12v panels automatically changed to 24v panels

Mike Barkley wrote:I seriously doubt it's the diodes. Is there any chance you wired the panels in series by accident?

Mike Barkley wrote:Can't hurt to try the diodes. Make sure to replace them exactly as they came out. They have a plus & a minus side. Backwards could destroy your panels. I'm 99.99999% certain diodes aren't the problem though.

Since even one disconnected panel reads high I'm now thinking the controller is bad & you're reading the unloaded voltage. Mine read about 18 volts unloaded. That seems typical but your panels might be different.  

Mike Barkley wrote:Yes, please keep us posted. I don't think I've ever heard of a panel doing that. Trying hard to figure out how that is even possible.

Does your meter have a current function? Most do. If it does, put the meter in series with a panel's wires. Does it show any current?

Hello Mike,
    My friend from the electronic shop came to my house, he soldered in the new diodes.  You were right about the new diodes they had no effect.    He did a few other checks but couldn't find the problem..   I think I ruined all 4 of my solar panels.   The one panel was brand new, never used.    This is truly a disaster!  It's difficult to get solar  panels here,  and I only have a motorcycle.  

Tomas Marhold wrote:

Mike Barkley wrote:Yes, please keep us posted. I don't think I've ever heard of a panel doing that. Trying hard to figure out how that is even possible.

Does your meter have a current function? Most do. If it does, put the meter in series with a panel's wires. Does it show any current?

Hello Mike,
    My friend from the electronic shop came to my house, he soldered in the new diodes.  You were right about the new diodes they had no effect.    He did a few other checks but couldn't find the problem..   I think I ruined all 4 of my solar panels.   The one panel was brand new, never used.    This is truly a disaster!  It's difficult to get solar  panels here,  and I only have a motorcycle.   I will check the current in series later today.   I attached a photo of how I got my battery home.   Thanks .

Tomas Marhold wrote:
    Hello Mike,.  Thanks for the information.   The high voltage that I'm reading is 22-23volts on a cloudy day directly from the panels.  Not the charge controller.  Everything is disconnected now.    I'm physically at the panel with the wires directly from the panel into my volt meter.   A 12v panel can't produce that much power.   On the back of the panel it says the maximum it can produce is 18v.    So how is it possible that it's giving me 22v on a semi overcast cloudy day?  I have two volt meters and the electrician neighbor came over also to check it out.   Same result.       All 4 12v panels are individually producing 22+ volts each.   I'm not concerned about the controller now.    I'm just trying to get my panels back to 12 volts.    IT'S A SOLAR MIRACLE!!!
   About the diodes, I plan to solder them in tomorrow.  Thanks for telling me that they have a plus and a minus side.   I didn't know that.  I have a home made tilting frame and I took all the panels off this afternoon.    
    If it's not the diodes, what else is there inside of a solar panel that would change/double the voltage?  I haven't got a clue.     It's just very strange.     Thanks for the info.    Tomas---
 

Mark Cunningham wrote:

Tomas Marhold wrote:
    Hello Mike,.  Thanks for the information.   The high voltage that I'm reading is 22-23volts on a cloudy day directly from the panels.  Not the charge controller.  Everything is disconnected now.    I'm physically at the panel with the wires directly from the panel into my volt meter.   A 12v panel can't produce that much power.   On the back of the panel it says the maximum it can produce is 18v.    So how is it possible that it's giving me 22v on a semi overcast cloudy day?  I have two volt meters and the electrician neighbor came over also to check it out.   Same result.       All 4 12v panels are individually producing 22+ volts each.   I'm not concerned about the controller now.    I'm just trying to get my panels back to 12 volts.    IT'S A SOLAR MIRACLE!!!
   About the diodes, I plan to solder them in tomorrow.  Thanks for telling me that they have a plus and a minus side.   I didn't know that.  I have a home made tilting frame and I took all the panels off this afternoon.    
    If it's not the diodes, what else is there inside of a solar panel that would change/double the voltage?  I haven't got a clue.     It's just very strange.     Thanks for the info.    Tomas---
 

I am in the RP also.  

It is not unusual for a panel to be outside of the listed specs.  Those numbers are measured in a lab under test lighting.  If the energy your receiving is greater than what was in the lab, you could expect it to measure bigger.

I have Jinko 460w panels.  I've measured them putting out greater than 500w on a clear day.

That being said here is what I would do if I were wearing your sineles.

1.)  Find a 150w incandescent light bulb, (or solder up a series string of lower wattage bulbs),  wire on some pig-tails and use it to check the power of each panel.  Put the panel under a load then measure the voltage out and current through the panel.  Measuring a panel's open circuit voltage/current can be misleading.  

Here this will give you an idea of what I am talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZQEJ33xblE

2.)  I suspect your diodes are good.   But you could get your multimeter and check your diodes.  Most meters have a semi-conductor PN junction test function.  Beeps in one test lead polarity.  No beep when that polarity is reversed.  Double beeps ... shorted diode.  No beeps ... open diode.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMXDa5hVzXA

If your meter does not have a diode check function then set it to measure ohms and do the same steps.  Low ohms one way.  High ohms the other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5OhQHdCZfA

Most smoked components will be noticeable .  Burned or stinking.

3.) You can test your charge controller by using car/motorcycle batteries.  

You have to have more power coming in than going out.  Most CC manufacturers spec a minimum of 30% more than output battery voltage.  So two panels producing 24vdc under load is going to have a hard time charging a 24vdc battery bank.

Wire three in series for 36vdc.  Wire that cell into the solar panel input breaker on the CC.   Wire two more in series for 24vdc.  Hook that up to the battery out breaker on the charge controller.  

Close the battery side breaker first.  Your cc should boot up.  No blinking lights/led's/lcd's  well its a problem.  If it does boot up ...

Close the "solar input" side breaker.  You should get some indication of current flow from the stack of three batteries into the stack of two.


Hope that helps.

Hello Mark,  Thanks for all of the information.  I think you know a lot about electricity and solar.  Yesterday I put one panel in the sun and hooked up the multi meter.    22.4 volts and around 2.4 - 3.04 Amps. But the Amps kept fluctuating.       Upon further inspection the silver ribbons in the panels look damaged at the intersections.   I attached a photo.     Surprisingly, one panel is working but damaged.    I switched my batteries back to 12v and using the one panel to charge them but it's not working so good.    I got a battery charger today and using it now to keep the batteries fresh.     But they sat at 12.4 for a weeks.   I will check out your function test on YouTube.     I ordered a soldering iron from Shopee but it didn't arrive yet.    I borrowed one from my friend but it has no power it's useless.
   I'm in Nueva Ecija, Palayan city, Luzon.   Small Town.    
    Thanks.   Ignat.     T---

Tomas Marhold wrote:

Hello Mark,  Thanks for all of the information.  I think you know a lot about electricity and solar.  Yesterday I put one panel in the sun and hooked up the multi meter.    22.4 volts and around 2.4 - 3.04 Amps. But the Amps kept fluctuating.       Upon further inspection the silver ribbons in the panels look damaged at the intersections.   I attached a photo.     Surprisingly, one panel is working but damaged.    I switched my batteries back to 12v and using the one panel to charge them but it's not working so good.    I got a battery charger today and using it now to keep the batteries fresh.     But they sat at 12.4 for a weeks.   I will check out your function test on YouTube.     I ordered a soldering iron from Shopee but it didn't arrive yet.    I borrowed one from my friend but it has no power it's useless.
   I'm in Nueva Ecija, Palayan city, Luzon.   Small Town.    
    Thanks.   Ignat.     T---