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sv-jean-anne avatar image
sv-jean-anne asked

Victron app incorrectly indicating low panel voltage and charger not charging.

My 100/50 controller has been working flawlessly. One day, it failed to charge, even though there was plenty of sun and my batteries needed it. The app indicated that the controller status was OFF and that the panel voltage was lower than the battery level, which didn't make sense. I removed the panel wires at the controller and saw that the panels were providing over 20 volts, and not the 12+ volts that the app indicated. I unplugged the panels and batteries from the controller, waited, then reconnected everything. The controller immediately started to work properly, charging my batteries, and worked fine for a couple of weeks...until today.

Today, the app indicated the earlier problem. My batteries were in the neighborhood of 12.50 volts, and the app indicated that the panels were only providing something like 12.47 volts, even though it was very sunny. I again disconnected the panel input wire right at the controller and saw that the panels were actually providing well over 20 volts. I again disconnected both the panel input and batteries from the controller, waited, and reconnected everything, however the controller still won't charge and the app is indicating that the panel voltage is again just under the battery voltage. Thoughts?

victron products
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klim8skeptic avatar image klim8skeptic ♦ commented ·

Time to start wiring your panels in series.

Don't go over the mppt limit of 100v.

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5 Answers
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) answered ·

Hi @SV Jean Anne

what firmware are you running?

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sv-jean-anne avatar image
sv-jean-anne answered ·

It's showing firmware v1.46.

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Justin Cook avatar image
Justin Cook answered ·

@SV Jean Anne, I suspect that one of your connections is bad on the PV side; when there's a bad crimp in an MC4 connector or a fault in one of the other connections, you'll often see normal voltage readings until you connect to the controller and the controller tries to put a load on the panels to start harvesting energy; as soon as current draw is attempted, the voltage will drop out. An easy way to test this is to measure the voltage at the PV input terminals of the controller; if the measurement matches the reading in the app, then it tells you that the problem is somewhere up the line, in which case the first things to check are your MC4 connectors from the panels, or if you're not using MC4s, then check whatever connections you're using.

If, on the other hand, the PV input terminals measure >~20v but the app says ~12v, then that's a good indicator that the controller is defective; this is rare, however.

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gazzafish avatar image
gazzafish answered ·

I am having the exact same issue. Do you resolve this?

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adobe avatar image
adobe answered ·

Im having exactly this issue as well. Was this ever resolved?

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