New Solar Setup - What am I missing?
Put in 4 new 6v Interstate batteries and added another 100 watt panel and a controller. Getting ready for some light dry camping. Background - I have no info on the original solar panel. I knew it ...
Forum Discussion
What is the controller? The controller display would normally show battery voltage, but your battery is 13.4 and the system voltage is over 16?
So maybe the controller to battery path is not direct, so the controller is not seeing the battery voltage, but the "12v" its output is attached to which is somehow at panel voltage? You can get panel voltage if the controller is by-passed. But that voltage is not reaching the batteries.
A controller that is "12/24" when first put on battery will note the voltage and then decide whether it is 12 or 24 by how much it sees first look. Has yours seen that high system voltage and gone 24?
If the controller is PWM panel voltage will equal battery voltage since it just passes that through. So the 13.4 should drag down the panel voltage to near 13.4. (if connected!!) MPPTs work differently with their buck converters in them.
BTW if the fridge is seeing over 15.4v, the DC controls might fry from being over that limit.
So maybe the controller to battery path is not direct, so the controller is not seeing the battery voltage, but the "12v" its output is attached to which is somehow at panel voltage? You can get panel voltage if the controller is by-passed. But that voltage is not reaching the batteries.
A controller that is "12/24" when first put on battery will note the voltage and then decide whether it is 12 or 24 by how much it sees first look. Has yours seen that high system voltage and gone 24?
If the controller is PWM panel voltage will equal battery voltage since it just passes that through. So the 13.4 should drag down the panel voltage to near 13.4. (if connected!!) MPPTs work differently with their buck converters in them.
BTW if the fridge is seeing over 15.4v, the DC controls might fry from being over that limit.
