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Old 05-12-2018, 06:33 AM   #1
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Go Power! Solar guestion

I have a 200 watt Go Power! solar system with a 30 amp controller. The controller will read the battery volts and percent of charge but not the volts/watts coming from the panel. As far as I can remember it has never shown the watts. I did a quick check with a test light and there is power coming from the positive wire of the panel to the controler. Is my controler bad? Not real savvy with this whole solar business so any advice would be helpful. It's on a 2015 F285 gslr toy hauler.

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Old 05-12-2018, 06:38 AM   #2
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What is the voltage on the output of the controller when the sun is hitting your panels?
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Old 05-12-2018, 06:45 AM   #3
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On the control panel it read 12.3. Today it is supposed to sunny and warm all day here in the pacific northwest so I should be able to get a pretty accurate reading.
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Old 05-12-2018, 07:25 AM   #4
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Well, wait for the sun to come up. 12.3, of course, is your battery bank with nothing going in...since it's dark.
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Old 05-12-2018, 07:34 AM   #5
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That was yesterday afternoon around 6:00. But will check after work around 2:00.
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Old 05-12-2018, 12:47 PM   #6
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I have a 200 watt Go Power! solar system with a 30 amp controller. The controller will read the battery volts and percent of charge but not the volts/watts coming from the panel. As far as I can remember it has never shown the watts. I did a quick check with a test light and there is power coming from the positive wire of the panel to the controler. Is my controler bad? Not real savvy with this whole solar business so any advice would be helpful. It's on a 2015 F285 gslr toy hauler.

Thanks!


We have nearly identical rigs (2016 Shockwave F28SAGDX), and I think we have same controller. Assuming so, it also reads Amps going into battery. But the controller doesn't just dump all available Amps into the battery; it gauges the charge state of the battery and charges at appropriate level (up to available amperage given the panel's output). In pics below my batteries are fully charged so it is showing zero amps even though the panels are in nearly full sunlight. I have two flooded cell batteries in parallel which are charged/maintained as one by the controller. Click image for larger version

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Old 05-12-2018, 01:54 PM   #7
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The issue here is volts, not amps. Amps depends on the state of the battery bank, volts depends on the panels and the health of the controller.
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Old 05-12-2018, 01:56 PM   #8
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Mine shows volts, percentage of charge and amps. No watts.
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Old 05-12-2018, 01:59 PM   #9
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Mine shows volts, percentage of charge and amps. No watts.
That is correct. I ment amps not watts.
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Old 05-12-2018, 02:08 PM   #10
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I have 305 amp panels and like them a lot. Also use AGM bats.
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Old 05-12-2018, 02:46 PM   #11
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I have a 200 watt Go Power! solar system with a 30 amp controller. The controller will read the battery volts and percent of charge but not the volts/watts coming from the panel. As far as I can remember it has never shown the watts. I did a quick check with a test light and there is power coming from the positive wire of the panel to the controler. Is my controler bad? Not real savvy with this whole solar business so any advice would be helpful. It's on a 2015 F285 gslr toy hauler.

Thanks!
I just installed a 200 watt Renogy system and mine puts out around 21 volts when the sun is out. I think you really need a multimeter rather than a test light to troubleshoot your system. Best wishes hope you get it figured out, I'm really pleased with mine.
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Old 05-12-2018, 03:18 PM   #12
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I have a multimeter. Just didn't have time to check it yesterday. The test light was just to see if i had anything coming from the panel.
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Old 05-12-2018, 03:35 PM   #13
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I have a 200 watt Go Power! solar system with a 30 amp controller. The controller will read the battery volts and percent of charge but not the volts/watts coming from the panel. As far as I can remember it has never shown the watts. I did a quick check with a test light and there is power coming from the positive wire of the panel to the controler. Is my controler bad? Not real savvy with this whole solar business so any advice would be helpful. It's on a 2015 F285 gslr toy hauler.

Thanks!
It shows you the charge rate in. Amps. Also gyou can for sure run 500 watts of panels through it and probably get away with 600. What with actual output being less than max 99% of the time.
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Old 05-12-2018, 04:49 PM   #14
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OK, a few corrections to the thought process.

Amps or watts are simply two sides of the same coin. Watts is equal to the product of Volts x Amps. 12V X 20 Amps is 240 Watts.
You can estimate your total charge on your battery by monitoring the battery voltage under a low load. Anything above 12.8 or so is full and 10.5 or below is dead. There are several charts online that will show you the approximate charge based on the no load voltage. A small load won't make the voltage drop significantly.


When charging, your charger has multiple modes, usually a bulk charge rate, an absorption rate, and finally a float rate. Really high end charger may have 4 modes plus multiple settings for battery types.

Bulk charge is initially used to load as much into the battery as it will take at a high rate. As the batteries get charged, they will not accept as high a rate as they will when empty, and even though not full, may not utilize all the available energy. The charge rate will slow significantly as the battery voltage rises. One advantage of AGM and even better on Lithium, is that they will absorb more energy faster. The point, however, is that your battery will rapidly get to about an 80% charge, then will only take the final 20% over a much longer period. You will see this in the amp rate going into the batteries, which will be high at first then start decreasing. Nothing is wrong, its just the way batteries work. I have a 75 amp house charger feeding batteries with an 800 amp capacity and I rarely see it charging at 75 amps, in fact almost never because I don't let my batteries get that low.

So you can also get an idea of your battery charge while charging by watching the amp rate being accepted. Once it is down below 10, you are getting above 90% or better.

I hope you enjoy your solar system. We went to Alaska in our 39 foot motorhome 3 years ago, never plugged in for over 2 months and had plenty of power from our 6 panels. Your system should also be setup to take a charge from your vehicle while being towed or from the engine if it is a motorhome. I

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Old 05-12-2018, 05:51 PM   #15
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The problem is,is I'm not getting any amp readings on the controler.
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Old 05-12-2018, 06:23 PM   #16
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The problem is,is I'm not getting any amp readings on the controler.
I had some problems with my connectors from the panel to my coach wiring. If possible I would suggest going on the roof and disconnecting you panels and reading the open circuit output of the panels with a voltmeter. At one point I had 21V at the panels and only 4 at the input to the controller. Faulty connector, assembled by a faulty old man. I used to be better. Try running your batteries down by turning on your furnace fan and lights. Maybe the batteries are at full charge. Hang in there, you will get it and you will be pleased with the solar. We just spent 2 weeks mostly boondocking in Utah and used the furnace every night and every morning. Loved it.
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Old 05-13-2018, 04:34 PM   #17
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I had some problems with my connectors from the panel to my coach wiring. If possible I would suggest going on the roof and disconnecting you panels and reading the open circuit output of the panels with a voltmeter. At one point I had 21V at the panels and only 4 at the input to the controller. Faulty connector, assembled by a faulty old man. I used to be better. Try running your batteries down by turning on your furnace fan and lights. Maybe the batteries are at full charge. Hang in there, you will get it and you will be pleased with the solar. We just spent 2 weeks mostly boondocking in Utah and used the furnace every night and every morning. Loved it.
It is a beautiful bright sunny day with temperatures in the low-80s and this is what I get for readings on my control panel with all the lights on, the fans and the radio.

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Old 05-13-2018, 05:10 PM   #18
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Little blurry. Is the order in pics volts, %, Amps?
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Old 05-13-2018, 05:37 PM   #19
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Little blurry. Is the order in pics volts, %, Amps?
Yes.
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Old 05-13-2018, 05:39 PM   #20
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Keep in mind that this solar unit was installed at the factory so anything is possible. Lol
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