mike-s wrote:
Check the controller manual. Some of the "advice" here is dangerous BS. For instance, Morningstar, Renogy, Midnite Solar (and I'm sure most manufacturers) all advise that a fuse or breaker be installed in every circuit (battery, solar, load). If a properly sized protective device opens, it could have saved you from more serious issues than a damaged controller.
I'm sorry. Apparently I wasn't making my thinking on this subject clear.
If you run the controller directly to the battery, through it's own fuse, pretty much the only way that fuse can blow is if something has gone wrong with the controller. In other words, most likely the controller is ALREADY toast by the time the fuse blows, and you're just keeping the wire from overheating and starting a fire.
If you run the controller to your fuse panel, and thus through the main fuse between that battery and the panel, then any problem ANYWHERE in the electrical system that causes the main fuse to blow will throw you into a situation where the controller suddenly finds itself with no batteries, which will almost certainly damage a good controller that wasn't having any problems of it's own.
