Running the panel without a charge controller has overcharged the sealed battery and destroyed it.
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Disconnect the battery and measure the voltage. If charged up it should read at least 12.6 volts. If below 10 volts the battery is a boat anchor.
Secondly a 5 watt charger will not be able to keep up with a 22 AH battery. Assuming a 50% DOD on the battery it would take a 2 weeks or longer to charge the battery. Last point a 22 AH battery can only support about a 100 watt inverter.Leave a comment:
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Inverters will still draw power from your battery even if they are off. Maybe it is drawing more power than your trickle charger can supply.
I would still check the open circuit voltage of you battery to see if it is damaged or if if can reach its full charge (somewhere around 12.8V).
Isolate one problem at time.Leave a comment:
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Hi, I understand what you're saying and you're right. Panel---battery---inverter---lights. My battery was dead, so I didn't expect it to do anything. But my battery has been connected to the solar panel and inverter for 2 months with the inverter off and no lights. The battery should have been fully charged. With the inverter connected to the battery, the panel will not charge it. When I disconnect the inverter, the battery starts charging, see what I'm saying? The inverter comes after the battery, so why is the inverter affecting the battery backwards? Its almost like the inverter is shorted or something and backfeeding something to the battery preventing it from charging. I'm no expert when it comes to electricity but no fool either. This makes no sense to me.Leave a comment:
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Outdoor Lighting Powered by Solar Problems, Need Troubleshooting Help Please.
Hey everyone, I'm new here and new at solar so bare with my vocabulary.
. My setup goes as follows.
1. Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger
2. Power Bright PW400-12 Power Inverter 400 Watt 12 Volt DC To 110 Volt AC
3. 12V 22Ah Replacement for APC SU3000RM SU3000RMNET UPS Battery - UB12220
4. Trinity Lighting Post Light Sensor Model #: 6780-02B
Ok, so this has been a summer project basically working on it when I can. I bought this stuff and hooked it all up in August. I just now got around to getting my post lights and connected everything together today. Ok so in August, solar panel mounted, wires to battery. From battery pos and neg to input of inverter. Battery came with some charge so I tested it soon after with my cell phone charger and it worked. So it has sit like that since August hooked up. So today I hook up my lights and I get everything wired up, turn my inverter on, and put my finger over photo sensor so lights would come on and blah...nothing. Got my volt meter out and the battery read .5 volt. Disconnected solar panel and checked it and it was putting out 19.5V. While panel unhooked checked battery again and it read .2V. Hooked panel back up and checked battery again... its .5V. So, then I unhooked pos wire from inverter and checked battery again, it read .6V and was climbing. Within a matter of minutes, I had almost 3V. Connected positive wire back to inverter and immediately checked battery, it was back at .5V. Disconnected again, and battery read 3V and climbing. So, my inverter is preventing my battery from charging??!! Is it backfeeding or ......?? I'm so confused. All the reading and research I done before I even started told me anything less than 15 watts, I don't need a charge controller. This panel is a 5 watt trickle charger. Maybe the inverter is junk...?!? Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated, Thank You.
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