Do I have a problem with my solar panel or my classic 150?

[noelana2009]

Hello admin and to all midnite solar classic enthusiast, 

Please help, I'm a newbie with solar power system, I setup my diy solar panel to a small 17Ah vrla battery, new classic 150, for testing and it doesn't charge my battery at all, the display status shows 17.6V In before charging starts (resting - see status 2 pic) and goes down to 12.5V when charging bulk mppt (see status 1 pic) but there is no watts produced,  and it's just like this for hours starting from 9am to till sun's out.

Other photos attached shows other parameters of the classic.

Does a tinted window glass block the sunlight totally as I'm currently staying at 7th floor and the only place I can setup my system is to position the panel in a big window. The voltage reading in the sola panel is 18.4volts at peak.

Thank you all very much in advance!

Noel

[Halfcrazy]

Yes window glass will have a very adverse effect. Especially tinted as it is designed to block the light. I suspect thats the issue. How big is the solar panel in Watts?

[noelana2009]

It's just 1x100watt panel.

If my diy panel produce 18v, is it possible that it will not produce watts as suggest by one guy in other forum that the solar cell might have unseen cracks or bad construction?

Thanks a lot!

[Westbranch]

Yes, does your screen show any watts, if not the pV is not making any...  put the panel on the deck or porch as an experiment...

[noelana2009]

One more thing, I have an aquarium also that is full of algae in the same room, thought this will eliminate the possibility that the tint in the glass blocks the sunlight, maybe.

[Resthome]

It's just 1x100watt panel.

If my diy panel produce 18v, is it possible that it will not produce watts as suggest by one guy in other forum that the solar cell might have unseen cracks or bad construction?

Thanks a lot!

Measure the Short circuit current of the panel by itself. That will tell you if it is producing and watts.

[noelana2009]

Yes, does your screen show any watts, if not the pV is not making any...  put the panel on the deck or porch as an experiment...

It shows zero watt but the charger keep charging,
I'm planning now to test it outside as you suggested, this will probably my final test, or last resort I'll purchase factory made panels.

Big thanks!

[noelana2009]

It's just 1x100watt panel.

If my diy panel produce 18v, is it possible that it will not produce watts as suggest by one guy in other forum that the solar cell might have unseen cracks or bad construction?

Thanks a lot!

Measure the Short circuit current of the panel by itself. That will tell you if it is producing and watts.

I'll do that, thanks!

[boB]

One idea to see what your panel is capable of is to use the Classic to monitor the battery voltage like
it is doing now but disconnect the PV positive from the Classic PV + input...

Then, while the sun is shining, connect that PV positive wire to the battery positive and note if
the battery voltage starts to rise some.  An 18V open circuit PV module may not do very much
through an MPPT charge controller since its voltage is so low.

If your solar panel can do some charging, then the battery voltage should rise up to
around 13 or 14 volts directly connected.  It may take a few minutes so give it a chance.

It may be that you just need some more voltage into the controller.  It looks from your
pictures like it is trying to charge but there isn't a lot of power available to bring that
battery voltage up.

Let's see what happens when it is connected directly.
boB

[noelana2009]

One idea to see what your panel is capable of is to use the Classic to monitor the battery voltage like
it is doing now but disconnect the PV positive from the Classic PV + input...

Then, while the sun is shining, connect that PV positive wire to the battery positive and note if
the battery voltage starts to rise some.  An 18V open circuit PV module may not do very much
through an MPPT charge controller since its voltage is so low.

If your solar panel can do some charging, then the battery voltage should rise up to
around 13 or 14 volts directly connected.  It may take a few minutes so give it a chance.

It may be that you just need some more voltage into the controller.  It looks from your
pictures like it is trying to charge but there isn't a lot of power available to bring that
battery voltage up.

Let's see what happens when it is connected directly.
boB

That's a great suggestion Bob, I will definitely try that.