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Old 11-09-2021, 09:43 PM   #1
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Apex Nano 194BHS Solar problem

I just bought a brand new Apex Nano 194BHS with the Off Grid package about three weeks ago. I just noticed that the solar did not seem to be working. I haven't used the unit at all, brought it home and parked it in the driveway. There were no lights illuminated on the solar controller. I checked the voltage from the panel at the controller and it showed over 16V. Output to the battery did not show anything. I took the battery cover off and discovered the positive and negative from the controller both hooked up to the positive side of the battery. The battery only showed 4.4V. I fixed the wiring and checked at the controller and it read the same 4.4V on the output side of the controller. A voltage check at the battery also showed the same 4.4V again. I'm figuring the controller is dead. Power is not getting from the panel through the controller to the battery.

Not sure if the wiring mistake was at the factory or the dealer.

Can anything else be burnt out besides the controller. I have output from the panel to the controller so I assume the panel on the roof is good. Not sure if the battery got damaged somehow. I have it on a charger now. Anything else I should look at?
The dealer I bought from is 3 plus hours drive and a ferry ride away from home. If I can get away with just replacing the controller I'll do it myself. Its not worth the ride. If its not that I'll have to bring it back to them.
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Old 11-18-2021, 01:49 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gojeepgo View Post
I just bought a brand new Apex Nano 194BHS with the Off Grid package about three weeks ago. I just noticed that the solar did not seem to be working. I haven't used the unit at all, brought it home and parked it in the driveway. There were no lights illuminated on the solar controller. I checked the voltage from the panel at the controller and it showed over 16V. Output to the battery did not show anything. I took the battery cover off and discovered the positive and negative from the controller both hooked up to the positive side of the battery. The battery only showed 4.4V. I fixed the wiring and checked at the controller and it read the same 4.4V on the output side of the controller. A voltage check at the battery also showed the same 4.4V again. I'm figuring the controller is dead. Power is not getting from the panel through the controller to the battery.

Not sure if the wiring mistake was at the factory or the dealer.

Can anything else be burnt out besides the controller. I have output from the panel to the controller so I assume the panel on the roof is good. Not sure if the battery got damaged somehow. I have it on a charger now. Anything else I should look at?
The dealer I bought from is 3 plus hours drive and a ferry ride away from home. If I can get away with just replacing the controller I'll do it myself. Its not worth the ride. If its not that I'll have to bring it back to them.
With the output from the SMPT charger being essentially shorted together you might also have damage to the panel on the roof top. It really depends on how good the OEM controller is protecting the panel. The very first thing I did when I got mine was to replace the SMPT controller. You generally want to avoid having the panel in the sun without having it able to dissipate the power it generates. So although you can measure voltage on said panel, you really need it hooked up to the battery and see if it delivers the 100 watt, or close to it. Not just if it sends 20 volts to the output side.
Is the dealer helpful in trouble shooting and perhaps parts replacement?
As long as you panel is still ok, I would just replace the SMPT controller with a better one and rock away.
Have you put a charger on the battery to see if you can elevate its condition back to life?
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Old 11-19-2021, 09:28 AM   #3
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Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. I think I would disconnect the battery and charge it to 100% and then run a load test to find out if it is damaged. This is a new rig take it back to the dealer and have the problems corrected. JMHO
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Old 11-19-2021, 09:45 AM   #4
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Many solar charge controllers require the battery be hooked up before the panel is connected. I'd disconnect the panel, verify the connection to the battery, and then reconnect the panel.

Even a bad battery is unlikely to read 4.4V. Check to make sure you are properly connecting the volt meter across the battery.
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Old 11-22-2021, 07:07 PM   #5
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I have a replacement solar controller on order, same exact model that came stock. It was cheap and if it solves the problem I wont need to go back to the dealer. It has not arrived yet.

The battery took a charge but I will load test it to see it is damaged from the incorrect solar wiring.

Forest River got back to me and said that the battery is a dealer installed item so any mistake hooking the solar to the battery was done there. They ship without batteries.
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Old 11-26-2021, 06:12 PM   #6
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***Update***

Installed the new charge controller today and the system is working. I still need to load test the battery to make sure it was not damaged.
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