Solar Appears to Over Charge.

[StevePowerTX]

Long story regarding dealer botching the install two times by not actually installing a controller. Yes, seriously. After I educated myself instead of relying on them I insisted to make it right that certain changes and upgrades be made to make up for the hassle, which they did. However it was sometime before I could actually use the system as intended. Sure enough. Yet another issue seems to have appeared. Over charging.


I have a Trimetric controller/monitor, Freedom inverter, and 2 6 volt Lifeline batteries. They installed an extra solar panel as well but i don't know the output. The situation is on shore power the charge goes to 14.3-14.4 and remains steady. I've had the trailer parked in semi-shade for over a year and the charge just from the panels remained steady at around 13.5.

When I took it out dry camping last weekend it dropped to 12.6 -12.9 the first evening but then after 2-3 hours of strong sunlight in the morning was up to 15.4-15.6. It rarely dropped below that but then hardly anything was drawing power until evening when it dropped into the 12.6 range as before, climbing into the 15 the next day. Back home and cloudy it's back in the 13v range consistently again.


Are these long spikes normal? If not how does one change the charge limit on the Trimetric? I had a look in the manual and tried but couldn't figure it out. Too many parameters.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I just want to set it and forget it. Very frustrating after all the hassle with the dealer.

[JimD]

I currently have 200 watts of solar with another 100 watt panel waiting to be installed. I recently upgraded my controller to a Renogy MPPT which I really like mainly due to its blue tooth capability. I like to keep tabs on my 12 volt system.

From the beginning I had installed a voltage/current monitor that I constantly watch to know where my current battery level is at. Whether using shore power, the old controller, or the new controller, at no time did my charge exceed about 14.5. All of these control devices were multi-stage and would step down from 14.5 as the batteries came up to charge.

Charging in the 15 volt range could possibly damage your batteries in my opinion. I am no expert but from what I have always read, you want something in the mid 14 area.

I can't imagine your controller coming set for a 15+ volt charge. Maybe the installers messed with the settings trying to get it to charge on a cloudy day, who knows. There should be a setting you can scroll to and modify by pushing buttons. I recommend scrolling through and seeing what options there are. Maybe something is set for 15 volts. If so, see what that setting's default should be.

[stateboy]

Originally Posted by JimD

...From the beginning I had installed a voltage/current monitor that I constantly watch to know where my current battery level is at...

Which monitor did you choose to use?

[JimD]

The one I got from Amazon is no longer available but they have many others to chose from.

Look at this post. I have been helping another member with some of the same questions.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...tml#post851443

[StevePowerTX]

It's a Trimetric monitor. When I researched it was rated as one of the very best.



I've read that spiking to 15+ volts is not unusual. Just seems like it stayed there for hours. That being said, I went and checked it this morning when it was cloudy and it read 13.4 which is where it held the whole time, a year, I had it parked half in shade under an oak tree.


I tried to find a way to see where the charge limit was set. You're supposed to use two buttons and scroll to P1 and then use Reset to change it but it would just scroll to a different parameter. I've got a feeling I'm using a wrong sequence or something.

[Seann45]

12.6-12.8 is normal for batteries not receiving a charge.. (state of rest)