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Hi all,
I'm Paul, a singer-songwriter from England. I'm doing a tour this summer in a milk float (an electric vehicle used in the UK for delivering milk), and am a newby to solar.
I want to use solar panels to power my music gear, and have just fitted 2 flexible solar panels to the roof of the milk float (150W each, connected in series to form a 300W, 24V system). The company who supplied the milk float have fitted 2 x 100Ah 12V batteries (again connected in series to form 24V), and these are connected to a 24V-240V inverter.
The solar panels are connected to a Tracer MPPT controller, which has an MT50 remote meter connected, which is designed to work with the controller. I've also wired in a 20Amp circuit breaker (between the positive terminal on the controller and the positive terminal on the batteries).
I've just connected the whole system up, and I think there is a problem. The MT50 meter has 3 sections showing the current status of the system, and is displaying a reading of 2.6V from the solar panels, and 25.6V coming from the batteries and 25.6 V connected to the 'Load'. It's also showing that there is 0.0 Amps flowing through the system, and without knowing what might be a normal reading (8-15 Amps?), this suggests to me that I've connected something up incorrectly.
I've crimped together some MC4 connectors and wondered if perhaps they're not connecting properly. I also had a problem yesterday whilst undoing a bolt on one of the 12V batteries, there was a loud bang and sparks, and the bolt going into the positive battery was quite badly burnt. I've replaced the bolt and also a 10Amp and 35Amp fuses that had been wired into the battery connections, but again I'm wondering if this could be part of the problem?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated as my knowledge of solar panels and electronics is fairly limited, and I'm due to go on my UK tour in 2 weeks time and currently have no means of powering my music gear!
I'm Paul, a singer-songwriter from England. I'm doing a tour this summer in a milk float (an electric vehicle used in the UK for delivering milk), and am a newby to solar.
I want to use solar panels to power my music gear, and have just fitted 2 flexible solar panels to the roof of the milk float (150W each, connected in series to form a 300W, 24V system). The company who supplied the milk float have fitted 2 x 100Ah 12V batteries (again connected in series to form 24V), and these are connected to a 24V-240V inverter.
The solar panels are connected to a Tracer MPPT controller, which has an MT50 remote meter connected, which is designed to work with the controller. I've also wired in a 20Amp circuit breaker (between the positive terminal on the controller and the positive terminal on the batteries).
I've just connected the whole system up, and I think there is a problem. The MT50 meter has 3 sections showing the current status of the system, and is displaying a reading of 2.6V from the solar panels, and 25.6V coming from the batteries and 25.6 V connected to the 'Load'. It's also showing that there is 0.0 Amps flowing through the system, and without knowing what might be a normal reading (8-15 Amps?), this suggests to me that I've connected something up incorrectly.
I've crimped together some MC4 connectors and wondered if perhaps they're not connecting properly. I also had a problem yesterday whilst undoing a bolt on one of the 12V batteries, there was a loud bang and sparks, and the bolt going into the positive battery was quite badly burnt. I've replaced the bolt and also a 10Amp and 35Amp fuses that had been wired into the battery connections, but again I'm wondering if this could be part of the problem?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated as my knowledge of solar panels and electronics is fairly limited, and I'm due to go on my UK tour in 2 weeks time and currently have no means of powering my music gear!
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