Thanks, been meaning to check mine. My panels are about 4 yrs old now and seem a little weak.

@ColoradoCamperman

5 жыл бұрын

You're welcome! Check the specs on your panel and measure volts and amps. If the volts are half of what you are getting, it's probably the diodes (at least that's what the Windy Nation guy said).

Thank you

@ColoradoCamperman

3 жыл бұрын

You're welcome, thanks for watching!

You got to love tech support !👍

@ColoradoCamperman

5 жыл бұрын

Heck yeah! They saved me and were very helpful!

thanks for this, I have 6 Windy Nation solar panels and am only getting 300 watts out of them so I must do some troubleshooting, wondering if replacing the diode fixed it for your mums

@ColoradoCamperman

2 жыл бұрын

Replacing the diode did not fix the problem. The panel was under warranty still so we were able to get a replacement panel. Thanks for watching and good luck!

Why would a bad diode at the PV panel result in (still) almost 5A downstream, but 0.9A farther downstream?

@ColoradoCamperman

3 жыл бұрын

I don't know for sure but changing the diodes didn't fix the problem. I changed out the diodes and we were still having issues. So, we ended up replacing that panel and the new panel works fine. Thanks for watching.

Hi! If a wire with a 120 volt phase touches the frame of a solar panel that has not yet been installed, could it damage that panel? Thanks

@ColoradoCamperman

3 жыл бұрын

I'm not sure, I suppose it could. You could hook up a multi meter to the panels and see if they still are reading what they're supposed to. Thanks for watching.

Now, are these by-pass diodes for each row of cells on the panel, or for when you have multiple panels running in a system? What sort of amps were you expecting to be going through? Love the folding suitcase solar panel setup. I'm wagering a guess they are quite a bit more expensive than a solid, large panel? I still have the one large panel. Sadly, its been in storage till I can get the roof of my camper fixed.

@ColoradoCamperman

5 жыл бұрын

The Windy Nation rep told me that the diodes move the electricity from the panels to the battery and they block electricity coming from the battery to the panel. He said without the diodes your panel will actual start to drain your batteries at night when you are not collecting any power. So they're sort of a one way switch/gate keeper, The folding suitcase is awesome! Fixed panels main benefit is that you don't have to setup/tear down. But, we find we bring in a lot more power with the suitcase then my Mother In-Laws fixed panel ever has. However, we probably will install 100-200 watts on our roof top later this summer. That is the hope at least!

@Jimfoxyboy

5 жыл бұрын

From what I was reading, diodes are also used in some multi panel systems. If one of the panels ended up in the shade, power would route around it and still be able to reach the charging system. I figured, if something were to happen to my system, at least I know what to look out for. Also, if the camper gets stuck some shade, you can move a separate panel to some place where it'll be in the sun all day. Although, how much tracking of the sun did you end up doing with the 'suitcase' panel? Did you try pointing it at 'high noon' and just let it do its thing by itself all day long? From what I was told, my panel is a 150watt. I didn't think I need too much for my little truck camper. Then again, I am kind of further north here. Hope the install works out for you!

@ColoradoCamperman

5 жыл бұрын

@@Jimfoxyboy Yeah, I'm still learning about solar systems and am no expert by any means. The whole diode thing was new to me. But a great opportunity to learn! We do an ok job at tracking the sun with the suitcase. We usually move it more often and are really concerned about our energy if we have used a lot of power. Otherwise I will probably move it 3-5 times during the day. 150 watt would be plenty if you're just using lights, running an exhaust fan, and charging your phone. I had a tiny 20 watt panel with a charge controller on my old truck camper and it always kept my battery charged. I only used the led lights and charged my phone, so no big draws on the battery, but still, my battery was always fully charged!

Hello, I just came across your channel, thank you for the amazing content! I have a bit of an issue and I hope you can help: I have a MPPT charge controller and it keeps saying “error” and it shows a moon icon as if we’re at night and I’m writing this on a very sunny day at 1.17pm idk what to do.. can you please tell me what might be wrong? Thank you!

@ColoradoCamperman

3 жыл бұрын

Sorry for the long delay, your comment went to my spam comment section. Thanks! Have you hooked up a multi meter to the panels to make sure they are producing power? I would start there and work your way down to the controller. Sounds like power may not be getting to the charge controller or it is not recognizing the power that is coming into it. Windy Nations customer service was great. Depending on your solar setup, I'd say if you can't figure it out, call the customer support line. Thanks for watching!

@halfacuppa

3 жыл бұрын

@@ColoradoCamperman it’s okay and thank you for taking the time to reply The solar panels weren’t plugged properly and the battery was over discharged, it’s all good now!

@ColoradoCamperman

3 жыл бұрын

@@halfacuppa You're welcome, glad you got it taken care of!

Nice video. I have a question for you. My solar panel has 28.4 volts. It used to have different connectors so I clipped it and put SAE so I can charge it with my portable battery. When I plugged it in, its not charging. When I used my multi meter, it shows 28.4. What could be wrong?

@ColoradoCamperman

3 жыл бұрын

Are you using a charge controller? Or are you just plugging the solar panel straight to the battery?

@jonphanspromotions

3 жыл бұрын

@@ColoradoCamperman I have changed the end to SAE and an adapter so I can charge the portable battery.

@ColoradoCamperman

3 жыл бұрын

@@jonphanspromotions Sorry, I'm not exactly sure how you have it setup, so I don't have an answer for you

I plan on on installing some solar on my Jayco soon. It's prewired so i hope it's easy. I'm not solar smart :)

@ColoradoCamperman

5 жыл бұрын

That is sweet that your Jayco is prewired for solar. Terrence's camper is the same way. If ya need help setting it up, let me know!

@AdventuresWithDaniel

5 жыл бұрын

@@ColoradoCamperman Will do!!

My panels (2x 320, in series) pull 70 volts but solar controller only outputs 5 amps to the battery bank (2x 12volt 200 ah lifepo4). If I switch panels to parallel, it is like 35 volts from panels and 2.5 amps to battery. I thought it could be the Renogy 40A controller. Today I got a new 60A controller and same output to batteries as the old one. What could be wrong? Thanks!

@ColoradoCamperman

10 ай бұрын

Hmm, that is interesting. I'm not sure why that would be happening, I am definitely not a solar expert. Sorry I couldn't help.

solar panel 22 guadge wire split it from the split to ring cam 18 AWG stranded check volts 6 check severl times still says solar status no connection thank you

@ColoradoCamperman

7 ай бұрын

Not quite sure what the problem would be. Sorry I couldn't help.

I have the bluetti 200 watt panels and they stopped working. Do you know how to trouble shoot and fix them?

@ColoradoCamperman

Ай бұрын

If you hook a volt meter up directly to the MC4 connectors you may be able to troubleshoot the issue. I'm no solar expert, if bluetti has a support line, I'd call them.

My panel only shows 1.5v and in reverse polarity. Anything I can do?

@ColoradoCamperman

9 күн бұрын

Either something is damaged or it is wired wrong. You could have some bad diodes.

Well i think your battery is fully charged at 12.9volts and the charge controller is in absorption phase thus giving only little amps to fully charge the battery everything is fine

@ColoradoCamperman

3 жыл бұрын

No, turns out the panel was bad. We ended up getting a new panel. Thanks for watching.

@miked9383

3 жыл бұрын

This is an interesting comment Akash.

@santashelper2007

2 жыл бұрын

I believe Akash is correct, the charge controller is regulating how much is required by the battery to maintain charge, if your battery is full no need for further amps to go into the battery.

Tech support: (indian accent) good day sir this is tech support how may I help you.? me: 😥another scam (hangs up)🤣🤣

@ColoradoCamperman

2 жыл бұрын

Lol! Thanks for the laugh and watching!

Great to know never would have guessed diodes. I thought you were going in the rite direction with the controller wiring etc. Any idea why they blew? Thanks for the info. ✌

@ColoradoCamperman

5 жыл бұрын

I know, me neither! The rep said that they actual have a lot of people replace these because of close lighting strikes. I also need to install an in-line fuse to the battery because I do not have one, that could have maybe caused it as well.

I have 1900 watts of solar panel and they are putting out 21.6 volts and only 0.04 amps. I changed charge controllers and no change. I have went over all wiring and find no problems. What is wrong?

@ColoradoCamperman

4 жыл бұрын

Could be similar to our problem in the video, those diodes on the panels could be bad. Apparently they go out frequently and even a lighting strike that is close by can short them out. That is what Windynation told me at least. Make sure you have a fuse running from your solar panels to your batteries/charge controller. This could prevent that from happening in the future. Hope that helps, good luck and thanks for watching!

@ajw6715

4 жыл бұрын

@@ColoradoCamperman All is on circuit breaker. All is good now. Wasn't the diodes. It was a battery connection that had loosens up some how. I tightened all connections and the system is working as it should.

@ColoradoCamperman

4 жыл бұрын

@@ajw6715 Glad everything is working now! Funny how we can look at all other potential problems first and then it's something as simple as tightening down the cables! Lol, been there done that before!

why my solar provide around 10v and no Am at all?

@ColoradoCamperman

3 жыл бұрын

Is your battery charged? If your battery is charged, sometimes amps will not be feed to the battery and you will have little to no amps coming in.

Did you get the problem fixed?

@ColoradoCamperman

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, we replace the panel, lol! I changed out those diodes and it didn't do anything. So we got another panel. Thanks for watching!

Why do I have two boxes on solar panel

@ColoradoCamperman

Жыл бұрын

What are you talking about? Can you put a time stamp in the comment so I know what you're talking about?

@gookumpucky4842

Жыл бұрын

@@ColoradoCamperman I have two junction boxes on my solar panel with a pvc tube connected. Panel was given to me.

@ColoradoCamperman

Жыл бұрын

@@gookumpucky4842 I do not know what the purpose of the two boxes are. Sorry I couldn't help you.

@gookumpucky4842

Жыл бұрын

@@ColoradoCamperman thanks anyway

"just call tech support" yeah, right. Left message 2 days ago. wrote email to support. Nothing.

@ColoradoCamperman

2 жыл бұрын

Ugh, sorry to hear that, I got right through. Thanks for watching.