Solar repair in Cornwall?

[Lizzie]

Hi all,

I’m currently near Polperro in Cornwall. After various upgrades to my van conversion electrical system, my solar is still not working properly. I’m looking for somewhere down here that has cable and can help me run a new cable from the PV to the MPPT. If that’s not the issue then I know my panels need replacing Anyone know of anywhere in the area?

Thank you!

 

[merl]

Hi all,

I’m currently near Polperro in Cornwall. After various upgrades to my van conversion electrical system, my solar is still not working properly. I’m looking for somewhere down here that has cable and can help me run a new cable from the PV to the MPPT. If that’s not the issue then I know my panels need replacing Anyone know of anywhere in the area?

Thank you!

What makes you suspect a cable fault? Very unusual for any cable to fail let alone a power cable.
It's simple enough to test panels without rewiring.

 

[Tonybvi]

Not Cornwall but VanBitz at Taunton are excellent. For me it’s a 1200 mile round trip to see them but still worth it. I went by them to get some work done after landing in Plymouth earlier this year and it only took 2 or 3 hours to drive there from Plymouth

 

[winks]

Highly unlikely that the panel cables would cause a ‘ not working properly ‘ fault. It would either be on or off.

If you can disconnect both the panel and the battery connections, give it a few minutes then reconnect with the battery connection first and the the panel connection at the controller. If you’ve had work done on your solar it is just possible the connection sequence was wrong and the controller is confused. The connection order does matter, usually.

Cheers

H

 

[CHAIRMAN]

Solar Solutions are great but in Dorset BH21 4DB

 

[Lizzie]

Highly unlikely that the panel cables would cause a ‘ not working properly ‘ fault. It would either be on or off.

If you can disconnect both the panel and the battery connections, give it a few minutes then reconnect with the battery connection first and the the panel connection at the controller. If you’ve had work done on your solar it is just possible the connection sequence was wrong and the controller is confused. The connection order does matter, usually.

Cheers

H

Thanks for the reply, some more info for context… I have installed new batteries (parallel), a victron 100/50 MPPT and a smart shunt (networked to the MPPT) to try and figure out the issue. The Solar (2x100w) is not producing much, mostly. It sits at about 3-8w even in blazing sunshine and after cleaning the panels. I depleted the batteries down to 11.9v (didn’t dare go lower) and no change, I added a good load to the batteries, thinking it needs to see load and low voltage to ramp up, no change. I can see the Solar will spike up to over 100w (so the panels seem to be functioning) but only for a minute or so. I disconnected the controller waited and reconnected in the right order (spent three days parked in 20 degree clear skies messing about with disconnecting and reconnecting) again I could make it spike up, but then falls back to 0w and climbs up to about 3w. I updated the victron firmware and even went outside victron connect to download the firmware update not yet available in VC.
So the shunt sees the load on the batteries, the MPPT and shunt agree on the battery voltage, adding load makes no difference no matter how depleted the batteries are and I know the panels can put out over 100w, but only momentarily. The only thing I haven’t done is replace the wiring from Solar to MPPT and MPPT to batteries ( reused old wiring) so wondered if it’s a dodgy connection from the panels or the wire. Wanted to try this before replacing the panels
All thoughts welcome!

 

[Lizzie]

What makes you suspect a cable fault? Very unusual for any cable to fail let alone a power cable.
It's simple enough to test panels without rewiring.

Thanks, longer reply above. I have been wondering why even with minimal drain, my Solar couldn’t charge the batteries back up, this has been going on since I got the van, but really noticed it over winter. Needed summer and some new kit to figure it out

 

[winks]

Are your panels series or parallel?

I have found that my 150 and 80 panels work best as parallel. As I understand it, if they are series any deficiency in one cell of one panel will limit current yield.

Easy to establish if you have access to the point where the panels are connected together. Mine are inboard where I can get at them but I know many are connected outside in MC4 connectors. With a meter set to the 10A range you can test the current on each panel and then you’ll know if one has failed. Again not very likely.

Cheers

H

 

[Lizzie]

Are your panels series or parallel?

I have found that my 150 and 80 panels work best as parallel. As I understand it, if they are series any deficiency in one cell of one panel will limit current yield.

Easy to establish if you have access to the point where the panels are connected together. Mine are inboard where I can get at them but I know many are connected outside in MC4 connectors. With a meter set to the 10A range you can test the current on each panel and then you’ll know if one has failed. Again not very likely.

Cheers

H

Good to know! It’s on my list to check if they are wired in series or parallel, but they are on top and I need to remove them to get to the wiring, if I’m taking them off I figured I may as well replace the cable. My meter which was inside the back door hanging in a bag, was found to be hanging in a bag of water to be fair we had torrential rain a few days earlier, but as for how the water got in, that’s on the list too, along with buying a new meter got to love van life!
So despite doing most things myself, I’m looking for somewhere with a ladder, cable and a meter and potentially new panels… summer maybe over soon and I want a chance to test it out in the sunshine

Of course if you can think of anything else that could cause the spikes/problem I’ve got, please share, I’m stumped!

 

[winks]

Good to know! It’s on my list to check if they are wired in series or parallel, but they are on top and I need to remove them to get to the wiring, if I’m taking them off I figured I may as well replace the cable. My meter which was inside the back door hanging in a bag, was found to be hanging in a bag of water to be fair we had torrential rain a few days earlier, but as for how the water got in, that’s on the list too, along with buying a new meter got to love van life!
So despite doing most things myself, I’m looking for somewhere with a ladder, cable and a meter and potentially new panels… summer maybe over soon and I want a chance to test it out in the sunshine

Of course if you can think of anything else that could cause the spikes/problem I’ve got, please share, I’m stumped!

Yep, I know what you mean.

I’d get a new meter from Screwfix (a tenner maybe) and start at the output from the panels before being drawn down rabbit holes with firmware and the like.

Good luck.

Cheers

H

 

[rambrose]

Can you connect one panel at a time with what you have with you?
Are the panels in series or parallel is a good check
Are the panels identical? Do you know the make/model?

 

[merl]

From your description it's not a faulty cable/cables.
May sound silly but have you checked the polarity of the panels? It's relatively easy to reverse polarity with MC 4 connectors so check the wiring polarity of the batteries and panels at the solar controller.
If that's all ok I'd make sure your batteries are discharged say 15% .or so and then connect the panels directly to the battery and see what the shunt says is happening. If you get better charging then there's an issue with the solar controller. Don't leave battery and panels connected for too long like this, when the batteries go over 14.8 V you'll overcharge them.

 

[1 Cup]

Good to know! It’s on my list to check if they are wired in series or parallel, but they are on top and I need to remove them to get to the wiring, if I’m taking them off I figured I may as well replace the cable. My meter which was inside the back door hanging in a bag, was found to be hanging in a bag of water to be fair we had torrential rain a few days earlier, but as for how the water got in, that’s on the list too, along with buying a new meter got to love van life!
So despite doing most things myself, I’m looking for somewhere with a ladder, cable and a meter and potentially new panels… summer maybe over soon and I want a chance to test it out in the sunshine

Of course if you can think of anything else that could cause the spikes/problem I’ve got, please share, I’m stumped!

A nice wall to park next to works or the ladder on another van could work l. But lorry parks are best! find a flat bed . Or tail lift !

Normally that's a good bit of kit so all good there. Cables and connectors sounds like a good starting place . A cheap extension lead 10m at for 200watts pv .
Would do for testing / fault finding.

Pannels are £70 per 100w but if you got victronenergy.com 50/100 that will. Take 500watts . If you upgrade Pannels what size fits on your van ? Or are you going for the same size as fitted now ?.

What has the smart shunt got on the Bluetooth app put photo up!

 

[GeoffL]

Not Cornwall, but about 25 miles away across the Tamar on the outskirts of Plymouth are Batteries and Solar (Google Maps link below). These people were great when they added a second 100W panel to my setup. They were also the only people I found prepared to add to an existing system as everyone else wanted to junk what I already had and start from scratch, allegedly because they couldn't guarantee their work otherwise!

Batteries & Solar Ltd · 61 St Modwen Rd, Plymouth PL6 8LH

âââââ · Car Battery Shop

www.google.co.uk