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donnie avatar image
donnie asked

MPPT 100/50 not turning on

Hello, my MPPT 100/50 Controller won't turn on at all. I am setting up my electrical connection for my first solar system build in my camper. I have 200Ah of 12 volts (2x lifepo4 100ah 12v batteries ) connected to busbars with a 250amp fuse and a kill switch in between the positive line, and I have the shunt in between batteries and (-) busbar. After I did this, the victron Shunt started working properly, it records 13.28 volts. From the (-) busbar I have a 6 awg wire connected to the MPPT. Then, from (+) busbar I have a 6 awg wire connected to a 70 amp breaker (open) , then to the MPPT Controller. Then I proceeded to connect 4x 12v solar panels in series 170w each. Together they go up to 90v during peak sun. Negative wire from the solar panels connected directly to MPPT and positive wire I connected to a 30amp breaker (open) , then to the MPPT Controller. I have 13.28v reading right before the 70amp breaker. When I close the 70amp breaker so the MPPT can get a reading of the batteries, nothing happens. There are no lights. The battery wires have voltage, but for some reason the MPPT controller is not showing any sign of life. I did this process twice, leavigin the MPPT Controller disconnected for more that 5 minutes to "reset". After I reconnected everything again, following same steps, nothing happened again. There is no lights at all.



MPPT Controllers
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3 Answers
H.W.Oelofse avatar image
H.W.Oelofse answered ·

Hello @Donnie, have you tried connecting your mppt just to a battery on its own to see if it powers up?

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donnie avatar image donnie commented ·

@ H.W.Oelofse thank you for responding. I did connect just the battery, but nothing happens. Do you think is a defective one?

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H.W.Oelofse avatar image H.W.Oelofse donnie commented ·

I would also double check with the info that @klim8skeptic suggested. I have a 100/50 charge controller on my own system that powered up on the battery on the first try, if you have no joy with any of the steps then it will be worth taking it into your victron agent and they will be able to assist you further.

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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image
Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) answered ·

Hi @Donnie,

>Together they go up to 90v during peak sun.

What are the specs for your Solar Panels, especially open circuit voltage?

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donnie avatar image donnie commented ·

These are the specs for each panel, they are all the same.

  • Max. power voltage(Vmp): 19.01V
  • Max. power current(Imp): 8.91A
  • Open circuit voltage(Voc): 22.5V
  • Short circuit current(Isc): 9.44A
  • Series fuse rating: 15A
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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ donnie commented ·

That's just within rating for the MPPT. But to be 100% sure that you're within the limit, you can measure the output of the Panels directly.

If you leave the input of the MPPT unconnected and hook up the battery to the output, one of the LEDs should start blinking. If not, there's a good chance that the device is defect.
If it's a smart mppt, you also could try to connect the device to VictronConnect and see if there's any life.

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klim8skeptic avatar image
klim8skeptic answered ·

Hi Donnie,

Early hardware revisions of the 100/50 were powered from the pv input. They will not show any sign of life until the pv is connected. Part # SCC010050200

Later hardware revisions can be powered by either the battery, or pv input. Part # SCC020050200. This version will briefly flash the blue led every 4 seconds or so, without pv input.

If you live somewhere that it can get colder than frosts, you will be safer running your panels 2s x 2p.


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donnie avatar image donnie commented ·

Thank you for the info! I do have Part # SCC010050200 and I did try to connect the PV first; there still no life. It is a defective controller.

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klim8skeptic avatar image klim8skeptic ♦ donnie commented ·

Just double check the polarity of the pv connection, and measure the voltage at the mppt terminals.

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