very very low amps

[FloridaSun]

ok, i monitored the charge controller closely yesterday, the charger fluctuates quite rapidly, the lowest was .02 amp and the highest was 13.0 amp.
it works out that around 50 ah are collected in a full 24hr day. yesterday was sunny all day with no clouds, my panels are south facing at 30 degree
i believe the max amp output of each panel is 4.8 amp.
my cc is only collecting around .8 amp from each panel.
any thoughts?

I'm still thinking you cooked cheap china charge controller by running over 250 volts into it's 50 volt capacity.

[SunEagle]

ok, i monitored the charge controller closely yesterday, the charger fluctuates quite rapidly, the lowest was .02 amp and the highest was 13.0 amp.
it works out that around 50 ah are collected in a full 24hr day. yesterday was sunny all day with no clouds, my panels are south facing at 30 degree
i believe the max amp output of each panel is 4.8 amp.
my cc is only collecting around .8 amp from each panel.
any thoughts?

So if you saw 13.0amp at the highest point your 6 panels were putting out about 2.17 amps each which is more than 0.8 amps each. More than likely you only had 3 panels working at about 4.3amp each which would give you the 13 amps total.

You may have the issue with your charger not working as FloridaSun indicated or a wiring issue with the panels.

Please refresh me as tell me how you have the six panels wired. That will determine what the max amp and voltage you will see at peak sunlight.

[tizzywizzy1uk]

basically i connected all the + together via branch connectors and all the - together via branch connectors. from last panel through to 1st.
the cable i ran from the panels to to controller were 2.5mm twin and earth domestic copper wire with each end twisted together and crimped into the sheathings.
would this be acceptable?

[Naptown]

Well your wiring is less than half the size required for that arrangement, you will need fuses for each panel to combine them. Distance will be another factor how far are the panels from the charge controller.

[tizzywizzy1uk]

the panels are around 10 metres from the controller. i changed the wires between the cc and the panels from 4mm to 2.5mm twin and earth thinking that by twisting the three 2.5mm cables together would make them 7.5mm overall.

[Naptown]

the panels are around 10 metres from the controller. i changed the wires between the cc and the panels from 4mm to 2.5mm twin and earth thinking that by twisting the three 2.5mm cables together would make them 7.5mm overall.

Illegal to do that in the US but whatever I assume you are in the UK.
So how many of these wires for each + leg and each - leg In one part you say there are 2 and in another three.
Is the ground wire connected to any of these?

[SunEagle]

basically i connected all the + together via branch connectors and all the - together via branch connectors. from last panel through to 1st.
the cable i ran from the panels to to controller were 2.5mm twin and earth domestic copper wire with each end twisted together and crimped into the sheathings.
would this be acceptable?

You described a circuit where the 6 panels are wired in parallel. That means you can get the total amps by multiplying the amp output of each panel times the number of panels (4.8 x 6 = 28.8amps).

Also based on what you said the wire size is not big enough for the amount of current you are generating. For the 28.8amps you will need at least 11mm wire if you keep it within a few meters of the charge controller. If the wire is longer then you need even bigger wire so it sounds like you are having a voltage drop issue which will drop your input voltage to your charger.

You will also need to fuse the + leads for each of your panels to protect the wiring and other panels from a short circuit.

You need to start over and first properly wire your panels for Parallel with fusing to the charger. If the charger is still working you will see the amperage go up accordingly.

[tizzywizzy1uk]

right i think i'm almost there! i'm going to rewire the panels with fuses and put in new cable to the charger.
what size fuse's would be needed on each panel? also where's the best place to connect the ground?
naptown..each plus and minus have one cabe each..the cable is twin and earth domestic electrical wire..i assumed that this might work, then i read somewhere about stranded flexible tinned copper cable. the panels came with 4mm flexible cable wired to series.
would using 6mm flexible tinned copper cable rated at 70amps be ok to use?

[tizzywizzy1uk]

sorted at last..i finally got round to sorting out my solar stuff.. i found that three of the panels were disconnected due to my rubbish crimping skills..i rewired as instructed and hey presto job done..
many thanks for all your advise.. great forum..