Troubleshooting Solar 400W (4x100W) + Victron

[Adelie]

With 2 controllers he/she could do both.

[Cloroxbottle]

Originally Posted by Nord Sal

One controller looks like it has had no output at all since Dec 13. Did something change then?

Nothing changed. In fact, I've checked the solar panels individually and the combined output of two panels to each MPPT wired in parallel since that date with an meter and all the numbers look good right until the point the juice disappears into each MPPT.

Both controllers show load output switched "on". I presume the PO set this to run the LED lighting.

That's my guess as well.

]There are many parameters which can be set on the Victron MPPT charge controllers for load output, perhaps resetting the charge controller to its default might take care of the gremlins?

I tried "reset to factory default". Didn't accomplish anything besides erasing the history. I don't see anything dramatically odd about the settings.

I'm going to hit the wiring next; ordered a + and - bus bar; I'm going to upgrade the output wiring and hook the charge controllers to the same post on the bar, the battery charger to a different post, and then a third post to the house. See if that makes any difference.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Cloroxbottle

Nothing changed. In fact, I've checked the solar panels individually and the combined output of two panels to each MPPT wired in parallel since that date with an meter and all the numbers look good right until the point the juice disappears into each MPPT.



.

So you have power right up to the input for the controllers but no output. It sounds like the controllers are the problem .

Any possibility of a lighting strike or near miss?

[Cloroxbottle]

With regards to lightning I suppose anything is possible...but nothing else is damaged (Garmin 7408, autopilot, three displays, vhf, fusion radio, battery charger, isolation transformer, vesper AIS, NEMA network, Intel NUC that I installed as the ship's computer, lights) so I would be surprised if a lightning strike took down just the two charge controllers.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Cloroxbottle

With regards to lightning I suppose anything is possible...but nothing else is damaged (Garmin 7408, autopilot, three displays, vhf, fusion radio, battery charger, isolation transformer, vesper AIS, NEMA network, Intel NUC that I installed as the ship's computer, lights) so I would be surprised if a lightning strike took down just the two charge controllers.

Have a friend on san Andreas Island that lost his mppt due to a strike near him but nothing else was damaged the surge went via the solar panels mounted on the rail to the controllers.
The strike was on the boat about 100 meters away from him .
Its possible there were lightening storms all across Florida on the 13th.

Try a 10 dollar cheapie controller to diagnose

[rgleason]

It's lucky he was not on board or holding the backstay. I had a friend who had a direct strike and he had just left the boat in the rain and was 2' away. It blew all electronics of course. I saw it from a distance.

[smac999]

Originally Posted by Cloroxbottle

So I figured I'd take a look more closely at the charge controllers while I waited for the bus bar to arrive.

I got a VE direct cable and hooked it up to the boat computer and downloaded the Victron Connect software. The first thing it wanted to do for both was update them from firmware 1.19 to 1.54 which I let it do.

Then I went to the status screens for both controllers and saw the following for each (right now I only have one 100 watt panel attached to one of them).

However the current for both appears to be zero or near zero. Adding loads appears to do nothing.

are these both controllers and pics taken at the same time? because if so they are going to 2 different battery banks. one at 13.8v (full in float so no current is expected, you need to drain battery more to test) and one is 12v. if these are taken at same time I wonder if one controller is going to the engine bank.

the 12v one should be producing current if its' in the sun. that panel or controller is broken.

the 13.8v one is acting normal for conditions. 13.8 is the default float setting. (too high for most batteries)

[ovidiunelu]

Are your panels protected by a diode?
If not what ever panels produce is dump into the weakest one first and what is left is push into batteries. when the sun is up usually you can fill one of them is much hotter than the rest.

[Hello Below]

Originally Posted by newhaul

So you have power right up to the input for the controllers but no output. It sounds like the controllers are the problem .

Any possibility of a lighting strike or near miss?

By chance do you happen to have the charger(s) disable? From the Victron Connect manual (Page 4.1 Battery Settings)(https://www.victronenergy.com/upload...rollers-EN.pdf):

"Charger enabled

Toggling this setting turns the Solar Charger off. The batteries will not be charged. This setting is intended only for use when carrying-out work on the installation."

[Kropdad]

Just as an aside, I have a run my 80 litre fridge off the load on my 50 amp mppt and have done so continuously for 12 months with no dramas. I have 2 120 watt panels that charge 2 105 amp batteries.

[Sailor-Gene]

Originally Posted by tarian

The victron 75/15 will handle 245 Watts of solar on 12v and 440 Watts on 24v system if loads are exceeded the mppt will not function to full efficiency

BINGO... 400W of solar should produce close to 30A @ 12VDC, much more than the spec for the 75/15 charge controller. Also, the panels OCV s/b about 20V, allowing them to be in a 2 series / parallel configuration.

Looks like a system design is needed... add another 75/15 and split the panels, or upgrade to 100/30.

Happy Sailing

Gene

[john manning]

There can be several causes for what you are seeing. One of the most common is not isolating the MPPT output from other charging sources when testing. The MPPT charger will not provide significant charging current if it is detecting a high voltage from another charger.

If you want to optimise the performance of an MPPT charger then raise the voltage it is receiving from the panels. ie. Put some panels in series. Then parallel groups of panels, each group having the same voltage. For a Victron 75/15 raising the input voltage to 48V is well within its specs.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Sailor-Gene

BINGO... 400W of solar should produce close to 30A @ 12VDC, much more than the spec for the 75/15 charge controller. Also, the panels OCV s/b about 20V, allowing them to be in a 2 series / parallel configuration.

Looks like a system design is needed... add another 75/15 and split the panels, or upgrade to 100/30.

Happy Sailing

Gene

I guess you also missed the fact of a split system 200 into each of 2 controllers.
Well within operating ratings for the controllers.

[CaptainComocean]

I have a lot of experience with MPPT controllers and various panel configurations. Your system may have limitations because you do not maximize the controller. Suggest you check specifications and determine maximum voltage for panel input ( it may be something like 100 or 150 volts,) then check the OPEN CIRCUIT voltage of your panels . If you can combine the OC voltage of 2 or more panels in series and not exceed the capacity of your controller the entire system will work more efficiently. Remember voltage Multiplied by current (Amps) equals watts and be sure not to exceed the wattage spec for your controller (the Victron unit.) Plug and play with the Array in different configurations until you get the best output. There are wattmeters (Watts UP!) available online that you can use up stream and downstream of the controller to optimize the configuration if the Victron does not have meters built in.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by CaptainComocean

If you can combine the OC voltage of 2 or more panels in series and not exceed the capacity of your controller the entire system will work more efficiently.

Welcome to the forum CaptainComocean.

Generally on boat installations, unlike terrestrial installations, series connection is the least desirable option. Series connection tends to produce the lowest output when there are hard shadows on some of the panels. Hard shadows are hard to avoid on most boats, especially yachts.

The OP has (arguably) the most desirable option, which is one controller per panel so switching to series connection is likely to be counterproductive.

Originally Posted by CaptainComocean

Suggest you check specifications and determine maximum voltage for panel input ( it may be something like 100 or 150 volts,) then check the OPEN CIRCUIT voltage of your panels . If you can combine the OC voltage of 2 or more panels in series and not exceed the capacity of your controller the entire system will work more efficiently.

It is important to keep the OC voltage rating of the panels at least 10-15% below the controller’s rating. Many controllers will be immediately damaged by a voltage even slightly exceeding their rating. Solar panels can exceeded their OC rating in some situations so a reasonable safety margin is needed between the two specifications.