Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

tonygcan

Hello. I just recently finished setting up my solar system and it seems that my charge controller is not charging properly.

My system:

2220 watts of PV
Xantrex MPPT CC
XW 4548 inverter/charger
XW SCP

For the past days my batteries have remained at 3/4 full. For the past 3 days my Charge Controller input screen has been hovering around 103 volts, 125 watts, 1.2A. I have refrained from putting any load on the system while trying to understand what's happening.

According to the CC manual the CC should be able to supply 2000 watts to the batteries during peak hours.

Have I configured my CC properly or is there something broken with my charge controller.

Any advise would be a big help.

Thanks.

Joe_B

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

It depends on the actual SOC of your battery bank. If your bank is approaching fully charged and you have no other loads on the system, then the SCC will only supply enough to keep the bank topped off. Try putting a load on it and see what happens.

tonygcan

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

Thanks Joe. It's night time here now and the past days I've checked it was almost dusk when I got home from work. Thanks for the tip. I will check first thing tomorrow morning.

Dave Angelini

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

tonygcan wrote: »

Thanks Joe. It's night time here now and the past days I've checked it was almost dusk when I got home from work. Thanks for the tip. I will check first thing tomorrow morning.

Try a 1500 watt portable heater in full sunshine. You can also look at the harvest screen and see what you are doing for the previous day.

tonygcan

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

Dave Sparks wrote: »

Try a 1500 watt portable heater in full sunshine. You can also look at the harvest screen and see what you are doing for the previous day.

Thanks Dave, I'll just wait for the sun to coMe out a little more and will test it. Will post my feedback.

tonygcan

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

I connected a 1200 watt load to my solar setup this morning but the CC still showed an input of only 7 watts with a 104 volt reading from the panels. I went through the configuration and the information seems okay. I turned on power from the grid and charged the batteries through the XW4548 inverter charger and the batteries charged.

The problem must be with the PV connections although since the CC reads 104 volts it must be connected properly to the PV array. Can't imagine that the brand new Xantrex CC could be broken.

Please let me know if there's something I missed.

Thank you.

Joe_B

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

Charger output depends on battery voltage as well as the charger settings. The SCC will not produce power until the battery bank voltage drops below the float setting value. If your battery bank is near fully charged, then it can not accept more current. In order to prevent overcharging, the SCC will fold back. Leave the load on the battery bank until you suck out some capacity from the bank (1500 watts for an hour or so should use up some capacity). Then check to see if the SCC is producing power.

I am assuming that you are using the default parameters for the SCC, if not, check to make sure that the output is set to 100% and it is set to 3 stage float mode.

jeffkruse

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

Simply try equalizing the batteries and see what happens.

SolaRevolution

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

tonygcan wrote: »

Can't imagine that the brand new Xantrex CC could be broken.
.

It happens sometimes that brand new equipment is bad straight out of the box. I've seen it happen with various pieces from most brands. Very frustrating. This is a great time to have a good relationship with your dealer.

Did this charge controller ever seem to operate properly? Check all of your connections and see if it will put out while the battery voltage is down around 49. Then call tec support.


-Alex

tonygcan

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

Yes I am using default parameters. Voltage was at 48.6 this morning but still the SCC was only putting out 7 watts.

tonygcan

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

I wanted to do that today but my installer removed the network cable to the SCC from the SCP and I can't access the SCC menu. The installer thinks that maybe it was the cable that was the matter.

tonygcan

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

SolaRevolution wrote: »

It happens sometimes that brand new equipment is bad straight out of the box. I've seen it happen with various pieces from most brands. Very frustrating. This is a great time to have a good relationship with your dealer.

Did this charge controller ever seem to operate properly? Check all of your connections and see if it will put out while the battery voltage is down around 49. Then call tec support.


-Alex

I asked my electrician tomorrow to come in tomorrow so we could double check the connections. Thanks.

SolarMusher

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

Did you check negative side in the controller or inverter, XW CC needs to be wire in a different way than Outback or Midnite. XW needs PV negative and batt negative to negative busbar. The last time I've installed XW CC and wire it like a FM60/80, I had about the same problem (from what I remember).
Good luck,
Erik

tonygcan

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

SolarMusher wrote: »

Did you check negative side in the controller or inverter, XW CC needs to be wire in a different way than Outback or Midnite. XW needs PV negative and batt negative to negative busbar. The last time I've installed XW CC and wire it like a FM60/80, I had about the same problem (from what I remember).
Good luck,
Erik

Thanks for the information. I will check the negative connections and will give feedback. Thanks.

tonygcan

Re: Xantrex MPPT CC not charging properly

Update: the setting of the MPPT was disabled. Upon enabling the function the charger started charging normally.