Charge Controller Stuck in Bulk Charge Mode

[MaineUSA]

I’ve got a new Sunforce 60032, 30 amp Charger Controller connected up to roof panels and two new 6 volt golf cart batteries in series (12 volt), all in a small cabin in Maine to run a couple lights.

As background, the panels and wiring were professionally installed about 10 years ago. The system had been inactive for a couple years before I replaced the controller and batteries.

When connected, everything works fine, but while the device charges, it won’t come off the “bulk charge” mode and go into “maintain mode.”

Any suggestions as to what might cause this would be appreciated.

[inetdog]

I’ve got a new Sunforce 60032, 30 amp Charger Controller connected up to roof panels and two new 6 volt golf cart batteries in series (12 volt), all in a small cabin in Maine to run a couple lights.

As background, the panels and wiring were professionally installed about 10 years ago. The system had been inactive for a couple years before I replaced the controller and batteries.

When connected, everything works fine, but while the device charges, it won’t come off the “bulk charge” mode and go into “maintain mode.”

Any suggestions as to what might cause this would be appreciated.

My first question would be what voltage the CC is able to drive the battery bank to?
One or more cells could be shorted out internally, keeping the bulk voltage below the threshold for the transition to Absorb, much less to maintain.
Check the voltage of each battery to see if one has a failed cell. And check the SG of all cells.
Second, did you connect the CC to the batteries before you connected the panels? An incorrect start up sequence could keep the microprocessor in the CC from working correctly to control it.

[PNjunction]

When connected, everything works fine, but while the device charges, it won’t come off the “bulk charge” mode and go into “maintain mode.”

By "device" do you mean the batteries themselves, or are you running some other device from the batteries while they are charging?

Some followup optional Q's just for fun to make sure you aren't playing around with sulfated batts...

What is the panel wattage? I assume two nominal 12v panels wired in parallel.
What is the battery capacity in the 20-hour rating?
Where are you located to see if you have good solar-insolation hours?
How long is the panel wiring run to the CC?
How much power do you draw from those batteries daily?

[MaineUSA]

All, Many thanks. Will disconnect the controller and reconnect in the order provided in the instructions. The batteries are brand new and the system worked fine before for years, so the wiring guage, distance from panels etc I think is ok. Just running a couple light bulbs at night on the rare occassion I visit the cabin. Assistance appreciated!

[Sunking]

Could be a few different things.

• Defective battery with shorted cell
• Defective Charge Controller.
• Incorrectly wired
• Or just not enough panel wattage to replace energy used the previous day.

[peakbagger]

Folks are being polite, Sunforce = Harbor Freight

Much of the Harbor Freight solar equipment is the lowest of the low for quality, much is defective out of the box.

[SunEagle]

Folks are being polite, Sunforce = Harbor Freight

Much of the Harbor Freight solar equipment is the lowest of the low for quality, much is defective out of the box.

I agree that a lot of Harbor Freight equipment is not the highest quality you can buy which is why thier products are inexpensive.

I didn't purchase it from HF but I do own a Sunforce 30 amp 60032 CC and it works just fine for me. Although if I had to do it all over again I would have gotten a good MPPT charge controller. Not because the Sunforce was bad but because I could have saved on the amount of pv panels I needed to charge my battery system using an MPPT instead of PWM charger.

[PNjunction]

I had a Sunforce 60032 pwm and it is what got me addicted to metering - even if it isn't the most exact. It is MILES better than their $7 ping-pong on/off cheapo. I jumped on a metered Morningstar shortly thereafter and have been moving up the chain slowly but surely.

The metering can help diagnose problems pretty quickly removing a lot of guesswork, especially if you don't have a simple clamp-on ammeter..

One tip is that if you are going to change the battery chemistry setting with the 60032, do so *before* making your connections, and not afterwards with everything up and running.

[SunEagle]

I had a Sunforce 60032 pwm and it is what got me addicted to metering - even if it isn't the most exact. It is MILES better than their $7 ping-pong on/off cheapo. I jumped on a metered Morningstar shortly thereafter and have been moving up the chain slowly but surely.

The metering can help diagnose problems pretty quickly removing a lot of guesswork, especially if you don't have a simple clamp-on ammeter..

One tip is that if you are going to change the battery chemistry setting with the 60032, do so *before* making your connections, and not afterwards with everything up and running.

Good point. You definitely need to select the correct type battery (Gel or Lead Acid) using the switch on the charger before hooking up your batteries.

[eksine]

hey just so you know I thought my solar panel was defective until I tried 2 sunforce 10A digital charge controllers. both would not go into float mode and checking the solar panel it was outputting 20 volts and 4.5 amps open so to answer your question sunforce = poop. I even contacted the sunforce tech guy and he said "ask the solar panel manufacturer what they recommend" because there was a "technology issue", gayest response ever. the controller would emit a police effect, switching endlessly from bulk to float but never staying on float, such a complete waste of my time. I also had trouble with a sainsonic 10 amp mppt controller. the status leds were so dim I had to put my eye right up to it to see anything even faintly. I ended up with a morningstar sunsaver 10L 12volt controller and it works, it just works