solar connections? (1 Viewer)

[friar tuck]

Hi everyone i ve just aquired a solar kit off of ebay and am about to fit it but the 10 amp controller has a little wiring diagram that make no sense to me :Sad:
i dont regard myself as a complete numpty with wiring ,i was an electrician many years ago in a former life,but these chinese people dont speak my language when it comes to explaining how towire this thing in.
Any help would be gratefully received ,iknow i will get i told you so's saying dont buy chinese but they fooled me with a uk distribution address.
I cant upload a piccy but heres what to look for on ebay 190688484129 is the item number.
many thanks

 

[Wildman]

Hi Not easy to see from that picture. however there are normally 6 connections
+ - Solar panel (often shown with a smal solar panel)
+- Battery (often showing a battery)
+ - load (usually shown as a light bulb)
there may be an extra connection for type of battery gel or lead acid which involves inserting or removing a link between that connection and bat + it affects the charge rate/float charge level).
The load is a switched load controlled by the controller that will disconnect if the battery drops too low. It is the preferable way to connect a load. however it will work (with less protection) just using the basic 4 cables. Panel and battery.
Without a better picture or specific type of controller it is not possible to give more precise instructions sorry. Good luck
PS use heavy gauge wire to prevent losses.

 

[friar tuck]

Hi Wildman thanks for the reply. the controller has 4 wires only.
a +- showing panel then a pic of abattery showing a - only then a symbol of a bulb with a - only !!!!!! theres a fifth very small wire which is an ambient temp sensor.

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[Wildman]

just connect the 4 wires solar + -
Battery + - if the battery terminals are not marked check the output with a multimeter to make sure you get the wires the right way round, you can safely ignore the temp sensor if it is not supplied. You will end up with a charge system that protects your batteries from overcharging but not from excess use.
whilst it only has 4 wires the connections are thereto add a load. the markings are just so you know which wire is which of that particular pair and they chose to mark the neg rather than the pos.

 

[freelanderuk]

don't forget to connect the battery first

 

[friar tuck]

many thanks for the replys,ive tested the outputs from the controller and found if i measure between the live panel input and the neg battery i get 17volts and between live and load terminal 14.8v all in all ive decided to buy one with more straight forward connections ie plus and neg for battery and panel.
thanks for the advice.
anyone want a dodgy looking chinese controller:Nowink:

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[pappajohn]

many thanks for the replys,ive tested the outputs from the controller and found if i measure between the live panel input and the neg battery i get 17volts and between live and load terminal 14.8v all in all ive decided to buy one with more straight forward connections ie plus and neg for battery and panel.
thanks for the advice.
anyone want a dodgy looking chinese controller:Nowink:

that has to be the worst install diagram ever.

makes no sense whatsoever to me....one pos and three negs

i'm sure the pos and neg symbols are reversed and should be one neg (common with panel & battery neg) and a pos (from the panel) and two pos outputs, one to battery and one to minor load (lamp)

Broken Link Removed

 

[friar tuck]

Broken Link Removedhi got word back from the manufacturer they say to wire as this???!! which means all the switching and control is on the negative side,complete opposite to how i was taught.
i think i will replace the unit with another as i dont like the idea of all the switching that way.
thanks for the advice
:thumb: