Help - first time plugging it all in and SmartSolar app says no amps flowing from the panel

tascern
tascern Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
First of all, here's a link to a pic of the battery and a screenshot of what my SmartSolar app says. https://imgur.com/gallery/VZCWOCH

When I measure the voltage of the battery with a multimeter it says 12.35 V. According to the battery's manual, 12.35 V is only 60% full. Why isn't my battery charging despite it not being full? The panel is in full sun.

Why does the Victron SmartSolar app say "float?" Float voltage is the voltage at which a battery is maintained after being fully charged, isn't it? It's not fully charged though so why is it saying float?

A possible explanation is that the size of the cable's rings is 3/8" (which is too big) but the battery posts are 1/4". I'm going to connect a cable that has 1/4" rings later but first want to see what the forum says. I used the 3/8" rings just to see if they would work well enough.

The reason I wanted to try the 3/8" rings before the 1/4" rings because I don't currently have a cable with 1/4" rings. I'll have to strip the ends of 2 cables and crimp on 1/4" rings. I couldn't find, on any online store, a pre-made 10-awg cable with bare wire on one end and 1/4" rings on the other.

 If the problem is the too-big 3/8" rings then I don't understand why the SmartSolar app says "float" and "13.79 V" because if the cable's rings are too big to connect properly then I would think that the charge controller wouldn't be able to display any info about the battery at all.

Thanks for reading.

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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #2
    tascern said:
    When I measure the voltage of the battery with a multimeter it says 12.35 V. According to the battery's manual, 12.35 V is only 60% full. Why isn't my battery charging despite it not being full? The panel is in full sun.
     I bet you hooked up your solar array first...
    tascern said:
     I don't understand why the SmartSolar app says "float" and "13.79 V" 
    Look through the manual, bet it says to hook up the battery first.
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • tascern
    tascern Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭✭
    #3
    Photowhit said:
    tascern said:
    When I measure the voltage of the battery with a multimeter it says 12.35 V. According to the battery's manual, 12.35 V is only 60% full. Why isn't my battery charging despite it not being full? The panel is in full sun.
     I bet you hooked up your solar array first...
    tascern said:
     I don't understand why the SmartSolar app says "float" and "13.79 V" 
    Look through the manual, bet it says to hook up the battery first.
    I connected the battery and CC first and then the panel to the CC. I put 2 blankets over the panel before inserting the panel's wires into the CC.

    Also, the battery is 2 years old and has never been used. It self-depleted during that time from 100% down to 60%. Maybe I didn't maintain the battery well enough. It was subjected to sub-freezing temps at times. It's a 12V, SLA, AGM, 85Ah battery.

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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #4
    What are your setting for absorb and float?

    So, you might put a load on the system/battery and see if the charge controller allows current to flow to cover the load.
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • tascern
    tascern Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭✭
    #5
    Photowhit said:
    What are your setting for absorb and float?

    So, you might put a load on the system/battery and see if the charge controller allows current to flow to cover the load.

    It's working now that I realized that the battery wires weren't connected well enough to the charge controller. I've been having trouble keeping the four wires from sometimes falling out of the CC. I thought I screwed the CC screws as far as they will go but the wires still fall out sometimes.

    When I moved the battery wires (at the CC terminal) into a slightly different position that's when the CC started working properly but that also means something bad. That means that, by accident, the battery was connected after the panel was. It seems to be working fine so hopefully no damage occurred from that.


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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #6
    Thanks for getting back to us. Always great to hear you've got it figured out! Yeah!
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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