Solar Panel

[Bob Bulot]

Great news! (I think).  Sounds like the panels and their connections are OK.  Also, the controller is seeing correct voltages at the connections.  The only problem is that there is no indication of current moving anywhere (including controller is cool to the touch).  Really think the problem’s in the controller.  More to follow. 

Thanks again for the help.  Drives me nuts until I can figure this stuff out....

[Joel Ashley]

If the batteries are fully charged I wouldn’t think you’d see any current.

[Bob Bulot]

I agree Joel.  But Aladdin has never shown any amps, regardless of the state of charge, which has been quite low on occasion. (Dry campers need blended margaritas too!)

[Bob Bulot]

Thanks Steve.  I bought a used Controller on line from Verone’s and just installed it.

With the old controller, the Aladdin read:   

                                                                   SOLAR:              Volts 23.7   Amps: 0
                                                                   HOUSE BAT:       Volts 13.2   Amps  0

These readings were with the coach not plugged in and the generator not running.  The batteries show float charging at 12.3volts  No matter the state of charge, these numbers never changed .

With the new controller,  the Aladdin reads:

                                                                SOLAR:              Volts23.4 to 24.5.        Amps:0
                                                                HOUSE BAT:       Volts:  12.3 to 15.5      Amps: 1-2       
Although the Solar Amps still read “0”, the other readings are now constantly changing. Still not sure why Solar shows 0 Amps, even though House Bat shows a 1-2 amp current. Still seems like an improvement. 

[Bill Lampkin]

Bob, How many panels do you have? I have one 100w panel on my 05 PT. Multiple panels in parallel will add their voltages, ie, 4x24v panels in parallel will read 96v at the controller input!!

[Bill Lampkin]

Correction, In parallel, current adds, voltage stays  the same. My bad!!

[Bob Bulot]

There are two panels on the roof.  Together, the put out ~24 volts at the controller.

The confusion (mostly in my mind) arose becaus the above schematic on the 2006 Marquis Wiring Diagram shows four panels, each identified as “AM100 (RV98U)”. The 4 panels are connected to each other in parallel,  by 12/2 cables at  a “combiner” which then ships the power by red and black 8ga wires to the controllers.

The 2006 brochure, and my build sheet, both show 2 100 watt panels.  Nether shows additional panels as options, so who knows.  in any event, as you say, the number of solar panels would not change the voltage, which must be a max of 24 volts each. 

[Bill Lampkin]

Bob, Are you going to replace your controller to see if that fixes it?

[Bob Bulot]

Yes Bill, I replaced it.  It seems to have made a difference.  Mostly, the voltage and amperage readings on the Aladdin electrical screen are now updating where, with the old controller, they were frozen.  As noted above, the Amp reading on the Solar line still reads “0”, but the Amp readout on the House Bat line now shows 1 or 2 amps charging with everything unplugged and turned off.

I’m wondering, though, whether anyone else ever gets a positive amperage reading On the Solar line? 

The voltage on the Solar line now updates regularly from around the current state of charge shown on the Magnum (around 12.7 volts) up to as much as 16 volts, at times.

[Jim Edwards]

Hi yes there is a solar current sensor for the Aladdin (at least in mine) I read both positive voltage and current. I would check the calibration in the Aladdin and verify the sensor is on the wire. You would need a DC current meter to calibrate this. Please note that many of the "clip on " current meters do NOT read DC current. A must for this calibration. The sensor is a small ring around the solar panel wires with a single wire attached. Let me know if you need the Aladdin calibration stuff. Good luck

[Bob Bulot]

Thanks Jim.  I had a suspicion that I have two problems with this system.  I’ll check the ring. 

Are the current numbers on the solar line and House Bat line the same when everything is off (i.e. No additional drain or charge source)? If I’m seeing things right, the Amp reading on the Solar line is how much current is moving from the panels into the controller, and the Amp reading on the House Bat line measures the current on the back end from the controller into the batteries.  Is this correct?

[Bill Lampkin]

Bob, If your rig is plugged into shore power, then you won't see current going to the batteries from the solar, as the battery voltage is high enough to indicate that no charge is needed. Try disconnecting from shore power for a few hours, and watch to see if the solar current starts going up. On my Beaver, my 'idle current' is about 8 amps, so it shouldn't take too long for you to see some current from the solar. Of course, don't allow your gen to kick on during this test.

Let us know how it goes........

[Jim Edwards]

In answer to your question, maybe. If you are reading 22 v it looks like they wired it to give you the solar panel output it the controller rather than the controller output to the batteries, so current reading would be less on the solar side than on the battery side. The controller, if of good quality, should be converting the 22v from the solar panels to around 14v to charge the batteries. So as voltage goes down current would go up less any loss in the controller. (power = (voltage x current)-controller loss)

If the coach is drawing 12v current from the house batteries and the inverter charger is off and the coach engine or generator is off I would suspect that you should see some current on the solar side (daytime). Also to remember, is that as the controller is able to use more of the power supplied by the panels voltage will go down and current will go up. I just grabbed a genneric 100 wand attached the data sheet. On page 2 you will see a I-V curve. ( current voltage) so if you are seeing 22v there would be no demand for currrent by the controller on the system and the solar current on the aladdin should be zero.
Hopefully this will help rather than getting into the weeds.   

[Bob Bulot]

Excellent, Jim.  Perhaps I won’t see any current on the Solar side until the batteries are a little more depleted.  If I understand, the presence of around 23-4 volts at the panel indicates that the controller isn’t placing any demand for current on the panels.

[Jim Edwards]

Yes assuming all is operating, calibrated and connected. But remember, the inverter charger, when generator or shore is connected is also pushing power to charge the batteries unless it is shut off. 

Best Jim