Go Power will not stop charging when disabled

[JZ2608BS]

I turned the charging off on the control panel to make sure it would not interfere with the Auto Detect converter recognizing the Lithium battery but the panel shows intermittent charging of up to 6 amps and so does the Victron smart shunt. Something is wrong here and it will affect how the Auto Detect converter reacts. It might not recognize the battery is LiPo.

Anyone know how to correct this?

 

[JZ2608BS]

Another question. How do I remove the trim panel around the charger so can check the wring connections. Looks like there are 2 little tabs on the side of the controller and I assume this is where I would pry open the cover but don't want to break it, especially since I haven't even used the trailer yet.

 

[bikendan]

Moved thread from the Tech and Repair section to the TT/5th Wheel section's Rockwood sub-forum since the OP is now asking for model-specific information(panel removal).

 

[Aussieguy]

Auto detect does not use voltage or amps …. It watches how the battery turns on off …
Lead acid can’t behave in a on/off manner

So if if it detects solar voltage amps it should not interfere with determining lifepo4

I never shut off my solar and AD works

If you want throw a blanket over panel or wait until night time to turn on the converter
Or both…

For auto detect to work
a) discharge battery to around 60 to 80% SOC

b) turn on converter let it fully charge battery

c) repeat…. It should work out it is lifepo4 on the second cycle

If you take the door off the fuse panel. You can watch the glow from the converter’s LEDs lights
green is lead acid
Blue … it has switched to lifepo4 mode

If it loses it setting it will go through the 2 cycles again to reset

It won’t hurt anything if it charges battery on lead acid mode once in a while .

 

[JZ2608BS]

Moved thread from the Tech and Repair section to the TT/5th Wheel section's Rockwood sub-forum since the OP is now asking for model-specific information(panel removal).

The question is not Rockwood specific, it is specific to the Go Power solar controller that is in many Forest River models. I simply want to know how to remove the plastic trim panel so I can access the mounting screws.

 

[JZ2608BS]

Auto detect does not use voltage or amps …. It watches how the battery turns on off …
Lead acid can’t behave in a on/off manner

So if if it detects solar voltage amps it should not interfere with determining lifepo4

I never shut off my solar and AD works

If you want throw a blanket over panel or wait until night time to turn on the converter
Or both…

For auto detect to work
a) discharge battery to around 60 to 80% SOC

b) turn on converter let it fully charge battery

c) repeat…. It should work out it is lifepo4 on the second cycle

If you take the door off the fuse panel. You can watch the glow from the converter’s LEDs lights
green is lead acid
Blue … it has switched to lifepo4 mode

If it loses it setting it will go through the 2 cycles again to reset

It won’t hurt anything if it charges battery on lead acid mode once in a while .

I watched a YouTube video with a WFCO rep that stated solar charging will interfere with the AD. Apparently when clouds pass over and the solar charge drops AD thinks the battery charge is dropping off. In any case I have done the initial AD run with the battery being brought down to 30% then brought back to 100% with the AD and it worked fine. I have not done a second run and am about to head out for the first camping trip with this trailer and want to make sure I am not going to run into any problems with this. It would be very simple to turn off the solar charging when plugging into the generator but the solar charging is not disabled even though the panel says it is.

 

[Bfstrysik]

If your controller is the pmw 30, recess mount (which is what I have) the faceplate around the perimeter of the unit pops off by gently prying it off. Then you will see screws holding the unit in place

 

[Aussieguy]

If it switched to blue LED all is good

I fixed my negative to frame connection and got a much better charge rate
Make sure frame negatives are metal to metal

After doing all that.. I no longer rely on the converter
Solar keeps my battery 100%
I don’t use a inverter…..

 

[JZ2608BS]

If your controller is the pmw 30, recess mount (which is what I have) the faceplate around the perimeter of the unit pops off by gently prying it off. Then you will see screws holding the unit in place

That's what I thought but wanted to make sure. My wife would be very unhappy if I broke something before we even used the trailer, lol.

 

[JZ2608BS]

If it switched to blue LED all is good

I fixed my negative to frame connection and got a much better charge rate
Make sure frame negatives are metal to metal

After doing all that.. I no longer rely on the converter
Solar keeps my battery 100%
I don’t use a inverter…..

I can't see if it blue or not but the one charge I ran with the converter it was pumping out 50 amps for pretty much the whole time and then dropped off fairly quickly at the end. So that is great.

We only boondock and where we camp it could easily be a week without sun so there won't be a lot of solar output even with the 600W I have on the roof. Plus I have a portable 180W panel that I will use if needed. We are still getting close to freezing temps at night. So the furnace will be running all night and that uses a lot of energy. Plus I plan on using the inverter when needed. I have a Honda EU3000 generator but prefer not to use it.

We don't get the same energy from the sun you southerners do, so the panels don't put out as much energy. Today with no clouds and lots of sunshine (perfect conditions) the most I am getting from the 600W on the roof is 230W. That will likely increase as the summer approaches.

 

[tomupnorth]

...the solar charging is not disabled even though the panel says it is.

When disable it's supposed to look like this, in which case you shouldn't be able to see any amps at all. Does History indicate you've pumped some amps into the batt when DiS?

From page 14 of the manual:

 

[JZ2608BS]

When disable it's supposed to look like this, in which case you shouldn't be able to see any amps at all. Does History indicate you've pumped some amps into the batt when DiS?

From page 14 of the manual:
View attachment 1111799

Yup, that is what I see but there is still power going to the battery. This is confirmed by the Go Power app and the Victron Smart Shunt. It fluctuates between 0 and 6 amps.

 

[Aussieguy]

Go power app if battery full

some power may be seen on the app but it can be powering directly something like the fridge

 

[JZ2608BS]

I got confirmation from Go Power that the controller I have has that feature disabled. I have to send them proof of purchase and information on the back of the controller and they will send me a new one, I think.