shut, on Victron has Reset for my RV and my magnum Monitor on our Boat has Zero out.
Basically what I have found this clears the data and starts with a full charged back with NO Load then when put your load back in after reset/zero out you have clean base line and get much more SOC just my 2 cents.

 

[LeoKa]

is this with only one panel and one breaker connected? if not, try that.

I did both.
I started with one panel/controller/breaker to the buss, and added all of them one by one.
Right now, each connection is solid and showing 14.2V as it is set for the charge in the Victron settings.
As soon the cable from the battery bank is connected to the solar charge buss, the drain starts.
So, the solar charging is fine. It does as it suppose to. The problem is at the battery bank and the rest of the connections, like the shunt, fuse, etc.
Does it matter which way the shunt is positioned? I know one side gets the battery bank buss bar connection, the other side goes to the loads.
I am not sure what do think of this. I am loosing my mind already.

 

[LeoKa]

bummer. you never did post the open circuit voltage of the panel. i'd be curious to see what that is compared to what voltage you see at the pv connections on the controller.

Well, it is blowing out there now and rainy. Not safe to do anything on the roof. Besides, the voltage is coming down properly. The smaller panels show 23.x and the larger ones 48.x Volts at the entry of the controllers. This is what officially they suppose to have.

 

[Bmarler]

I did both.
I started with one panel/controller/breaker to the buss, and added all of them one by one.
Right now, each connection is solid and showing 14.2V as it is set for the charge in the Victron settings.
As soon the cable from the battery bank is connected to the solar charge buss, the drain starts.
So, the solar charging is fine. It does as it suppose to. The problem is at the battery bank and the rest of the connections, like the shunt, fuse, etc.
Does it matter which way the shunt is positioned? I know one side gets the battery bank buss bar connection, the other side goes to the loads.
I am not sure what do think of this. I am loosing my mind already.

the shunt does indeed have a battery side and a load side. especially if it's a shunt with more sophisticated electronics built in. and be certain that the battery side of the shunt goes directly to the battery negative and nowhere else.
please, take a second and post the voltage outputting from the panels to the controllers. also the specs of the panel as far as open circuit voltage is listed.
then take a second and read this: https://amsolar.com/rv-solar-news/solar-panel-bypass-diodes-what-they-should-and-shouldnt-do/

i'm wondering about the diodes in the panels, and whether or not they were damaged.

 

[LeoKa]

Silly questions idea and solved some of this for me, was to TURN OFF on LOADS, and Charge the bank. Then Zero out or reset the Shut, on Victron has Reset for my RV and my magnum Monitor on our Boat has Zero out.
Basically what I have found this clears the data and starts with a full charged back with NO Load then when put your load back in after reset/zero out you have clean base line and get much more SOC just my 2 cents.

I can disconnect Loads, if I disconnect the wire after the 350A fuse. However, I do not have option to reset the shunt.

https://bigbattery.com/products/350...Title&utm_campaign=Analyst&utm_id=ButtonsCamp

 

[Bmarler]

ok, we're both writing at the same time. i see the voltages, and am ok with that.

 

[Bmarler]

the shunt is very simple to hook up. the b-minus goes to the battery negative, and nothing else. the p-minus goes to your house negative buss where everything else is hooked up.
then you need a single small battery positive wire to the b-plus terminal for voltage readings.

 

[Bmarler]

I did both.
I started with one panel/controller/breaker to the buss, and added all of them one by one.
Right now, each connection is solid and showing 14.2V as it is set for the charge in the Victron settings.
As soon the cable from the battery bank is connected to the solar charge buss, the drain starts.
So, the solar charging is fine. It does as it suppose to. The problem is at the battery bank and the rest of the connections, like the shunt, fuse, etc.
Does it matter which way the shunt is positioned? I know one side gets the battery bank buss bar connection, the other side goes to the loads.
I am not sure what do think of this. I am loosing my mind already.

Leo,
i was just re-reading this post and am wondering, is your solar negative connection from the controllers going to the right place? it belongs on the load side of the shunt, not the battery side. we may have covered this already, but i can't be sure.

 

[LeoKa]

i'm wondering about the diodes in the panels, and whether or not they were damaged.

panel 1 150/35 - 45.9V
panel 2 150/35 - 45.8V
panel 3 100/30 - 23.1V
panel 4 100/30 - 23.1V
panel 5 100/30 - 23.1V
panel 6 100/30 - 23.1V

The smaller panels are here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2659869037...zNCHmFVr11BxR/l1drAomhfcnm|tkp:Bk9SR_z4qeT0Yg

For the larger panels I need to dig in to find something. I bought them years ago.

 

[LeoKa]

Leo,
i was just re-reading this post and am wondering, is your solar negative connection from the controllers going to the right place?

Yes, it was discussed earlier. I believe I have it correctly.