solar panel

[Mystical]

Got the boat back and it is in the water. Went down to check on things and found that the remote panel for the solar panel will not turn on. The part of the unit mounted in the bilge shows a green flashing light that says the panel is charging, but I can not get the remote panel to turn on. It is plugged in on both ends. Am I missing something?

 

[knotflying]

For the hell of it, try a master reset. Remove the fuses on the leads to the batteries, now disconnect the power leads to the controller. Be careful these leads will be live, that is why I installed a 30 amp in line fuse on the hot leg lead from the solar panel. Wait a few minutes. re-attach the solar leads first. Now re-install the battery fuses. This is worth a try, but it sounds to me like there may be a bad connection at either end or (worse case scenario) there may be a break in the line.
Good Luck and let us know how it works out.
Mike Rizzo

 

[Kenny Marrs]

I would also make sure the temp sensor has been jumped with a small wire or staple. This comes standard now on all of the new units with a small staple.

-Kenny

 

[knotflying]

Kenny is correct. Sometimes if the sensor gets wet it thinks it has a remote sensor and then when it dries out you can get an error code that says remote sensor is missing. This is why I moved my entire controller back under to a better protected spot in my battery compartment. Many times water would run over the lip, hit the controller and then affect the remote sensor connection.

 

[Mystical]

Mike, I remember that you did the reset for me in Block last summer. Peter moved the controller and added the jumper wire as part of the list from the winter. Just can not get the remote to work.

 

[Mystical]

I did unplug both ends of the remote as well.

 

[knotflying]

Well, as they say, what was the last thing you did before it stopped working? Can you get a spare wire and run it from the controller directly to the remote sensor without having to snake it through everything? That would help eliminate the cause as being a break in the wire. If it does not work after that it could be either the controller or the remote. You can also try calling Morningstar. Their tech support is pretty good and they may be able to point you in the right direction. It sounds to me though that since the control unit was moved something happened during relocation.

 

[Mystical]

worked fine all last year after you fixed it for us in Block. I will call Peter and see if he checked it after they moved the controller. Always something I guess

 

[knotflying]

Its a boat. The most caustic and demanding environment for mechanical and electrical items. I spent two days re-installing my Wabasto heater and then cleaning out all the build up in the firing chamber. I am really getting to know my boat intimately!

 

[Mystical]

I know that feeling. Last year I spent almost every weekend fixing things. Just hope this year is not a repeat.