Hey everyone! I'm just getting started with building solar power systems and I'm tackling a small project. I've got a 100W solar panel, a 10A multi-battery charge controller, and a 12V 10Ah battery, all powering a continuous 5W load (a pond pump). Initially, everything seemed fine: the battery connected to the charge controller lit up green, and the load light was on even before I hooked up the pump. The panel was showing the right voltage (about 20V), and I connected it to the charge controller. However, after about 28 hours, the pump stopped working. The charge controller showed that the battery was in undervoltage protection, and the panel light never turned on while I was monitoring it. Before I jump to conclusions about the charge controller being faulty, is there something I might be missing in my setup? Thanks for any help!
2 Answers
Good point about checking the current! If you're only getting voltage without the necessary current, the battery isn't going to charge properly. If you haven't already, ensure your connections are secure and there’s no corrosion or damage. Often, the issue can be as simple as a loose wire or poor connection. Since your load is hooked to the charge controller's output, keep an eye on the battery level; it might be worth testing the system with a fully charged battery to see if that changes anything!
It sounds like you're doing a lot of things right, but cloudy weather can definitely impact charging efficiency. If the solar panel is rated at 100W but you're only seeing lower voltages, it's possible it's not pushing enough current due to the weather conditions. You might want to try measuring the output current directly with a multimeter to see if it's providing enough amperage to charge your battery. Because your load was running off a smaller panel before, it's hard to say if your current setup is sufficient without more info on the panel's performance when it's cloudy.