Panel no voltage

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  • reids
    Junior Member
    • Feb 2020
    • 1
    #1

    Panel no voltage

    Our portable panel arrays - Waeco 120 watt has just stopped working. Testing the Anderson lead off the panels (not at the controller) 0 Volts and taking of the covers on each panel no voltage. Questioning users noted that the array may have been momentarily connected to the battery with poles reversed. Have checked for a fuse but nothing. Is there a way of checking the diode or is there anything else that could have caused this?
    many thanks for your brains trust
    Tags: None
    • Mike90250
      Moderator
      • May 2009
      • 16020
      #2
      > Questioning users noted that the array may have been momentarily connected to the battery with poles reversed

      PV panels are simply diodes, and if the leads were reversed and there was no protective circuit, the panel may have blown instantly. Diodes and fuses would be in the panel J-Box
      Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
      || 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

        Comment

        • SunEagle
          Super Moderator
          • Oct 2012
          • 15151
          #3
          reverse polarity connected to battery without protection is a good indication the panels are toast.

            Comment

            • bcroe
              Solar Fanatic
              • Jan 2012
              • 5205
              #4
              Reverse voltage is a condition present when bypass diodes come into play.
              Check that those diodes are not shorted out (melted), can be replaced.

              You might at night see if the panel shows any continuity at all, in either
              direction, diode testor position. If not, a connection may be blown, 2/3
              of a panel might still be good. Bruce Roe

                Comment

                • PNjunction
                  Solar Fanatic
                  • Jul 2012
                  • 2179
                  #5
                  Zapped my early panel this way TWICE when futzing around with SAE connectors from different manufacturers with different polarity connections. Hilarity ensued. Moral learned early: SAE connectors are a joke.

                  It didn't ruin the panels since the bypass diodes inside the panel's box blew rather quickly. It was a bummer since these were nicely matched and potted diodes.

                  It all depends, but in many instances the diodes just fry real quick rather than smoking the cells themselves.

                  Search for "Solar Schottky Diodes" online, and get ones large enough to handle your current, and replace the existing dead ones. If you have the space inside the box, don't cut the leads as short as you can - leave some lead space hanging out without shorting, to act as a bit of heat-sink material.

                  Get a handful, in case you wire up the diodes wrong, and smoke them again!

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