Quote:
Originally Posted by sailscubasurf
Last year I installed 4 - 100 watt rigid solar panels and a HQST mppt controller on my sailboat.
The setup has worked wonderfully until three weeks ago, when the 10 gauge wire coming from the solar panels and between the circuit breaker and the mppt controller scorched and wouldn't carry the charge.
I then replaced the circuit breaker and upgraded the wire to an 8 gauge wire. Things were working well until this weekend, when this wire was scorched and stopped carrying the current.
Has anyone had this issue? What could be the problem after working perfectly for over a year?
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You have given us almost nothing to go on. But something is seriously, and dangerously(!), wrong if your wire is hot enough to "scorch"
If you are running a 12 volt system, then 400 watts is about 33 amps... 10 AWG wire would likely be too small. How did you decide that 10AWG was OK? For that matter how did you decide 8AWG was OK? Making some assumptions, I would be looking at a minimum size of 6AWG. But my assumptions could be wrong... so some more questions...
Panel voltage? Series or parallel? 12 or 24 volt system? Lengths of wires?
Can you describe (or photograph) "scorched"? Are we talking about the whole length of the wire, or just the end(s)? Is this name brand
boat cable--or something else? Where is the circuit breaker relative to the panels, controller and
battery? What size fuse or breaker? How are the wires terminated?