Sargent main 12 v board

[Skyway]

Hi
It keep switching off all the time only in day time fine at night
And we are using the same things as day time strange ?
anyone go idea what to check please?

 

[tonka]

Do you have solar ??
If yes, maybe an issue with the voltage off the panel and its tripping out when solar panel is generating.
Only a suggestion, no others ideas.

Try a phone call to Sargent, they are usually very helpful.

 

[Skyway]

Hi yes have Solar and it has just started since it’s been sunny so you could be right what can I do to isolate this problem to see if it is the solar

 

[GeoffnDee]

If there is a fuse for the solar you could remove it or if you are parked up are you able to cover up the solar panel with card / carpet or similar (if you can get to it) . The Sargent PSU unit switches off if the voltage gets above 15.5 volts which you may see on your display and this could happen ,as Tonka said, if the solar controller is faulty.
You could also disconnect the controller but it may be built into the PSU depending on which model you have EC450/500/600 etc.
If the leisure battery has been disconnected recently and not reconnected in the correct order this could also be a possible cause of overcharging , depending on the type of solar controller fitted.

 

[Skyway]

Hi the panel been on for the last hour now it must be getting less sun so I think your both right but the board say this in pic now

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[Skyway]

I not touch the leisure battery at all

 

[Skyway]

I have the ec480 digital control panel

 

[Skyway]

And the controller

 

[TCG]

On the EC480 go to the home screen the one with the Autotrail logo .then press both the up and down arrows at the same time.hold till you hear a bleep.this will take you to the settings menu. Scroll through using the up/ down arrows until you come to the solar settings ..then turn off the solar. And see if that cures the problem. If so you know it's your controller

 

[GeoffnDee]

You could disconnect the solar panel from that controller , either one of the centre terminals would do it, and then if the problem stops it would indicate a faulty controller allowing excess voltage into the system. Either cover the panel or do it after dark if you are not happy to disconnect a live terminal (about 20 volts when solar operating)
Just seen the @TGC reply , which would be a much easier / safer way ,if it turns the solar off , to confirm the problem.

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[Skyway]

On the EC480 go to the home screen the one with the Autotrail logo .then press both the up and down arrows at the same time.hold till you hear a bleep.this will take you to the settings menu. Scroll through using the up/ down arrows until you come to the solar settings ..then turn off the solar. And see if that cures the problem. If so you know it's your controller

I done that but only give me an option off smart
Leisure
Vehicle

 

[Diabalo]

You can't shut it off on the control panel you need to disconnect the solar charger and replace with a better model. I had the exact same problem.

 

[GeoffnDee]

If ,as I suspect , you have a PSU EC500 unit to go with the Ec480 display it would have an inbuilt solar controller which has not been used and a separate split battery charge controller used with your solar panel (s) set up, not a problem, but I wonder if this would effect the ability to turn them off at the control panel ?

 

[Skyway]

If ,as I suspect , you have a PSU EC500 unit to go with the Ec480 display it would have an inbuilt solar controller which has not been used and a separate split battery charge controller used with your solar panel (s) set up, not a problem, but I wonder if this would effect the ability to turn them off at the control panel ?

I do have a pay ec500 correct

 

[GeoffnDee]

Is there any sign of a fuse or switch that you can remove / turn off on the solar input cables (the ones connected to your controller at the centre terminals that link the solar panel to it) if not you may have to try disconnection as suggested if you are ok with this. (or covering them if you are not moving about for now)

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[Skyway]

Hi your all right it is the Solar as it wasn’t sunny this morning up to 1 o’clock and it was working fine soon as the Sun came out and started tripping now the Sun is gone back in it’s fine thanks very much now just need to sort out a new controller you believe it is yes the black box that I showed you where the wires go in and get a better model

 

[Diabalo]

Yes correct the black box with the wires, as GeoffnDee said it looks like yours has been modified as the solar controller is normally fitted in the Sargent EC500 power supply unit (PSU)

 

[GeoffnDee]

Your control panel probably showed a high battery voltage reading before the system shut down which would have confirmed that excess voltage was being the cause of the problem , yes the black box is the controller and it is a duel charging version which means it splits the solar charging between both the leisure and starter batteries. (some types of controllers only send the charge to either the leisure battery or the starter battery but not both). It may have been used instead of the EC500 built in controller as they are limited to 120 watt solar panels max. (or possibly as a replacement for a faulty built in one)
When the solar controller is replaced it is important that the batteries are wired to it before the solar panel wiring connections are made to it. (this is so that the solar controller knows it is operating with a 12 volt system)

 

[Skyway]

So can I just buy a Victron solar controller and wire it up as you say with the batteries first wires and then the solar wires just direct replacement

 

[Skyway]

?

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[Diabalo]

Yes but as said above if your current one is dual so charging 2 batteries you will need a Victron one capable of doing the same.

 

[GeoffnDee]

As Diabalo has said ,You need a controller that has duel battery outputs , the one you have shown is for a single battery output, the other output from it is a load output which is not used for charging batteries. I expect that Victron do one with duel battery output .
I cannot recommend a particular controller myself as my set up is using a single output controller, and I do not know enough about the different types and makes of controllers '

 

[Skyway]

 

[GeoffnDee]

I think that is ok, you will just need to swop the wires over ,batteries first , then solar, but you may need to set it first to match the battery type you have fitted, its fitting instructions should tell you how to do this, if needed, along with setting the % charge to each battery (if it has this feature)
Change the battery connection wires one at a time to avoid them touching each other .

 

[Skyway]

Thanks
So my one is broke of just cheap ?

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[GeoffnDee]

I dont really know , as I do not know anything about whatever is inside them , but I would think maybe it has just gone faulty, possibly due to cheaper components if it was a less expensive model ?

 

[Skyway]

Just ordered this so fingers cross it will work

 

[Skyway]

I think the old one was 20a so should be ok ?

 

[Skyway]

Your control panel probably showed a high battery voltage reading before the system shut down which would have confirmed that excess voltage was being the cause of the problem , yes the black box is the controller and it is a duel charging version which means it splits the solar charging between both the leisure and starter batteries. (some types of controllers only send the charge to either the leisure battery or the starter battery but not both). It may have been used instead of the EC500 built in controller as they are limited to 120 watt solar panels max. (or possibly as a replacement for a faulty built in one)
When the solar controller is replaced it is important that the batteries are wired to it before the solar panel wiring connections are made to it. (this is so that the solar controller knows it is operating with a 12 volt system)

Right I got my panel today going to wire it in like for like to the old one
So I only swap over battery like for like then solar last and that’s it ?

 

[GeoffnDee]

Yes ,but you may have to set the controller to your battery type and how much % of solar power you want to go to the starter or leisure batteries before connecting anything to it.
Hopefully there is this settings information with the new controller

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