I've set up a Victron Solar Charge Controller 150/35 on my camper, connecting it to two 200-watt solar panels and a 12-volt Lifepo4 battery. Initially, the panels were outputting 36.8 volts, but the controller only sent less than 3 volts to the battery, which wasn't charging at all. I checked the voltages at multiple points: before the isolator, after it, and at the PV terminals on the controller, and they all matched up. Luckily, the system started working again, pumping out nearly 300 watts under partly cloudy conditions in Colorado. However, I'm worried about whether this is a controller issue since it hasn't charged my battery to 100%, even on the sunniest winter days. I've been following the battery manufacturer's guidelines for charge settings. Any advice would really help as I'm new to solar charging!
3 Answers
I had a similar issue before! I switched to expert mode and tweaked my absorption time to make sure I got a full charge out of my Victron 150/100. It worked wonders! You might want to try that and see if it helps you too.
https://preview.redd.it/iycudmtu49we1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8a3eed49a014299147bf96c4dce60bf91a32e75
Can you post a screenshot of the Victron start page? It would be helpful to see both the input and output voltages and amps to diagnose this better!
Have you considered sharing a screenshot of your settings? It might help to see the history graphs as well—showing battery volts and amps throughout the day could give some insight into what’s going on.
This morning the output was zero before noon, which was strange. Check it out!
https://preview.redd.it/m26r2hg5m2we1.png?width=768&format=png&auto=webp&s=e6ab5472bf8eb879336a85a6f3996b3c7e938ad5
Here are my settings. Looks like everything is set up correctly!
https://preview.redd.it/69oesja2m2we1.png?width=768&format=png&auto=webp&s=e44564db27bca76484dd87c981a9054a1924b378