Solar panels not charging

Well the 5 step process didn't work, but I had to try. It's too late for anymore work, so I'll be back at it tomorroow tomorrow 4" testimg Mc 4 and what what not. t. ThanksYens for all the help so the Dae!

1. Disconnect the panels from the controller.

2. disconnect the battery bank from the controller.

3. wait ten minutes

4. connect the batteries to the controller

5. connect the panels to the controller.

so if you probe the disconnected PV wires at the controller for voltage, you should see ~20v. If not then go to the next connection which may be a branch connector, still no voltage you probe each panel for ~20v.

You may find one of the branch connectors is no good and both panels good.
MC4 connectors can be disconnected by hand, take a good look and depress each side so they can be pulled apart. there is a plastic tool that can help but they can be pulled apart by hand and then probed with a voltmeter.

You can get rid of the branch connectors and connect just one panel. until ya order new branch connector or cut the mc4s off and connect.
Ya might consider different panel roof mounts that are two piece and remove easily.

Buy low.. does that have anything to do with your woes? :)

Hell, I believe it. They left freaking scabs, some of them pretty big on my legs.

So the bad news is I got no ohms on either line and no voltage between them either.I also traced the lines from the controller to the panels and there weren't any kincks or breaks. However the good news is the panels look to be removable without pulling the roof bracket out. I'm just going to need a good long thin racket to get them off. My tools are in my truck which also had issues so I'm waiting to pick that up soon but I might need to buy something special. The truck has a gasket leaking transmission fluid. When I get them back I'm going to try to remove them. However I'm not sure what to do exactly after that. It looks like mc4 is used to connect them. Does those require soldering? I have a soldering kit but no experience at all using it.

It's been a rough week but I'm glad we were in Whitehorse for it and minus the truck ove

Ive fixed everything myself I'd like to continue the trend with yalls help. I had a problem with my batteries which I spent 8 hours in some of the worst mosquitos ever and a bunch of power being drawn, then next day my refrigerator broke, I spent a good 8 hours on that till I remembered I had an extra thermistor laying around, that fixed it, then I had a electronic cigarette battery blow up in my pocket causing second degree burns over a 12x18 piece of my thigh, luckily my wife is a ICU nurse and is able to take care of me, even after that when I got back from where we were I was still super happy to see the fridge working(crazy I know), then we tried to leave the next day and the truck wasn't shifting right, then this morning I noticed the solar panels weren't working. What a week! No more, PLEASE!

Yes, I meant that you want to be sure you have the positive panel wire on the positive controller terminal and the negative panel wire on the negative input terminal. You also have battery positive and negative on the controller and they have to be correct.

Most multimeters will show a minus sign on the screen when you have reversed the meter leads. This means that if you were to put the red meter lead on the negative battery post and the black meter lead on the positive battery post you could see 12.x volts but there would probably be a little minus sign up there if you then reversed the leads and put the red meter lead on positive in the black meter lead on negative you should see 12.x volts without the minus sign

buylow12 wrote:
I believe it checks both. By positive to positive you mean it's 12v right? I think goes to mc4 those just connect the panels together correct? The problem is most of the wiring on the roof is under the panels, it looks like they may be able to slide or disconnect from the mounts somehow though I could be wrong, I'm just not sure how to do it. If I can't do that I'll have to cut away the sealant to get to the wiring I think. I should have watched my friend install it 3 years ago....

You don't want to remove anything up there until you are sure the problem is up there. If you remove the positive and negative wires from the contractor that go up to the panels you should have power on those wires if the sun is on the panel. A 12 volt panel may put out around 20 volts or so. If you follow the instructions for your multi meter it may be able to check the amperage on the panel wires. It's called a short circuit amperage test.

Of the screw that holds the panel to the bracket is up under the edge of the panel And the other end of the bracket has screws and dicor it's called a Z bracket and was invented by Murphy. They are cheap and easy but that's all.

lso be sure that you have battery voltage coming from the battery to the solar controller. You should see battery voltage there. Only check for voltage not amperage at the battery wires.

buylow12 wrote:
I have a multimeter, is that the same thing? If not, what exactly do you . How to I use it to track down the problem?

Yes it is.. a way to measure voltage.

I was hoping you could get to the wires somehow without major surgery. Perhaps a clamp ammeter would be better if you cannot. At least you can eliminate where the problem isn't occurring.

It's too bad your panels are (or sound like they are) mounted directly to the roof. Most of us have them on mounts for service and tilting.