Newbie needs help!

4 Posts
Mar 28, 2009 09:08 am
Newbie needs help!

I'm new at installing RE and trying to understand. I have installed a C-Series 60 Amp 12/24V Regulator or LVD or Load Div. I have it set on charge controller and followed all specifications in the manual but I don't seem to be getting any charge to my batteries. I have my PV array wired to 24v as well as my battery bank with the charge controller set for a 24v system. I recently purchased and installed the digital meter for the controller and I'm getting zeros all the way across except under the volts which is reading 23.9. I'm afraid I have discharged my batteries to the point that the LVD is not allowing the charge controller to "wake up" and do what it's supposed to do.
More info about set-up:
8-12v/125ah marine batteries wired to give me 24v (have checked with meter for accuracy)
My PV array consists of 1 Kyocera 130w/12v panel and 5 Evergreen 210w/12v panels wired to give me 24v output to the controller.
Any ideas on what I have done wrong?
Thanks for any replies you can give me.
 
351 Posts
Mar 29, 2009 12:27 pm
Re: Newbie needs help!

If you have the controller properly wired and configured as a charge controller, the low voltage disconnect does not function.  That only occurs when it is in load control mode.

The first recommendation is to disconnect the pair of panels that contains the Kyocera 130W. Get the system working with the 4 Evergreens. Then you could attempt to add the mixed pair back in to see how much it drags the array down.  Personally, I would purchase another Evergreen 210W and get rid of the Kyocera (or just stick with the 4 panels). Miss-matched panels in the same array cause problems.

For additional help, we need more info on your system.  Describe where and how the controller is wired. Where are the loads wired to ?  What are the jumper settings ?  What did you set the potentiometers too ?  When it is supposed to be charging, what is the LED doing ?  The more info you provide, the more likely someone is to spot the glitch.
 
4 Posts
Mar 29, 2009 07:09 pm
Re: Newbie needs help!

If you have the controller properly wired and configured as a charge controller, the low voltage disconnect does not function.  That only occurs when it is in load control mode.

The first recommendation is to disconnect the pair of panels that contains the Kyocera 130W. Get the system working with the 4 Evergreens. Then you could attempt to add the mixed pair back in to see how much it drags the array down.  Personally, I would purchase another Evergreen 210W and get rid of the Kyocera (or just stick with the 4 panels). Miss-matched panels in the same array cause problems.

For additional help, we need more info on your system.  Describe where and how the controller is wired. Where are the loads wired to ?  What are the jumper settings ?  What did you set the potentiometers too ?  When it is supposed to be charging, what is the LED doing ?  The more info you provide, the more likely someone is to spot the glitch.

I realized after posting my question the LVD does not make any difference in charge control mode.
After reading some of the posts, I did take the Kyocera out of the mix and only have the Evergreen panels wired in now. Of course, the sun hasn't been shining here for 2 days so I haven't been able to see if I am getting any charge after my changes.
My jumper settings are for charge control mode, 24v and manual equalization. I have the potentiometers set on Bulk--28.0 and Float--26.0 as the manual recommended Bulk 26.0 to 30.0 and Float 25.0 to 29.0 for a 24v set up.
My panels are wired into the controller and then from the controller to the batteries. From the batteries I am wired into a Xantrex TR3624-120-60 Inverter/Charger. I don't have the funds yet to purchase a good generator(only have a portable one) so I don't have a generator wired into the inverter yet. When the sun is shining the LED just blinks green all the time.
Thanks for any ideas!
 
220 Posts
Mar 30, 2009 12:56 am
Re: Newbie needs help!


 sounds like you are on the right track..just a note here, when wiring up a series set of modules with those mc techno-wacko connectors it's very easy to get the polarity of the modules mixed up. we may want to double check with our meter.
 
351 Posts
Mar 30, 2009 12:28 pm
Re: Newbie needs help!

"I did take the Kyocera out of the mix and only have the Evergreen panels wired in now."

Just to cover all bases, I hope that means 4 panels, not 5.
Other than that, it sounds good. Let us know how the system works when you get some sun.  If it is still not charging, give us an update with the new voltage readings.
 
4 Posts
Mar 31, 2009 04:54 am
Re: Newbie needs help!

When I took the Kyocera out of the series I re-checked my volts and found I was getting 41 volts instead of the 24 I expected (since my panels are supposed to be 12v each) so I now have all 5 Evergreen panels wired into bus bars (one for pos and one for neg) and I am getting a reading of 20 to 22 volts on cloudy day and 25 volts when the sun shines. Hopefully today I will be able to tell if I am getting any charge.
 
578 Posts
Mar 31, 2009 02:15 pm
Re: Newbie needs help!

If you have 5 evergreen modules you will not be able to run a 24v system with that controller.

in order to make it work you will need to wire 2 evergreens in series (connect one module's negative to its partners positive {the closest ones if they are side by side}).  you will take the output of those two modules (voltage open circuit should be about 45 ish) and you will bring their output to a combiner box. positive goes through 20a din rail circuit breaker, negative goes to negative bus bar.  you will need an mc connector solarline 2 extension to go from your series connected pair to the combiner box. 

the other two will do the same thing. 

the output of the combiner box (the combiner should be right next to the array)  will be one positive, one negative, one equipment grounding conductor. 

that feeds into your dc load center.  your positive should go through a circuit breaker before the controller's pv + input.  between the controller's battery + output and the battery + busbar should be another circuit breaker.

the negative from the combiner goes to the pv negative on the controller. 

here is a list of products you will likely need to wire the components you have correctly.

http://store.altestore.com/Cables-Wiring/Wiring-For-Solar-Panels/30-MC2-Connector-10-AWG-MaleFemale/p5982/   x2

http://store.altestore.com/Enclosures-Electrical-and-Safety/Electrical-Enclosures/Combiner-Boxes/Midnite-Solar-MNPV6-Combiner-Box/p4566/

http://store.altestore.com/Enclosures-Electrical-and-Safety/Overcurrent-Devices-Fuses-Breakers/Circuit-Breakers/Outback-20-Amp-Din-Rail-Mount-Breaker/p5806/     x2

http://store.altestore.com/Enclosures-Electrical-and-Safety/Overcurrent-Devices-Fuses-Breakers/Circuit-Breakers/Xantrex-60A-160VDC-Panel-Mount-Breaker-for-XW/p6159/  x2 (to fit into your xandc175)

please call us if you need help, we would be glad to help with design and safe implementation advice for your components.

james
altE staff




AltE
"Making Renewable Do-able"
http://www.altEstore.com/

Tel: 877.878.4060 x107  or +1.978.562.5858 x107
Fax: 877.242.6718  or +1.978.562.5854
 
4 Posts
Apr 13, 2009 04:34 pm
Re: Newbie needs help!

I purchased and installed the items suggested but still I am not getting any charge to my battery bank. I checked all connections and got the expected readings. My charge controller still just blinks green and my battery charge never changes. I have checked my batteries and they are all good, they will charge when I use my automotive battery charger on them. Any ideas what I should do next? Thanks for any help you can offer.
 
Apr 13, 2009 06:16 pm
Re: Newbie needs help!

I would suspect that you might be reading open circuit voltage from your PV array that is possibly wired for 12 volts nominal. But you know better than to make that mistake. Right?

There is not much that is more difficult to do than troubleshooting a problem sight unseen and all by word of mouth. There are of course some exceptions to this. One of my duties as an electrician is troubleshooting industrial motor controls and machinery and without actually being there its difficult if not impossible to pinpoint the problem. But I'll try by going over what should be first.
Its a lot like being a detective looking for clues to catch a criminal.
http://www.mysterynet.com/holmes/
Process of elimination. If you can eliminate what it isn't then what is left must be what it is. Of course there are exceptions. Its not always Mrs. Mustard in the kitchen with a candle holder. 
Please don't take anything I write as an attack on you personally. It might "sound" that way but it is not intended that way. I don't know you personally so I can't know what your experiences are or what they are not, in the matter of electrical wiring practices. Do you have hand held multimeter?
http://www.nextag.com/400A-and-AC-DC-71818353/prices-html

Ok, first of all 5-210 watt and 1-130 watt PV modules all 12 volts nominal cannot be wired together readily for a successful 24 volt nominal PV array.
4 of the identical 210's can however simply by wiring them in series/parallel.
4 - 210 watt modules, I'll call them A,B,C and,D.
2 sets of 2 in series -
A neg. to B pos.
C neg. to D pos.
Then those 2 sets in parallel -
B neg. to D neg.
A pos. to C pos.
This will give you a 24 volt nominal array and there should be an open circuit voltage that is twice the rated amount for one 12 volt nominal PV module.

What you described about the charge controller sounds accurate. The blinking green LED can be misleading. It will blink 1, or 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, times in a row (depending on stage) then a very short pause and, it starts again. That pause can be hard to pick up on sometimes. Try counting out load.

With a multimeter check;
open circuit voltage of the PV array,
that any and all fuses and or breakers have continuity.

Be absolutely positive that polarity's are correct all the way thru and that all wire terminations are clean and tight and the wire insulation has been striped back sufficiently for all wire terminations.

Double check that wire sizes and types is sufficient for the circuits they are conducting.

If doing all of these things does not reveal the "culprit,"
I might dosconnect the monitor and rely on the multimeter to for a time.

Based on what I am reading in your posts about PV array circuit voltages and the number and type of PV modules, there are strong clues that point toward PV array series/parallel wiring being suspect.
 
7 Posts
Apr 13, 2009 07:28 pm
Re: Newbie needs help!

Make sure that the green reset button pops out completely on the c-60 controller.  I had that problem a few months ago, and it took days to figure it out.
 

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