Hello, I am new to the forum and pretty ignorant of electrical systems, I have a question on my system. It was in the van I bought and consists of 4 X 100 watt panels, a Smart Solar Charger MPPT 100/30, Smart Battery Connect w/ Bluetooth - 65A, Smart Battery Connect w/ Bluetooth - 100A, Cerbo GX, Touch 50 monitor, Smart Shunt 550A/50mV, BMS CL12/100, Multiplus 12/3000/120-50, 2X200Ah Smart LiFePO4 Batteries.
This worked great for a year, then last fall the solar quit working. The monitor indicates that it is turned off. The information I found says it may be caused by reverse polarity, which may have happened when I used I plugged it into my home. So how do I turn it on? Thanks for any help and I wish I had found this forum last fall.
So it is likely a panel or connector/connection problem. Idwlaly you panels should have plugs that don’t allow incorrect connection.
Even if it is reverse polarity (something that is not likely if there are proper plugs on it that dont allow that and you have been using the set up) to verify anything now you need a multimeter.
For reverse polarity from the PV side assuming there has been no over voltage {since the battery is connected in the correct polarity} the charger will just get hot.
Thank you for the replies. I used the multimeter, but through my ignorance, was not able to discern anything. When I plug into the house it goes through the multiplus as I understand it. There is a switch in the panel to prevent reverse polarization when plugging into the AC, according to the previous owners instructions. I have put together simpler solar / car charger systems in the past for my campers, but this system is complex enough that it appears to be over my pay grade. I was hoping for simple solution. I will keep checking connections. Thanks again.
Make sure the meter has the leads plugged in the right way (i.e. black kn common)
Then red on positive pv connection and black on negative pv connection. If a - symbol appears on the screen with a voltage then it is reversed.
If there is a dc breaker check there as well with it off at the top of the breaker so there is no panel load.
By plug in to the house do you simply mean connect your van to shore power? ie AC from your house to the multiplus? If so this will have zero effect on your solar panels.
Is there a fuse between your solar panels and the Smart Solar Charger MPPT 100/30? If so, that would be the first thin to check. Otherwise a loose connection or broken wire.
Thanks for the response. I was measuring at the fuse. See attached picture. The ground is at the far left. I left the cover on the fuses for the labeling. This is the one place I have access without tearing into the cabinets. I have included a picture of the breaker box also. I have to switch the AC on to use that and to charge the batteries.
Have you visually checked if there is any error on the charge controller? (by checking the LED’s on the charge controller or by using victron connect)
I think logging into the charge controller to look for any error codes is the next thing you can do after you have confirmed that the wiring /fusing from the panels is all in order. (have you checked for loose connections on the charge controller?)
Is the coms cabling intact between cerbo and Mppt?
Thanks, for the reply, I think that is where my problem is, but… I am not able to the log into the controllers. The previous owner, lost all the documentation to the system in a house fire, and the standard log in will not work. This was going to be the subject of my next question. Maybe it should have been my first question.
For the VRM if there is access to the email account that is also recovered using the firgot password.
If yhe email address is unknown, you can try add it as a ew install and then the email will have a request sent to it.
If there is no access, then you cannuse the online support or use the dealer who sold the equipment to get access.
