Question about load terminals on charge controllers

nubby
nubby Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
Hi guys, I am new to solar energy. I bought a Tracer 2215 MPPT charge controller, the cheapest one I could find, for some solar panels I got off craigslist. I have the the solar panels connected, 12v battery connected, and it seems to be charging but it won't power any of my 12v devices connected to the load terminal. I have to connect directly to the battery. Any ideas?
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Question about load terminals on charge controllers

    Welcome to the forum.

    Have you checked what it says in the controller's manual about using the LOAD terminals? On some controllers these are 'configurable' and need to be programmed for low Voltage disconect, high Voltage reconnect, and perhaps daylight/nigh time activation (some turn loads on when PV input falls, indicating nighttime - lighting control). To say nothing of the fact the LOAD terminals can only handle the current limit of the controller.

    Of course the controller could also be defective.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,590 admin
    #3
    Re: Question about load terminals on charge controllers

    Welcome to the forum "Nubby".

    Several suggestions... Before you connect the solar panels, connect the battery bank first. Many controllers set their "charging" voltage (12 or 24 volts) based on the battery bank voltage. If you connect the solar panels first--It is possible to confuse the charge controller (and the LVD would be off because the controller thinks it is on a "dead" 24 volt battery bank).

    The LVD is programmable (timer, night time, manual)--Check that the LVD is turned "on". Also, use a volt meter to measure the voltage at the battery terminals. If your battery is "near dead", the LVD will be off and not turn on until the battery voltage is >~13 volts (for many controllers).

    In general, LVD outputs are current limited (to the 20 amps the controller is rated or even less). You can only put relatively small loads on the LVD terminals (some controllers will turn off if too much current, others will fail). If you even have a 300 Watt AC inverter would draw almost 57 amps (worst case) or 2x that amount for a few seconds--The controller and wiring are not capable of those currents.

    in general, you can connect the loads directly to the battery bank bus (with the correct fuse/breaker in each + wire leaving the battery bus).

    Of course, it is always possible the controller is bad.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • nubby
    nubby Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭
    #4
    Re: Question about load terminals on charge controllers

    Thanks for the quick reply. It does have a programmer for 2 timers but I disabled them because I do not need a timer on the load terminal at the moment. The options I have in the terminal section is n for off, and 1-12. I do not see an option for anything else for the load terminal. I'll have to read the badly written english manual again. Thanks
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  • K1ngN0thing
    K1ngN0thing Solar Expert Posts: 27 ✭
    #5
    Did you end up figuring out how to have the load on at all times? I'm having the same problem. It draws power from the battery, and doesn't directly utilize the solar output, right?

    EDIT: Figured it out. The ON/OFF mode: http://www.manualslib.com/manual/845435/Epsolar-Tracer-1206rn.html?page=22#manual
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