red31 wrote:
Ed_Gee wrote:
red31 wrote:
All I could afford wrote:
In full sun, with my multimeter on the terminals coming from the pannels I am showing about 18 volts, as expected. However, I am showing the exact same voltage on the terminals going to the battery compartment.
Is this attached to a battery?
attach to a battery and remeasure and re-post results.
New, those panels should measure 21v not connected to a battery, relatively cool, 25C.
connected to a battery while charging, you should measure batt V.
Red31 raises a good point. In all probability that controller needs to be attached to a battery before you can assess whether or not it is working. However, his comment that open circuit panels should show 21VDC is questionable ... that depends quite a bit on the design of the panel ... my new monocrystaline panels show 18VDC open circuit, as yours do so in all probability your panels are OK.
the sticker on the back of the panel shows 21.6 Voc, rated 17v (Vmp).
here's the new panel specs in a different format
http://www.solardirect.com/PDF/SolarElectric/sr90p1n.pdf
Red31 -- I apologize for my misinformation. I was thinking of maximum power point rather than open circuit voltage. My panels also measure about 22 volts when nothing is connected to them - Grape Solar model GS-S-160 monocrystaline.
