Problem with power - need help

[gunsunderthecounter]

Complete solar newbie here, building my first panel - hopefully the first of many!

I have 3 rows of 12 soldered together, but when I attach all of the rows w/ bus wire in a chain, the multimeter reads out only approx. 5 volts for ALL 3 ROWS! I can't explain it - the current is still there, just only yielding about the power of 1 row.

I disconnected each row and the readout for each is about 5 volts, so each row is connected fine. It's just when I attach them, the parts don't add up to the sum. Am I missing something here? Please help. Thank you.

[Jason]

Welcome!

im going to move this thread to the DIY solar forum

[Mike90250]

Try just soldering 2 cells together, and make sure you get about 1.0V at whatever amps you should have. Something basic is wrong. Enclose a photo of the 2 cells showing the connections.

[Anttistaatti]

I am pretty sure that you have connected the rows in parallel. You need to connect them in series to get higher voltage. When you connect them in parallel you will get 3X amps but voltage is the same as one 12 cell series connected row.