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dtcassist avatar image
dtcassist asked

SmartSolar 150/60 charger jumping/spiking output in Float

I've noticed my SmartSolar charger jumping all over when in Float mode. Have not seen any issues during bulk or absorb charging. It's not every time, but when sunlight is full and battery bank is fully charged I'm getting output voltage and current dropping to static, then jumping to 20+ amps then back down, every couple seconds. (Video attached)

The incoming PV voltage doesn't appear to correspond - it's dropping slightly when the output spikes up which sounds like it makes sense. I'm not sure how to diagnose further - could this be something on my bank or inverter? or is it an issue with the charger? Or with the solar panel setup?

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·
@dtcassist

It could be all of the above. some more investigation will be needed.

But often it is battery or connection to the battery related.

Arr you using smart networking only - no GX?

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dtcassist avatar image dtcassist Alexandra ♦ commented ·
Correct, smart networking only to a bmv712 monitor. Im going to run through my battery bank today and see if any thing stands out
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2 Answers
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Trevor Bird answered ·

@dtcassist I wonder if you have lithium batteries with internal BMS? A possibility you may consider is the internal BMS on the battery or battery bank may be switching in and out and that is presenting an intermittent load to the solar controller. I realise this is happening during float ( I would have expected during absorption) but perhaps to fault find just lower the absorption and float voltage level to test if it continues to happen.

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dtcassist avatar image dtcassist commented ·
That is a good thought, but no this is a lead carbon agm bank, with no BMS.

I will isolate and look closer at the bank today and see if anything is abnormal. I do also have a battery balancer installed (24v bank) which i can remove just to eliminate.

Thanks for your suggestions

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dtcassist answered ·

Well, I've done some testing, and don't see anything blatantly wrong with my battery bank - I have 3 pairs of 200ah batteries - northstar blue+ lead carbon agms. I removed my battery balancer and mid point connections to eliminate any compensating. Each battery is within a few tenths of a volt, and reasonably close on amperage at any of the charging states. As the spike happens, all currents and voltages go up and down evenly without dropping hugely as in a bad cell on one.

What i've found is the system will charge perfectly through bulk and absorb, then at first float is fine. It ran for over an hour file until battery intake was down to like 3 amps - then after an inverter motor load kicked in, the charger started doing it's jumping around.

It should have been drawing 6ish amps to the inverter and 3ish to the batteries prior, and with this spiking i'm seeing dropping all the way to zero. Still no strange looking voltage coming from the PV side.

This feels more like a charger issue - but am I missing something else?

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