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cbatsford asked

Showing 0 watts and 0 current on smartsolar 75/15

My SMARTSOLAR app on my android is showing 0 Watts. Decent sun out today, panel is clean...just looking to make sure my new solar system on new RV is working. Not sure as I am looking for some hint via the solar wattage...but has yet to move off 0. Any suggestions on how to run a diagnostic, etc? Can I use a multi meter on the unit rather than jumping up on roof?

smart solar charging behaviour
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2 Answers
cbatsford avatar image
cbatsford answered ·
Boom! Thank you. Your comment buffet was super helpful - and got the mind engaged. Since I had confirmed volts from the pv (direct) and mppt pv connection, I knew the panel was working. Then, I checked battery terminals on mppt unit - which showed voltage - BUT, when I disconnected these same battery wires from the mppt unit to MAKE SURE I was reading battery volts, and not the mppt/solar volts, to confirm a solid battery connection....BOOM. NOTHING. NO volts when not connected to to mppt. So I traced the wires to the battery through the battery shut off panel and found a hidden (BLOWN) 15 amp fuse (thus circuit was open and not drawing amps). New fuse and boom fixed it. Unit now shows WATTS and amps, along with voltages. This also explains why unit would not turn on when I had PV not connected. As I read, the unit should turn on w battery connection. Either way, unit is up and running. Check the fuses first people. Thanks!
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Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@cbatsford

Check the voltage and polarity at the mppt terminals.

Voltage (from pv) but no watts suggests a polarity issue on the PV side.

No voltage suggests a poor connection (bad mc4 maybe it is clamped on insulation) or blown fuse, tripped breaker.

Check the mppt also has battery voltage at the terminals. If not then check fuses and connections going down to the battery.

There is also a fuse at the bottom of the mppt to check as well. If that has blown find out why before replacing and making the system live.

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