Load not working on PWM controller

I have a cheap Chinese-made PWM controller. It has the standard +/- Solar inputs, Battery Connection and the Load connections. The panels total about 190 watts, but of course never rate that much. I am getting only about 2.5 amps to 5 amps depending upon the sun. My problem is that the load screws never don't seem to have any output. I can connect a cable with 12v plug and insert a USB adapter. My phone only comes on every half minute or so. Then, it only stays connected for about 5-10 seconds then shuts off. If I connect the same wire and 12v/USB connector, it charges my battery just fine. Why am I unable to make a solid connection when I go through the load screw terminals? The only thing I can "see", is PERHAPS the phone takes a charge briefly when the panel input voltage drops from about 14.2 to 13.x. I may be imagining that relationship though.
Comments
If the LVD is not programmed (or not programmed correctly), it could account for the poor LVD voltage. If you have a 12 volt light (car brake light or something), try wiring that the LVD/Load terminals and see what the voltage is with the meter.
-Bill
19 SW285 panels
SE5000 inverter
grid tied
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 700 ah @24 volt AGM battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
The instructions say that the terminal screws share a single Positive bar. So, even if I disconnect the battery completely from the CC, it seems that the solar power itself should run directly to the Load Out and power the cell phone. Is that not correct (assuming there is enough sun at the moment)?
the CC shows them as being 100% charged during daylight hours but as soon as the sun goes down, the CC shows them to drop to as low as 86%.
or you need more PV as you are using more than your PV can replace...
Please post the PV specs and the CC charge values you are using.
KID #51B 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
Here are the options for this controller.
24h - Indicates normal mode. Loads will be supplied power without interruption.
1h-23h - Indicates timed light control. Load terminals start to supply power after sundown for the amount of hours indicated on the screen (1 to 23 hours).
0h - Indicates Dusk-to-Dawn. Load is on all night long.
And; A wide range of load working modes facilitate the product's application to different types of street lights and monitoring devices.
The product provides overcharge, over-discharge, overload protection, as well as short-circuit and reverse-connection protection.
By virtue of an advanced load starting method, large-capacitance loads can be started smoothly.
Just an FYI, There are many charge controllers being sold these days with USB outputs built in. Example shows dual 12 volt and USB outputs .
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 700 ah @24 volt AGM battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
Hook the controller to the battery first and then hook the panels to the controller?
I went back to the site and checked on things again. Sure enough, the battery was now on about 78%. I continued to charge top off the charge of two iPhones, run a couple of 5w lights for no more than an hour each and the battery was down to about 72%. That was after a full two days in good sun. Finally, yesterday, I noticed that the 3 Goal Zero Boulder 30 panels did NOT have a blue light shining showing them as charging. I disconnected the panels and tried the multimeter. The multimeter shows them each as producing @ 18-19 volts. But, when reconnected to the CC and battery, they show only 2.6 volts coming in. But it shows 0 amps coming in.
Today, the battery was down to 68% capacity as per the CC. I brought one battery to town and had a battery store run some tests. It showed 12.6 volts, but only 219 CA's out of 1250. He said the battery was bad. He ran another test connecting a machine that even made the battery posts smoke. Somehow that machine (I have NO idea what it is, sorry.) raised it to about 400 CA's out of the supposed 1250 cranking amps promised by the manufacturer.
He put the battery on a slow 2 amp charge for 24 hours. Then, he's supposed to to run another charger through a "desulfation" process or "desulfication", I'm not sure which. I will not know how that turns out until getting it back in my hands by friday.
So, I have panel problems and battery problems. Perhaps it's NOT in the CC after all! BTW, the CC was set to sending charge out at dark. That's why the power was intermittent. I suppose it was late afternoon/evening with clouds and perhaps the power dropped and rose in the twilight and/or cloud cover enough to turn it on and off. But I change the setting to have the Load on all the time. That seems to be working.
Again, I can't thank you all enough! The saga will continue, I'm sure.
Johann: No, I did not make the connections in this order. What will that possible cause? Could that do damage to the panels, battery or CC? Thanks for asking.
Solar Panel:
Ports
General
The specs are not listed but the Amazon site states 12V/24V system voltages are automatically recognized. With temperature compensation employed, charging parameters can be automatically adjusted.
You need to determine what " AUTOMATIC" means... if this is attributed to Temp adjustment you need to establish what the temp adjustment factor is... hth
KID #51B 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
You hook batteries up first so the controller can reliably boot boards, charge capacitors, sense voltage, etc. *Probably* no harm done hooking up the other way but may put controller in a wierd state
Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
Hmmmm there is no mention of Absorb or Bulk charge rate unless they mean that it will not go over 17.0 volts
Weight: 5.6 oz.
And: Uh Oh..... The Controller is Positive Grounding.
## this may present a problem if not set up correctly...
also found the manual see page 10 for charge data and your Bulk and Absorb, they call it BOOST?,
appear to be between 14.6V and 14.2V depending on TYPE FLA = 14.6V
http://www.hqsolarpower.com/v/vspfiles/Manuals/HQST-CTRL-30LCD.pdf
hth
KID #51B 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
and most equipment you see for sale is Neg ground and you cant mix them together...
Expansion.... this is the time to look into the future and decide as best you can what you want your system to look like when you are finished. basically throw in the kitchen sink if that is what you want and come up with your max loads, that is where all good systems start, and plan from there.... hth
ps start here in the learning section.....in Solar Information and FAQ's
KID #51B 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
i'm wondering about a mirror image flip of the PV and BAttery connections, and your battery is dumping power into the PV with reversed connections ???
|| Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
|| VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A
solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,
As westbranch suggests, it would be best to "blue sky" what your loads might eventually look like and plan from there. This helps in avoiding having to buy stuff twice.
Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
If you hook the controller to the battery first, then the controller will set itself up to the proper nominal battery voltage/system. Remember that your controller can be operated in a 12 or 24 volt nominal system, so the battery will tell it what nominal volt/ system you have.