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put terminals wrong way on solar pannel

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  • put terminals wrong way on solar pannel

    Hi, someone put the terminals from my 80 watt solar panel directly to a 12v leisure battery the wrong way round.
    IMG_2366.JPG
    IMG_2367.JPG
    IMG_2368.JPG
    IMG_2369.JPG


    The 2 cables you see on the picture were connected directly to the battery (with no regulator);The + terminal to the - terminal( and vice versa), the black box in the picture went crack and smoke came from it.

    Is the solar panel now useless or can it be fixed?

  • #2
    As you can see the diode is burnt, if you can get an identical diode, maybe you can fix it.

    Comment


    • #3
      you mean the copper coloured thing?

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by somawheels View Post
        you mean the copper coloured thing?
        In the closeup of the box, you can see two diodes are intact, and the third one is burnt. The diodes connect each screw terminal to the next, and act as a bypass if there is shade that prevents a section of the panel from producing power. The panel should work ok without it as long as it is unshaded, but if you can find a replacement diode that matches the other two, the full function of the panel might be restored.

        Googling Clearskies2000 comes up with nothing that looks useful. A charge controller to protect your battery would be a good idea, whether you use this one or buy a replacement panel.
        CS6P-260P/SE3000 - http://tiny.cc/ed5ozx

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        • #5
          oh, i see; didn't realise the copper thing was a diode like the others but with the casing blown off.

          Problem is i don't know how to find another diode; the others say 10A10 JF on them, but i cant find another one by looking these letters/numbers up online, i only see 10 A MF, Ni3, MIC, DC....
          what does the JF mean?

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          • #6
            Originally posted by somawheels View Post
            oh, i see; didn't realise the copper thing was a diode like the others but with the casing blown off.

            Problem is i don't know how to find another diode; the others say 10A10 JF on them, but i cant find another one by looking these letters/numbers up online, i only see 10 A MF, Ni3, MIC, DC....
            what does the JF mean?
            Here you go ,this just the first place I found but these are what you need. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/10-amp-diode
            You can just search for "10a10 diodes"

            Be sure to install with the white stripe in the same direction as the other 2, one or both of the other diodes maybe
            bad as well but that will show up when you go to use the panel as the output will be low or non existent. Or if you have an ohm
            meter with a diode check you can test the diodes to see if they are open or shorted.

            Comment


            • #7
              As we have found with livestock - free livestock is seldom free (fencing, feed, vet....). Free solar install help is seldom free ! Sorry for your loss.

              But look for a Schottky Diode, they have less loss internally. I see some 5 packs on fleabay and amazon, which should work
              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


              • #8
                In general, since a solar panel is a limited current source and since a charge controller will prevent current from flowing back from the panels into the battery, wiring a solar panel backwards will not damage the panel.
                In your case, since you connected directly to the battery, the full battery current went through the string of three bypass diodes in series until one of them blow up.
                There is a very good chance that the other two were damaged in the process, just not as violently. So I would recommend replacing all three.
                SunnyBoy 3000 US, 18 BP Solar 175B panels.

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                • #9
                  thanks for the answers, but i still don't know what the "JF" means on the diode

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    JF=Just Fine. or a mfg's lot code or the printing batch #. It's NOT a electrical spec key.
                    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


                    • #11
                      Many places have them online like Amazon for instance.

                      Look for "Solar Schottky Diode", and in your case, I'd choose at least a 10A diode. Your 80w panel is capable of about 5A best performance, but don't choose 5A diodes - beef them up to 10A at least to allow for a bit better heat disappation in the real world.

                      Even though some are described as "blocking diodes", in your application they are actually doing panel bypass service, but they will function just fine.

                      Ideally, these diodes should be "matched" for identical characteristics, but for recovering a simple 80w panel, they don't have to be precisely matched. I repaired my own Sanyo 80w panel in just the same way when I made the exact mistake. Since the custom matching diodes were not available, these generics worked out ok.

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