SmartSolar 75/15 just died?

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seltsam asked May 31, '19

SmartSolar 75/15 just died?

He guys, I'm running the SmartSolar 75/15 on 2x100W for a couple if weeks now - everything working fine.

Since yesterday the Ampere shown in the Bluetooth-Interface are stuck to 0.0A. Measuring Voltage and Ampere on the PV Connections everything seems fine and as expected - the panels are providing the expected power.

The LEDs on the device are indicating "not charging" (one single blue LED blinking), and in the Interface under the "Battery"-Section it is shown as "off" - whatever that means.

I haven't changed anything in my setup, and my old Solar Charger seems to be working fine.

Did my Victron just die here?

Love to hear your ideas.

Cheers

battery charging Bluetooth DVCC

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Answer 1 · 2019-05-31T13:45:56Z

JohnC answered · May 31, 2019 at 01:45 PM

Hi. 'Battery off' is saying it can't see a batt V. Maybe blown fuse, open breaker/isolator or something.

If you could check the BATT terminals on it with a multimeter, directly on the unit's own metal, and it shows Vbat, then it may be faulty.

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ejrossouw commented · May 31, 2019 at 02:05 PM

Indeed, always start with the basics ...

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Answer 2 · 2019-05-31T13:50:46Z

ejrossouw answered · May 31, 2019 at 01:50 PM

@seltsam A couple of things jump to mind. What is the battery voltage at the terminals? Did the controller maybe do a low voltage disconnect? Also, to start charging, the PV must be V.Bat +5 and thereafter +1V to maintain the charge.

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Answer 3 · 2019-05-31T14:05:06Z

seltsam answered · May 31, 2019 at 02:05 PM

@ejrossouw Huh, its working again. I just put the Panels in serial, instead of parallel. Now the Voltage is higher. The Panels are Installed on a campervan, and today is a especially warm and sunny day. Could it be, that the panels performance suffers under the heat, thus producing less voltage to kick the charge-process off?

Thanks! :-)

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ejrossouw commented · May 31, 2019 at 02:33 PM

Voltage drop typically occurs after 25 degrees C and just imagine those panels baking in the sun. If shading etc. is not of major concerns, I'd personally connect PV in serial to raise the starting voltage as it ensures the charge controller can start working sooner and stop later. Additionally it also lowers the current, which means you can often benefit from thinner wires. Glad it is sorted. Happy camping.

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seltsam ejrossouw commented · May 31, 2019 at 02:38 PM

The Sun is pretty perfect right now, but my readings only show 100W, 28.5V and 3.5A.

Any idea why it performs so poorly (besides the heat) ? Thank you :-)

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ejrossouw seltsam commented · May 31, 2019 at 03:36 PM

Panel angle, shade, heat, actual load, panel efficiency etc. will all attribute to output and performance figures. Unfortunately without having a more detailed understanding of your exact system components, setup parameter etc. I'd only hazard wild guesses, What loads apart from the battery do you have on it? Do you have an inverter? Try turning on a kettle and see if it increases etc. Does the old controller produce the same output if you swapped it out now?

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seltsam ejrossouw commented · May 31, 2019 at 06:31 PM

Well, just compared to the usual output I get when put in parallel (170W ish). Could have been that in-series has some loss, or I have to adjust my settings. Will see how it goes the next days. Thanks for your Help! :-)

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