cancel
Showing results forย 
Search instead forย 
Did you mean:ย 

HELP - solar controller (monitor???) failed

catkins
Explorer II
Explorer II
I have Blue Sky IPN - ProRemote installed inside the RV for ease of checking status. Literally touched it tjis AM, saw a spark fly the around entire unit and now have a zapped dead panel.

So sitting on the desert worried about overcharging,. I have two Blue Sky Solar Booster 3024i controllers installed in the bay.I BELIEVE these actually controll the battery charging and the inside unit is simply a monitor?? Can anyone verify if my thinking is correct. I know just enough to be a bit dangerous...............

I am concerned that I not overcharge the batteries. Will monitor and turn off solar input if it gets too high but wanted the check the wisdom out there.

Thanks in advance
13 REPLIES 13

mchero
Explorer
Explorer
Catkins, where u located?
Robert McHenry
Currently, Henniker NH
07 Fleetwood Discovery 39V
1K Solar dieselrvowners.com
2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Prior:1993 Pace Arrow 37' Diesel

catkins
Explorer II
Explorer II
Update from OP:
Called installer yesterday,AM Solar. Was walked through what
Was basically a full shut down and restart of the
System. Monitor is now working as is everything else.
Was lucky and am now waiting for a sunny day- we have cloudy
Days ahead here.

Thanks to all who offered advise/wisdom.

catkins
Explorer II
Explorer II
OP here - Thanks all. Checking on recall tomorrow. All else is working normally so is a matter of inconvenience rather than a show stopper.

APPRECIATE everyone's information and advice here. You all are the best to share your knowledge. THANKS

azrving
Explorer
Explorer
Landyacht, check your 3 conditions as I believe it's warr for 5 years.

azrving
Explorer
Explorer
landyacht318 wrote:
I have the IPN pro remote, but have not experienced those issues, but grounding my body before touching the controller on dry days will be more of a concern from here on out.

My only issues was the twisted pair backing out of the receptacles and it reading crazy amperages, like -285amps.

I wonder if the controller, mine is a sb2512i, would revert to 14.2 absorption voltage as is the stock setting if the IPN failed.

Proper absorption voltage and duration are critical so I'd fear for my battery if I could not dictate how high and how long a voltage is sought, then held.


Yes indeed his was blowing out several different numbers. We had rewired from his roof down with 4 g and updated his breakers. Somewhere in there while pulling wire through his cabinets we knocked one of those small wires off. It was a moment of dread. OMG what happened now!!!:)

azrving
Explorer
Explorer
pianotuna wrote:
Doesn't the ipn remote also allow the two controllers to be ganged together? I.E. one is slaved to the other?


IIRC it will do 7 controllers. I think it's 3rd menu in lets you look at each controller.

landyacht318
Explorer
Explorer
I have the IPN pro remote, but have not experienced those issues, but grounding my body before touching the controller on dry days will be more of a concern from here on out.

My only issues was the twisted pair backing out of the receptacles and it reading crazy amperages, like -285amps.

I wonder if the controller, mine is a sb2512i, would revert to 14.2 absorption voltage as is the stock setting if the IPN failed.

Proper absorption voltage and duration are critical so I'd fear for my battery if I could not dictate how high and how long a voltage is sought, then held.

pianotuna
Nomad III
Nomad III
Doesn't the ipn remote also allow the two controllers to be ganged together? I.E. one is slaved to the other?
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

azrving
Explorer
Explorer
A friend has this same issue. His would keep going black screen too every time he had a static shock anywhere in his rig. He kept taking the monitor out of the wall and unplugging the data cable and it would come back on. The thing that is a pain is that it then has to do a complete charge cycle before the battery full gauge will work.

I found that the installer of his equipment didn't install the ground chassis wire from the internal lug on his controller housing to ground. Since I put the wire in he has had far fewer black screens.

Blue Sky static update There are three things that the recall uses to determine if yours is bad.
1. the gap around the bezel to the faceplate is too small
2. The serial number
3. The presence of a small black item next to the terminal screw block.

Remove your monitor, remove the data cable and reinstall, DO NOT BUMP THE FRAGILE little wires, check for the three conditions mentioned, reinstall and check battery gauge

His settings have never changed in the controller and this has been going on for a couple years. Hang wet items up in your bathroom or pots of water. This has also helped with his static. Every person is different as we are camped next to him and pretty much unaffected.

If it was mine I would attach a small gauge wire at the back of the monitor so it is held in place at one of the screw holes and run it to the rigs frame. He could be in his bathroom and zap the door knob and the monitor which is mounted in the paneling in the living room would black out. Of course check for that recall first.

Almot
Explorer III
Explorer III
What 2oldman said:
check battery voltage. Could be failed display or failed controller. Things happen, controllers fail.

I've seen people in situations like yours - in desert in the middle of nowhere, with similar signs. There was no display on their controller, but red/green indicators gone crazy. Checked the in/out voltage, then again after a few hours.
Dead controller.
Emergency treatment: connect the battery directly to panels and check voltage every 30-60 minutes, then disconnect when it hits 14. (Don't try this with 24V panels and 12V bank).
Then get a new controller.

Hopefully it's just a display in your case.

MrWizard
Moderator
Moderator
Yes just a monitor with the ability to change the settings in the controller
The controller does the charge control, you can unplug the dead monitor it will not affect anything
All it means is you needed to look at the controller display if you want to know anything
You are not going to over charge, just because the monitor is dead
I can explain it to you.
But I Can Not understand it for you !

....

Connected using T-Mobile Home internet and Visible Phone service
1997 F53 Bounder 36s

catkins
Explorer II
Explorer II
I have two inside monitors that were original to the coach before solar that show battery charge status so I can see a fairly accurate picture of the batteries. Extra one in hall was ease of access for a height challenged partner...............................

Batteries are being charged. Just need to watch to be sure they cut off and not overcharge I guess.

2oldman
Explorer II
Explorer II
Concern may be alleviated by checking voltage at the battery.
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman