MT50 - what is it showing me ??? (1 Viewer)

[moggyg]

Hi all again.

I have installed my 120w solar panel today and all looks well. I also have a MT50 display that plugs into the charge controller to display some stuff. What is the stuff telling me? Can any of you explain in plain english?

Earlier today when the sun was out (yes it was sunny in Scotland today) the panel showed 2.0A and battery showed 2.0A or it was maybe 0.2A and 0.2A......

Cheers
Marco

 

[pappajohn]

Left of screen is panel voltage and output amps
Center is battery voltage and input (charge) amps
Ignore right of screen....it's a low power switched power outlet from the controller.

Must be dark.......no charge.
Strange though it's showing 13.7v at the panel....if it is dark it should be 0.00v

 

[moggyg]

Left of screen is panel voltage and output amps
Center is battery voltage and input (charge) amps

Must be dark.......no charge.
Strange though it's showing 13.7v at the panel....if it is dark it should be 0.00v

Thanks, It is not quite dark yet but van is now tucked in behind house. I will check again when totally dark.

Ignore right of screen....it's a low power switched power outlet from the controller.

I have seen the connectors on the charge controller for load. What can you "load" and do people usually just leave these blank?

Marco

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[moggyg]

Almost dark now and showing 1.2volts on the panel

Marco

 

[pappajohn]

I have seen the connectors on the charge controller for load. What can you "load" and do people usually just leave these blank?

If I understand correctly the connection could be used for anything which doesn't need much power.....cupboard lights, locker lights etc.
I've never used it yet.

 

[Freespirit1]

I've wired a 12v socket to mine next to bed for charging my phone - you can program it to come on and off at whatever time you want or just switch it on and off manually by pressing the "ok" button.

13.7v is the actual voltage input to the controller from the solar panel and will vary as light / sun falls on it.0.0A means it's not generating any current. Also there is not an arrow showing it's not charging.

0.0 A below the 12.8v is showing the actual charge rate to the battery.

12.8v is the actual voltage of your leisure battery which is showing less than half charged on the battery mimic.

If you use the aux load the voyage will be shown which should be the same as the battery voltage - the current that the load is taking will also be shown.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[moggyg]

I've wired a 12v socket to mine next to bed for charging my phone - you can program it to come on and off at whatever time you want or just switch it on and off manually by pressing the "ok" button.

Cheers @Freespirit1 and I assume this 12v power comes from battery or straight from solar panel?

Cheers

 

[klaatu]

Pretty clever that it knows you’re a funster

 

[DBK]

Hi all again.

I have installed my 120w solar panel today and all looks well. I also have a MT50 display that plugs into the charge controller to display some stuff. What is the stuff telling me? Can any of you explain in plain english?

View attachment 195839

Earlier today when the sun was out (yes it was sunny in Scotland today) the panel showed 2.0A and battery showed 2.0A or it was maybe 0.2A and 0.2A......

Cheers
Marco

Keep an eye on the battery symbol over the next day or so. It is likely the black bit at the bottom will rise and completely fill the symbol, indicating the battery is fully charged. The problem, if this is how it functions, is what does it mean if it disappears completely? Is it then discharged to the point of damage or discharged to say 50% which is generally regarded as the normal safe point to discharge them to?
A look on eBay revealed there are panels being sold with instruction booklets - it would be worth trying to get one.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Freespirit1]

Cheers @Freespirit1 and I assume this 12v power comes from battery or straight from solar panel?

Cheers

It comes from the battery but the controller can override the output if it sees that the battery is not being charged sufficiently - therefore switches it off to conserve power.

The handbook will tell you the max load you can take from this auxilary output and you should put an appropriate fuse in line with it

 

[DBK]

The 12 volt load terminals on some controllers will be shut off if the battery voltage drops down too far. This prevents the batteries being totally exhausted running something non-essential. The Victron ones do this but I can't say they all do.