Question about a charge controller

Hello all, we have the following small set up:charge controller is a Xantrex C60 Charge Controller. 12 or 24v. It is set to 12v. Max charge at 14.4v.
2-Panels are solarworld SW 260 mono.
Battery's are 2-6v. 235 amp hour wired in series to get 12v.
My issue is that the batteries are not getting a full charge at any point. I took everything apart and tested. The results are:
33v. from the panels (cloud cover so that is about right as they are 38v. Max.)
12.6 at the connection in the charge controller, 12.5 at the battery connection in the charge controller and 12.4 for the battery.
At one point they were all reading the same.
If there is no load on the battery it will not charge or charge very slowly. If there is a slight load as in an inverter running or a 12 v. Light it will charge faster but never gets above 12.8.
Shouldn't the output from the charge controller be 14.4 and the battery increase up to that or am I missing something?
Thanks for your help.
2-Panels are solarworld SW 260 mono.
Battery's are 2-6v. 235 amp hour wired in series to get 12v.
My issue is that the batteries are not getting a full charge at any point. I took everything apart and tested. The results are:
33v. from the panels (cloud cover so that is about right as they are 38v. Max.)
12.6 at the connection in the charge controller, 12.5 at the battery connection in the charge controller and 12.4 for the battery.
At one point they were all reading the same.
If there is no load on the battery it will not charge or charge very slowly. If there is a slight load as in an inverter running or a 12 v. Light it will charge faster but never gets above 12.8.
Shouldn't the output from the charge controller be 14.4 and the battery increase up to that or am I missing something?
Thanks for your help.
Comments
If they are flooded type have you checked the sp gr of each cell, truly the best method to determine state of charge. Voltage readings can be misleading. Is your voltage meter accurate? When you state that with no load on the battery it does not charge or only charges slowly, that is the behavior one would expect if the battery was full. A battery voltage of 12.8, after resting for several hours would be considered fully charged if it was a lead-acid battery.
When the CC is putting out 14.4 volts you will bet that voltage at the battery terminals. If you disconnect the CC the voltage will fall over a period of several hours to about 12.7 to 12.8 on a good battery. I have a pair of golf cart batteries in series that take nearly a day to fall from 13.5 Itaken off float at that point) to 12.7, sitting idle.
Really wishing I had gotten the faceplate with the readings in it...... will be ordering it. I like to have more data to work with.
If it has never worked I suggest disconnecting everything. Then start the reinstallation following the steps precisely in the order as listed in the user manual. That starts with the jumper settings before anything gets connected.
thom
With an MPPT controller and the same panels you will easily get twice the power into the battery bank.
Also, FWIW, the voltage output (both Voc and Vmp) of a panel is not particularly sensitive to the amount of light hitting the panel over a range from full sun to full overcast. What will decrease is the current available from the panel.