I waited through this whole video to see what the issue with the controller was, but alas there was no reason given for the failure. Great! My Victron chargers have started to fail from time to time over the past 12-18 months. Usually, a reset works, but the 100:20 version has recently failed consistently. The other one, 75:15 is working at the moment, but has a dummy spit every couple of months for a few days. This is why I have always run two separate power systems, be it on my yacht, camper trailers or caravans. Something always gives and solving the problem is rarely simple given the number of variables in the system these days. I retain an older non-smart solar charger for occasions like this!!

@Wizardinthewild

3 ай бұрын

After all my fault finding I gave no reason for the failure as the manufacturer decided to replace the unit indicating to me it was faulty. They didn’t say what was wrong. I did send them an e-Mail asking what the issue was. They didn’t answer me but strangely sent me out a second replacement again with no explanation. So although I’m pleased I now have a spare I don’t know so couldn’t tell you what was wrong. I’m sorry if that frustrated you. It also frustrated me. I was hoping to find a connection issue or a fuse blown which let to the vlog ending the way it did. I didn’t hold anything back. It was just the truth of what happened. It’s good to have a spare like you do now. Sounds like you have it sorted. Thanks for watching and taking time out with your lengthy comment. I do appreciate it. Safe travels. 🐶🐶🐶🚐🧙‍♂️👍

Thanks for making that video was very helpful to me cheers

@Wizardinthewild

8 күн бұрын

So pleased it helped you. Sometimes these things are not what they seem 🤣🚐🧙‍♂️👍

@mahmoodmalik4202

8 күн бұрын

@@Wizardinthewild yes you’re right 👍🏼

Very technical made easy to understand. Well done Graham cheers Ray and nicola

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

Thank you both. Wiring in a camper can be a bit of a minefield! 😊

Really good that they sent you another one out with no hassle. Solar power again. Good stuff.🌞

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

Can’t have too much solar power! They were very good. 😊

Really pleased you got it sorted out and identified as a faulty device and that they replaced it, good idea to put the breakers to enable easier reset. I am thinking of moving mine under the bench as found it gets very hot in the top cupboards if the van is sat in the sun shining on that side (especially with ours been a dark colour) I seem to get a problem where you can’t connect via Bluetooth when it warms up in the heat, but continues to charge ok but seems to sort it’s self out overnight. Looks like you got good service. All the best, David 👍

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

Youve made some interesting observations there David. I sometimes wonder if it gets a bit hot where it’s situated in ours. Like your idea of moving it lower down.👍

Great the customer service worked well and allowed you to diagnose the root cause - well done and useful to others

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. Yes. Always helpful when you need to return things. Safe travels.

Shame you had a fault with the controller but good customer service by the sound of it. Good idea for future maintenance too.👍

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Tim. Yes, they were a nice company to deal with. Shame it failed. Hopefully the replacement won’t! 😊

@blake9358

Жыл бұрын

@@Wizardinthewild It's usually a 0% battery depletion issue, some controllers won't charge a dead flat lithium ion or lead acid deep cycle battery

I have this issue once a year. Did what you did to reboot the controller which did not work. So then disconnected again and left it overnight. Worked next morning.

@Wizardinthewild

10 ай бұрын

It’s a bit strange isn’t it. I did lots of fault finding and different tests. Ultimately they replaced it as it was faulty. Thanks for watching and commenting. 🐶🐶🐶🚐🧙‍♂️🙏

Glad they replaced it for you. Always a pain having to send stuff back 👍

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

Yes. They were very good. No quibbling. 😊

Interesting that shame we don’t know what failed, I’d be amazed if you pull 10amp from 100w panel especially flat on the roof, although Mppt is better than pwm the best I’ve seen in full sun is around 5amp in. I did say to Heather you need an inline fuse on the input end before you fitted the breaker (fuse at a much higher rate would do as a quick pull out) 👍

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

I went for the circuit breakers because I already had some. Let’s hope this one holds up better than the last one🤞

Hi Graham, thank you so much for your videos, they are so helpful. I have a CV40 and am considering upgrading the PWM to the MPPT you are using. I will probably take the opportunity to move it to near the battery and put a solar isolator switch where PWM is now, however my question relates to the in-line fuse near the battery. Victron specify 25A fuse minimum for the 100/20 and I wonder, did you merely replace the original in-line fuse with a 25A? Thanks again

@Wizardinthewild

8 ай бұрын

No I didn’t change the fuse although I may have relocated it when I installed Buz bars. It’s still 35amp. Although the MPPT is more efficient the output from the solar is still the same. So very little amps change. Good idea to fit an isolator. I have done similar. Hope that helps and thanks for the nice comments. It means a lot. 🐶🐶🐶👍🚐🧙‍♂️

@user-gm6wb9et4r

8 ай бұрын

@@WizardinthewildThank you

@Wizardinthewild

8 ай бұрын

@@user-gm6wb9et4r will be interested to know how you get on. 🙏🧙‍♂️

You cant beat a successful RMA though it shouldn't be required. I am often mocked for keeping original packaging but it helps in RMA situations and shows a certain amount of care for a product.

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I keep plenty of packing but not that one. As you say it shouldn’t be necessary but they treated me well at least 👍🙏🚐🐶🐶🧙‍♂️

Well thankfully it failed in a non dangerous way Graham but a bit of a pain to get sorted I imagine. Cheers K.

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

Yes. Luckily all was ok in the end. Have you made any decisions over your van yet? 😊

@karlospappy8908

Жыл бұрын

@@Wizardinthewild No we are sitting tight waiting for a dealer update from Spinneys on Friday, I will give them until lunch then chase them. I have been watching Autotrader for the last few weeks and there are new vans available immediately being added daily so not sure if that's cancelled orders due to the cost of living. So we may end up spending more and compromising as the CV 40 was a perfect fit with some alterations of course. Take care Cheers K.

I have a question... I have a 300w solar panel and a 12v 50ah battery and for some reason it doesn't want to charge at more than a 100w. Is that normal?

@Wizardinthewild

2 ай бұрын

It will all depend on what controller you have. That will be between the panel and the battery. If you have 50ah which is quite small it’s likely that your controller is also low amperage. TBH the 300w solar isn’t a good match for that battery. You want at least a 240ah. Hope that helps. 🧙‍♂️🚐👍

How do you measure thr voltage on the mppt with the meter?

@Wizardinthewild

3 ай бұрын

You just need to put the meter probes on the - and + of the solar in and same for power out. I have a digital meter so set it to 24v scale. Of course you can use the Victron MPPT app. 🐶🐶🐶🚐🧙‍♂️👍

If your battery is discharged to 0% the solar controller may or may not charge it depending on the brand of solar controller. You have to direct charge from the battery for at least 30 minutes then hook up the battery back to the solar controller and Bobs your uncle 🤠!

@Wizardinthewild

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for you advise Blake. In this case the solar controller proved to be faulty and Victron replaced it. All working fine now. Thought I had put that in the video but I may be getting confused. I might have done an update video. Appreciate your help. 🐶🐶🐶🙏🧙‍♂️👍🚐

Well that was a total waste of time? We never knew what happened!

@Wizardinthewild

Ай бұрын

Well you would have known if you watched until the end. The Victron people accepted that the unit was faulty and replaced it. They never gave me a report of what failed inside which wouldn’t have meant much to me anyway. I think you must have missed the bit where I said it was replaced otherwise you would have known. Thanks for watching. 🚐🧙‍♂️🙏👍

@Joe-rd8we

Ай бұрын

@@Wizardinthewild Yes I have seen it in it's entirety. That's why I said waste of time. Yes the question still remains what happened. We need to know so it can be prevented from causing a fire to the RV?

@Wizardinthewild

Ай бұрын

@@Joe-rd8we I don’t believe there was any fire risk so f do not worry yourself. The unit just failed to output. It didn’t even get warm. It may well be that Victron didn’t even bother to investigate. Probably cheaper to sent a new one out than put a technician on it for many hours. But in the unlikely event that that did work it out I would think it would be an in house secret. Interesting speculation though 👍

@Joe-rd8we

Ай бұрын

@@Wizardinthewild When working with electrical components. Anything can happen!

@Wizardinthewild

Ай бұрын

@@Joe-rd8we that’s true. 👍🙏

I bought one. It died under load. It lasted me 60 days exactly. I'm not interested in a product that doesn't last. It never put out more than 70 amps. I never got anywhere near the 100 amps it 8s supposed to provide.

@Wizardinthewild

Ай бұрын

I think all of them have poor margin. Not sure how efficient they are really. But ours is working well now. Thanks for commenting. 🧙‍♂️🚐👀

@dimitris8829

Ай бұрын

what is the victron model that you have and can deliver 100 amps ??? only the biggest model , the RS series can deliver 100A and 200A .

@Wizardinthewild

Ай бұрын

@@dimitris8829 mine is only a 30 amp one. No point having anything bigger my solar panel is only 100w 🧙‍♂️🚐 thanks for commenting.