HELP!!! Solar Not Charging

[monik7]

I went out to the storage today to run the engine on my RV. After I finished I started checking around and noticed the solar was not charging. My GFCI plugs also will not reset. The house battery meter shows 10.6. I also tried to start the generator and that didn’t work either. The propane meter shows it’s half full. I checked everything I could think of and cannot figure out what’s going on. I climbed a ladder and checked up on the roof and the wires to the solar panel were in place and seem to be plugged in

Does anybody have any suggestions of what’s going on? I got this solar panel three years ago after the one I had before it was stolen. At the same time I got two new batteries that are the type that don’t need water. I don’t know what else to check.
Sandi

[avalen]

Make sure you've turned on the disconnect,
When mine is parked for a couple weeks I turn off the disconnect switch so I don't get that phantom power drain,,, I went to start the generator the other day and forgot about the switch. I had nothing!!! Until I remembered to flip it back on. Don't know if any of this related to solar I was just throwing it out there.
I charge my batteries with the generator.

[monik7]

Make sure you've turned on the disconnect,
When mine is parked for a couple weeks I turn off the disconnect switch so I don't get that phantom power drain,,, I went to start the generator the other day and forgot about the switch. I had nothing!!! Until I remembered to flip it back on. Don't know if any of this related to solar I was just throwing it out there.
I charge my batteries with the generator.

When I got the solar I was told to leave that disconnect switch on so it could charge. I did turn it off and back on and that didn’t help at all.
Sandi

[Bethers]

I don't know why it's not charging, but your batteries are dead. Possibly the controller from the solar to batteries went bad or had a loose connection? But I don't see that explaining the gfci not resetting. Have you checked all you fuses? And, possibly, your converter has gone bad? Just throwing various things out there... But the batteries are dead. You'll need to take them in and get them fully charged... They may not completely recover.

And you need power from the batteries to start the generator. You could try starting the engine first and seeing if that allows the generator to start while the engine is running.

[monik7]

And you need power from the batteries to start the generator. You could try starting the engine first and seeing if that allows the generator to start while the engine is running.

I took the RV out and drove to about 15miles. The house batteries did go up a little, from 9.6 to 10.9. But the generator would not start while the engine was running or after returning from the drive.

How do I know if a fuse is bad? I checked all the circuit breakers and they all appeared on.
Sandi

[BirdbyBird]

My solar has a breaker. I found out about it last fall when I first had trouble with a bad controller that was suppose to work between when the generator is working or working off shore power. When. The repair man replaced that switch everything worked fine...but suddenly my solar no longer worked. I waited until I got back to FL last Winter and took it in to TRiam since they put the system in...... apparently there is a special breaker for the solar...hidden away behind one of the panels in the hall. Once they found were they had put it they flipped the switch and all was back on line. I made them show me how to find the switch.....

[Birdie]

Sandy, my batteries went south, bingo, just like that. Nothing would revive them. They were about three years old. Should not have died at that age but they did. But I was tripping every breaker I could find and both of my GFCI, plus flipped my inverter switch too. Only thing that fixed it was about $650! Best of luck.

[monik7]

My batteries are just short of four years old and they do have a five-year warranty. I took the RV out and drove it again and when I came back I checked the batteries and they only showed 9.5. I don’t know anything about a breaker so I’m not sure what to do. The thought of going all the way to Quartzsite is not very appealing. I did call them where they live in San Diego in the off-season and they gave me a couple things to try which I couldn’t figure out what they were talking about. I left some more messages for them plus an email but I haven’t heard back yet. They will not be in Quartzsite until about November 15 and I don’t know if they will be ready to take appointments then or not. Why does it always have to be something??
Sandi

[chalet05]

Sandi, both of my truck batteries just died all of a sudden - less than 4 years old. I'm told batteries don't have a long life expectancy these days. Perhaps take rig to auto store where they will test the batteries?

[Bethers]

Sandi, you'd have to drive for hours to replenish dead batteries. And the fact that they got so low, they'll probably never be the same. Is the warranty only good if you take them to Quartzsite? I would hope not. Then is it a full warranty or prorated each year?

[monik7]

Sandi, you'd have to drive for hours to replenish dead batteries. And the fact that they got so low, they'll probably never be the same. Is the warranty only good if you take them to Quartzsite? I would hope not. Then is it a full warranty or prorated each year?

I don’t know for sure but am guessing the warranty is prorated. I just got a call from Bill of Solar Bill’s and he told me a couple things to try tomorrow. He thinks the batteries will recharge. He told me to bring it to my house and plug it in using a 15 to 30 amp adapter. He said it would probably take all day. He also told me to take the screws out around the controller, pull it out and see if all the connections on the back are OK. Even though I checked this afternoon, he said to go back and check the connections to the panel that are on the roof. He said since the controller does show amps, hours, etc., that means the fuse is OK.

I have to take it in to the Mercedes dealer tomorrow for a recall on the passenger air bag (Takata) and I’ll try his suggestions when I get back. This kind of stuff makes me so nervous because I don’t understand most of it. If all fails, he said his technicians are already in Q and I could go before he gets there Nov. 15. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I’ll do it to get it fixed so I don’t have to worry about it.
Sandi

[Bethers]

I'm sure they'll charge. But total discharge of them means their lives have been shortened and they won't hold the charge as long. So keep a close eye on them.

[Birdie]

My information says if they are AGM and are discharged below 50% they are toast. Lead acid they can be charged but lose life expectancy.

[monik7]

Today has been a very tiring day. When I went to the storage the amps on the batteries read 11.0. That seems weird because when I left last night they were 9.5. I had turned off the house battery switch to protect from phantom draw, so I don’t know how they would have increased in amps. The controller still did not show it was charging. Anyway with the 11.0 I was able to start the generator and charge the batteries up to about 13.3. I found when I turned off the generator they dropped back down to 11.1. I spent quite a lot of time on the phone with the technician from the company that made the controller. He was really nice and walked me through some tests with a voltmeter. After doing that he does not think the problem is in the controller. So now he wants me to go up on the roof and try to use the voltmeter to check the two wires that come from the solar panel. So I’m going to try to do that tomorrow. If I can’t figure something out tomorrow to solve this I may leave on Thursday to go to Quartzsite. I’ll only do that though if Solar Bill’s can assure me their technicians will be in Quartzsite on Friday morning which is when I can be there. What a pain in the neck! The bright side is I was wishing I could think of somewhere to go in the RV. Looks like it will be Quartzsite. Hope this makes sense. I am sooo tired.
Sandi

[monik7]

Yesterday I went up on the roof and checked the wires coming from the solar panel with the voltmeter. I got no reading. So I’m wondering if that means for solar panel has gone bad. According to Bill from Solar Bill’s that doesn’t happen very often, but knowing my life it could happen to me. So now the plan is to go to Quartzsite when Bill and Donna get down there approximately November 15. Until then I’m going to go to storage often to make sure that the batteries stay up around 11. I have the house electrical turned off so there is no vampire draw while it’s sitting there. I guess we’ll see what happens.
Sandi