Hey everyone! I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to solar energy, but I've got some knowledge about the devices involved. My parents bought a standalone solar panel along with a battery. The solar panel has a built-in charge controller with connections for both the panel and the battery. The issue is that they might have connected the charge controller without hooking up the battery first while the panel was still in the sun. Now I'm trying to fix this mess. When everything is connected properly, the charge controller is throwing error codes. Could it be damaged? What can I check to investigate this situation? I'll grab a multimeter to help diagnose, but I'd love any tips in the meantime!
2 Answers
I agree with GreenThumb88. The manual might not give you all the answers, but it can guide you. If you've already exhausted the manual troubleshooting, you could try testing the output with a multimeter once you get one—this could let you know if the controller is working at all.
Yes, connecting the solar panel to the charge controller before the battery can potentially damage the controller. I’d recommend checking the manual for your charge controller, it usually has troubleshooting steps. It’s pretty common for it to show error codes if something’s not right. Just be careful with the connections!