Solar install troubleshooting

janet

We are in the process of installing a LifeP04 battery, smart solar charge controller and a solar panel on our Popup. Everything is wired and tests good but for some reason the lights and water pump do not work now. Not even when plugged in to shore power. Any suggestions?

Dave Angelini

Check your wiring !  Another method of troubleshooting is to  re-install the system. It often reveals something you forgot to connect.
I would look at anything that you touched or worked on. The failure source is often closest to the user.   Good Luck!

janet

Thank you

BB.

Do you have a volt meter of some sort?

In general, to debug strange problems, you want a "load" present. I.e., modern DVM (digital volt meters) take almost zero current to read the circuit voltage (thousandths or millionths of an Ampere). Whten you measure "12 volts" at the water pump terminals with a DVM, the voltage may truly be there, but a poor electrical connection or miss-wire may not be able to supply the 10+ amps needed to spin the pump.

So you need to have to pump "turned on" (or use a 12 volt brake light bulb with wire/alligator clips/etc.) to supply the load. And you simply work backwards. Start at the pump/test load and work back towards the battery bus/bank. At some point you will go from near zero volts to a solid 12 volts.

Another question would be "do you have +12 and -12 volt cables" or are you using the frame/sheet metal of the trailer for the return power?

In general, with off grid solar power, you want to have +/- pairs of cables. Using sheet metal/trailer frame for return power is not "reliable enough" to carry that 10's to 100's of Amperes needed.

For a volt meter, there are some very nice DVMs that also have AC+DC Current Clamp current measuring capabilities. Current Clamp meters allow you to quickly, safely, and accurately measure current through any wiring. Here are a couple of example meters (for you to start your searches):

https://www.amazon.com/UNI-T-Digital-Handheld-Resistance-Capacitance/dp/B0188WD1NE (good enough inexpensive for our needs)
https://www.amazon.com/Auto-Ranging-Resistance-Klein-Tools-CL800/dp/B019CY4FB4 (mid-range priced meter with more functions)

Note that for solar/DC systems, you want an AC+DC current clamp meter. There are AC only clamp meters--They are nice meters, but cannot measure the current in a DC circuit.

-Bill