Solar cells not charging Hab. Batt (1 Viewer)

[Saltings]

Here we go again!
Have had Chasson C626 Flash serviced & fully charged Hab. Batt. added. Power dropped to 12.3v overnight when not in use so controller showed orange, was previously flashing green. The motor battery is a continuous green on the controller.

Charges up no probs when connected to the mains supply.

Solar cells show 21v at the controller which is fine, but do not seem to keep the hab. battery topped up. They did in 2015 but since summer of 2016 have not done so. Motor battery looses a little over 3-4 weeks so I top that up with my Cetek charger.

Leaving the UK on a 2,000 mile ride in three weeks so urgently need to find the problem with the cells.
Cheers
Langton

 

[Flamenca]

I am a little confused about what you say (not unusual for me). I do not know whether you have a dual battery controller. I had a similar situation and found that one side of the dual controller had failed. I replaced it with a single circuit controller and fitted a diode to the supply to the battery circuit. I know many people will jump in and talk about the voltage drop on a diode but that only occurs at high amps. My battery 'charge' voltage sits at 14.1 volts and the domestic bank is charged. I know others will mention 'gassing' but my engine battery is now 8 years old so what the heck.

 

[Lenny HB]

"21 volts at the controller" that sounds like thevoltagee on the input side of the controller with no load, i.e. batteries not taking any charge.
If the controller is working I would expect to to 16 to 18 volts on the input and the output voltage should gradually rise as the batteries charge to 14.4 volts.

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[funflair]

I can't argue with anything Lenny says above SO do you have a fuse between output of controller and battery, check the voltage at the controller output and if it is exactly the same as the battery you can continuity in the wire and it might be time for a new controller.

Martin

 

[Saltings]

Hi
Chris, to answer your question first, it is a "newi'sh" dual controller put in July 2015 so I am able to check the voltage from the solar cells, the main battery and the habitation battery.

Lenny, that is the voltage coming from the solar cells so far as I can ascertain from the position of the wires in the Solar Controller.

Martin - not certain what you mean by "as the battery you can continuity in the wire". I am charging the Habitation Battery tonight with leads going directly to the terminals using the extra wires that came with the Cetek Charger which I keep bolted to the terminals for emergency situations like this. When fully charged I will measure the voltage at the terminals and compare this with that measured on the Solar Controller.

Only thought I have is that the habitation battery installed is dud one and seems to run down exceedingly quickly. Alternatively we have got something drinking the juice out of the batteries. According to the service technician we should drive the motor home at least once a month all year round and not use the Clarion NX502E to navigate with! Mind you never had this problem between summer 2015 to summer 2016 when the solar cells kept everything fully charged, but we did use it in late Oct. 2015 and May, 2016.

Thanks guys for the tips and coming out of retirement to answer!!

 

[Lenny HB]

What has the stereo (NX502e) got to do with it?
I've got one brilliant piece of kit.

No point in charging the batteries overnight if you are trying to fault find the solar charging. Best to leave the batteries partly discharged and as it gets light at 4am I would either cover the solar panels or disconnect them until you are ready to take some measurements.

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[funflair]

Hi
Martin - not certain what you mean by "as the battery you can continuity in the wire". I am charging the Habitation Battery tonight with leads going directly to the terminals using the extra wires that came with the Cetek Charger which I keep bolted to the terminals for emergency situations like this. When fully charged I will measure the voltage at the terminals and compare this with that measured on the Solar Controller.

Sorry I was trying to say that if you check the voltage at both ends of the wire to the battery, so at the battery and at the controller if these voltages are the same it would suggest that the wire (and fuse if there is one) to the battery is OK and you are looking for another problem. What voltage does the leisure battery show during the day vs at night if its higher during the day it suggest that the solar is working.

OK reading your original post again, does the hab battery voltage drop to 12.3 overnight (without any use) after being fully charged, by fully charged I mean showing 12.7 volts after an hour without charge from a charger or solar.


Martin

 

[Saltings]

Hi Lenny

Apparently the Clarion drains the battery - this seems a bit like a technician clutching for straws.
Cheers
Saltings

 

[Lenny HB]

Hi Lenny

Apparently the Clarion drains the battery - this seems a bit like a technician clutching for straws.
Cheers
Saltings

Minimal current when off just to keep the memory, when running draws about 2 amps. I wired mine to the habitation electrics so its powered by the leisure batteries, a standard installation it would be wired to the engine battery.

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[Saltings]

We have one big problem in measuring at each end of the wire, which I understand now. The driver's seat sits on top of the Hab. Battery - great design! I can measure the voltage on the pos+ wire that I have had attached to the battery terminal as well as on the Solar controller. Can also try it in the evening as well as in full sun.

 

[funflair]

We have one big problem in measuring at each end of the wire, which I understand now. The driver's seat sits on top of the Hab. Battery - great design! I can measure the voltage on the pos+ wire that I have had attached to the battery terminal as well as on the Solar controller. Can also try it in the evening as well as in full sun.

That will be good enough

Martin

 

[Saltings]

If ours is wired to the motor battery (?) that is fine as I keep that topped up on a regular basis with the mains

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[Lenny HB]

Leave the batteries partly discharged preferably with no solar as I suggested eairler.
Then tomorrow with solar connected measure both the input and output voltage on the regulator. Then measure the battery voltage you can do this at any 12v socket in the van it should be the as the output from the regulator.

 

[Saltings]

Hi Lenny

To sound like a real "thickie" which is the input and which is the output on the regulator. By regulator can I assume you are referring to the solar controller? By the way our controller is from RS (Stock no 905-4532) STCC 10A 10 A Dual Battery Solar Charge Controller. Picture of this on Google so you can view the 6 terminals - 2 from Solar cells, 2 for main battery and two for habitation battery - going from L to R.

 

[funflair]

Hi Lenny

To sound like a real "thickie" which is the input and which is the output on the regulator. By regulator can I assume you are referring to the solar controller? By the way our controller is from RS (Stock no 905-4532) STCC 10A 10 A Dual Battery Solar Charge Controller. Picture of this on Google so you can view the 6 terminals - 2 from Solar cells, 2 for main battery and two for habitation battery - going from L to R.

Hope Lenny doesn't mind me jumping in

The "regulator" is the "solar controller" same thing, the input is from the solar panels and the output goes to the batteries not from the batteries, that's why they call it output

Martin

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[Saltings]

Lenny - like your P.S. have the same problem! spend most of the time b.. about trying to solve motor home probs. whilst I should be working. As someone with more experience of this business than us does this bill sound realistic to you? (all prices ex VAT)
Hab Check: 180.00
Re: Fiat Ducato motor charges:
MOT: £54.00
Air Filter: £25.08
Oil filter: £21.05
Fog Light bulb (1 off): £2.90
2 hrs mechanical service labour @82.50 p.h. Total mechanical service labour:£165.00
Engine oil: £26.13
Sundries: £4.50
Screenwash: £1.50
(I topped this up the day before the service!)
Replace roof mechanism (from Chasson); £89.00*
Replace bathroom sink cartridge: £11.66*
Replace hab. battery with one supplied by us*
Labour for these three items marked* 3.50 hrs @ £60.00 p.h. total habitation labour: £210.00

Comes to a tidy total of £790.82 + VAT

So I am still lying on the floor. In addition they left blood stains on three bunks and flooded the floor whilst changing the tap cartridge. The latter has caused lines to appear in the floor just to add to the probs.!

Mind you the agent kindly informed us he was just off to buy his Lamborghini.!

 

[Saltings]

Hi Martin and Jen

Thanks for your note. In that case the input must be the two terminals on the LHS which normally read 21v in the sun. But where do I read the output?

Cheers from the Plank - never was good at physics!

 

[Lenny HB]

Lenny - like your P.S. have the same problem! spend most of the time b.. about trying to solve motor home probs. whilst I should be working. As someone with more experience of this business than us does this bill sound realistic to you? (all prices ex VAT)
Hab Check: 180.00
Re: Fiat Ducato motor charges:
MOT: £54.00
Air Filter: £25.08
Oil filter: £21.05
Fog Light bulb (1 off): £2.90
2 hrs mechanical service labour @82.50 p.h. Total mechanical service labour:£165.00
Engine oil: £26.13
Sundries: £4.50
Screenwash: £1.50
(I topped this up the day before the service!)
Replace roof mechanism (from Chasson); £89.00*
Replace bathroom sink cartridge: £11.66*
Replace hab. battery with one supplied by us*
Labour for these three items marked* 3.50 hrs @ £60.00 p.h. total habitation labour: £210.00

Comes to a tidy total of £790.82 + VAT

So I am still lying on the floor. In addition they left blood stains on three bunks and flooded the floor whilst changing the tap cartridge. The latter has caused lines to appear in the floor just to add to the probs.!

Mind you the agent kindly informed us he was just off to buy his Lamborghini.!

Blimey that's a lot of dosh, I use a local independant for motor service, first service not due for 2 years so I wait until it's out of warranty at 2 years, £120 for light service (£40/hour), sold last van before MOT was due previous van I think it was £42 at local independant (interestingly booked car in for service and MOT yesterday, they wanted £58 for MOT after a haggle £40 this is at a main dealer).
Never had a habitation check on a van I can do a better job myself, damp check is €60 in Belgium or £125 in UK. Any repairs on the hab side I do myself most thigs on Motorhomes are simple just needs time and thought. You might like to have a browse of this thread I started.

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[Lenny HB]

Hi Martin and Jen

Thanks for your note. In that case the input must be the two terminals on the LHS which normally read 21v in the sun. But where do I read the output?

Cheers from the Plank - never was good at physics!

I have assumed Battery 1 is hab battery, check instructions.

 

[Lenny HB]

Mind you the agent kindly informed us he was just off to buy his Lamborghini.!

Paid for by mugs.

 

[Saltings]

Cheers Lenny
That's an understatement!

As we had so many probs. with electrics and it required an MOT we thought we would use the Chasson dealer. Turns out they were just as bad, if not worse than the cowboys we bought it from. They even said that the floor that they damaged was like it prior to them flooding it!.

What motor do you have? I had thought of using our normal garage where we take the car as they are very reasonable. Next year will definitely do that for the next MOT. Trouble with the Chasson is that unless you use their dealer the Habitation warranty becomes invalid!

Will try to learn as much as poss from this site so I can do the internals wherever possible. Otherwise I have a feeling we may be parting company
Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

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[Lenny HB]

What motor do you have? I had thought of using our normal garage where we take the car as they are very reasonable. Next year will definitely do that for the next MOT. Trouble with the Chasson is that unless you use their dealer the Habitation warranty becomes invalid!

2017 Hymer B678 Dynamic Line on Maxi chassis (4500kg) with Fiat 2.3 150hp Comformatic.

Car dealer probably won't have height for your van for an MOT & if over 3500kg ramps & rolling road may not be suitable.

 

[Saltings]

Yup, reckon we now have a share in some Italian car too.

Going from the diagram you posted, input from panels is correct. Next two terminals (center ones) I think are for the motor battery and the ones on the right for the hab. battery.

 

[Saltings]

Re: our normal car mechanic. Thanks will bear that in mind when searching in 12 months time.

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[Lenny HB]

Yup, reckon we now have a share in some Italian car too.

Going from the diagram you posted, input from panels is correct. Next two terminals (center ones) I think are for the motor battery and the ones on the right for the hab. battery.

Just had a look at the data sheet, batt 1 (centre pair) should be the habition battery. Needs to be corect way round as it charges battery 1 to 70% then charges both. If you rely on solar it would be worth investing in a decent contoller.

 

[Saltings]

When you say decent controller what do you recommend?

 

[Lenny HB]

I use, it is only single output so I have a to feed the starter battery. The victron units are highly rated but to get the best out of them they take a bit of setting using a computer & good old DOS.

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[Saltings]

Additionally what do you include in your light service?

 

[Saltings]

Thanks for that info re your controller. I assume that as it is a single output you have to use the CSB2 split charge relay to charge motor and habitation batteries? Why the necessity for using DOS. I would prefer a dual controller as this would take away the necessity for the CSB2 split charge relay.

Maybe you should right a thread aimed at Mr Average as I reckon the number that have your skills is pretty limited!

 

[Lenny HB]

Additionally what do you include in your light service?

Oil & filter change, check brakes, handbrake (adjust if required) etc., extra £20 to grease Al-Ko chassis.

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