Sunflare 180W Flexible Vehicle Solar Panel with RedArd BCDC1225D help (1 Viewer)

[DPA200]

I have a dual battery with fixed rooftop solar setup that's been working fine the past 2 years. Lithium battery is in my rear drawer wing. REDARC BCDC1225D has been handling the charging and solar input. SwitchPro's have been doing the ....switching. On the roof rack I had a Renogy 160 watt rigid panel connected via SB-50 Anderson.

A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon a really nice hardshell Bush Company Roof Top Tent – Black MAX edition for sale and decided it was time to say goodbye to my empty roof space and took the plunge. I couldn't bring myself to install my old,thick, rigid, silver Renogy solar panel on the roof of such a nice black tent. I then also stumbled upon somebody selling a really nice new Sunflare 180W Flexible Vehicle Solar Panel. They had bought on a Black Friday sale from OK4wd and decided not to use so I jumped on that. Mounted it up, wired it up, checked polarity, and put a SB-50 Anderson at the end. All good so far. I then plugged into the existing SB-50 that comes up from my rear hatch that my old solar panel was plugged into and the RedArc immediacy lights up like a xmas tree with all the lights blinking 6 times, then pause, then repeat. Looked up the error code and it says 6 flashes is "Input Over voltage battery or solar". If i re-plug the old Renogy panel back in, the error goes away. Any ideas?

From what I heard when i bought the Sunflare 180W Solar Panel, it is capable of bringing in a bit more measured power than the RedArc 1225d can handle. So the guy i bought that from recommended I buy Victron solar charger with a higher limit and have that handle just the solar leaving my RedArc as-is for the rest. I bought the Victron MPPT 75V 10 amp 12/24-Volt Solar Charge Controller, but that's a project for another day because I want to redo some of the wiring choices my previous installer did at that time. So the alternative option the guy I bought the solar panel from was just to mask or cover part of the solar panel so it's not bringing in more than the RedArc can handle. I wasn't into this at the time, I'd like to actually use all the solar but now I really just want the solar working so am open to this.

So my question is, can anybody help advise me what i could do or what could be wrong with the RedArc 1225d and Sunflare 180W combo and how to get around this "Input Over voltage" error? Currently I just have it unplugged because I didn't want to risk damaging my RedArc. I know my eventual plan will bypass the RedArc and run to a Victron, but that may be a little ways off so really want this to work as-is until then

Pic of the new Sunflare 180W on the Bush Co tent. Still gotta tape/route those wires so they don't stick up. Otherwise good though runs through a marine stainless grommet thingy, behind the tent fabric, under the carpet, out the tent floor then back alnong the roof to the rear hatch plug

Here is the old Renogy 160w panel unmounted but plugged back into that same SB-50

And error codes from the RedArc manual.

 

[rlynch356]

The Anderson connectors are wired reversed to each other…

The redarc can accept 32v input
The panel can deliver 27.9v output

Open Circuit voltage is 36v hence the code 6

Sunflare 180w specs
Technical Specifications:

• Maximum Power Point: Pmpp 180W
• Maximum Power Point Tolerance: ±5%
• Maximum Power Point Voltage: Vmpp 27.9V
• Maximum Power Point Current: Impp 6.2A
• Open Circuit Voltage: Voc 36.0V
• Short Circuit Voltage: Isc 7.4A
• Maximum Power Point Temp. Coeff.:0.4%/C°

 

[grinchy]

What voltage does your voltmeter say the panel is outputting?

And I agree with @rlynch356

 

[DPA200]

The Anderson connectors are wired reversed to each other…

The redarc can accept 32v input
The panel can deliver 27.9v output

Open Curcuru voltage is 36v hence the code 6

Sunflare 180w specs
Technical Specifications:

• Maximum Power Point: Pmpp 180W
• Maximum Power Point Tolerance: ±5%
• Maximum Power Point Voltage: Vmpp 27.9V
• Maximum Power Point Current: Impp 6.2A
• Open Circuit Voltage: Voc 36.0V
• Short Circuit Voltage: Isc 7.4A
• Maximum Power Point Temp. Coeff.:0.4%/C°

Thx for the info. When you say "The Anderson connectors are wired reversed to each other" what exactly do you mean? I'm pretty new to all this 12v wiring world, slowly learning as I go. Feel free to dumb it down for me

I think what the guy that sold me the 180w panel said it was rated to deliver 27.9v, but they had measured it at over 34v which is why he said it was more powerful than the RedArc could handle. Maybe what he was measuring was the Open Circuit Voltage you mentioned. What is the difference between Open Circuit Voltage and Maximum Power Point Voltage?

Either way, so what would be the fix, what did I do wrong, or what would I change or try?

And @grinchy I'll the panel voltage this tomorrow and post

 

[grinchy]

I doubt that panel is maxed out in winter Sun

 

[DPA200]

I doubt that panel is maxed out in winter Sun

Good point…….Although now that I think of it I think he was saying another if this same panel at the shop he works at measured that at some point, so coulda been a different time of year. This particular panel was still new in packaging when I bought from him

 

[rlynch356]

The Anderson connectors are not polarity based.. you can put either + or - into either side of the connector.

so just because the connectors fit together does not mean they are wired + to + and - to -

your are probably wired Panel + to Redarc - and vice versa.

Check the polarity on the plugs individually (the + no the Redarc will go into the yellow wire, the - into a battery ground).

Then De-Pin the Anderson wires and reverse them as needed.

 

[Fisher23]

To start I would take a multi meter and read the output voltage. You'll then know the polarity and voltage.
You may need an MTTP or cheep PWM between he panel and the RedArc to bring the voltage down.

 

[82SC]

I would say Redarc is the best customer service I’ve ever had. I’ve emailed mark Bruce at Redarc and gotten a detailed schematic on how he would wire up my dual battery system specific to my vehicle in less than 2 hours.

They’ve replace my trailer brake controller with no hassle even though it was old.

Give them a try. I’m curious to see the solution as I will be installing a bcdc in my rig with a foldable solar panel soon.

 

[DPA200]

The Anderson connectors are not polarity based.. you can put either + or - into either side of the connector.

so just because the connectors fit together does not mean they are wired + to + and - to -

your are probably wired Panel + to Redarc - and vice versa.

Check the polarity on the plugs individually (the + no the Redarc will go into the yellow wire, the - into a battery ground).

Then De-Pin the Anderson wires and reverse them as needed.

Ahhhhhhhh, Ok that makes sense to me thanks. Now my wheels are turning. My working theory now is this:

The new solar panel I believe is wired correctly as far as + and - actually being + and - and going into the + and - ports on that end of the Anderson. They guy that just did the wiring of the panel with me actually has an engineering degree, and I saw him check the polarity of the wires coming off the solar panel and it showed positive number on his multimeter before connecting it to the Anderson. Red + black - cables I can see both clearly going to the + and - of that Anderson.

The Anderson coming outta my rear hatch on the other hand was done by a really bad shop that messed up about 15 parts of the original dual battery install after having my truck for 3 months. They even got evicted outta their shop while they had my truck and $. I spent close to $2k fixing mistakes from that shop after just to get everything working. So if I was to guess, I'd assume that would be the guy who messed up. So that Anderson I gotta imagine whats labeled + is probably actually - and vice versa. I didn't even see the wire color on those cuz he's got it covered in cheep plastic loom and a lotta electrical tape

So, basically I'll leave the new solar as-is assuming thats all correct. Then I'll take the Anderson coming from the RedArc/truck hatch side and i just need to pull the pins out and swap the + and - cords and put them back into the correctly labeled ports on that side of the Anderson? Plug all in and should be good?

Anything I need to check before doing this or before reconnecting? check those wires for polarity with a multimeter looking for a positive #? Basically asking if I do mess up and it is reverse the polarity is there any way I'd damage the charger or panel by doing this?

The original dual battery mess is why I want to eventually redo everything with this new engineer I found. The previous install has nothing labeled, no wiring digram, no clue where what fuses are. So at this point I can't even fine where the wires are ran to the RedArc to check the colors at that end. Buried a lotta mess under my carpet is the 1 thing I know.

 

[TeCKis300]

So the alternative option the guy I bought the solar panel from was just to mask or cover part of the solar panel so it's not bringing in more than the RedArc can handle. I wasn't into this at the time, I'd like to actually use all the solar but now I really just want the solar working so am open to this.

This would be a great way to test the system. Take a piece of cardboard and cover a handful of cells in a column to bring the output voltage down. It'll work just fine if you were to mask a section to use as is until you get the new charge controller in.

Solar panels can be very efficient in cold temps, so I'm not surprised you're seeing this issue. The specs support that there is the compatibility issue.

 

[CharlieS]

I like the theory that the shop made an error, but personally, I wouldn't just go swapping wires without doing the diagnostics. Redarc has very clear wiring diagrams. You can test to see which of the two wires into your anderson connector is what with a multimeter. If you can't do this level of diagnostics on the system, maybe hook up with another local enthusiast who can?

 

[Sandroad]

The new panel will have no problem producing the max volts in AZ. You’ll have to wire in the Victron MPPT controller to get the system to work. I doubt the connectors are wired backward, given the error code you have. It’s simply over voltage from the panel the Redarc can’t handle. However, your MPPT controller is going to attenuate the power since it can only handle 10A. The panel will be capable of 15A (180/12) into the battery. You won’t lose all that much, given the charging voltage into the battery is higher than 12V and there are significant losses in the wires, electronics, and switches anyway. Often as much as 10-25%.

 

[DPA200]

I like the theory that the shop made an error, but personally, I wouldn't just go swapping wires without doing the diagnostics. Redarc has very clear wiring diagrams. You can test to see which of the two wires into your anderson connector is what with a multimeter. If you can't do this level of diagnostics on the system, maybe hook up with another local enthusiast who can?

Good point you make. I'll do some diagnostic checking today. Curious to compare the old versus new solar panel wiring. I should be able to check that to tell if the old one was wired reverse of they way the new one is with the multimeter. But actually swapping wires and connections around I may end up waiting til I have a more knowledgeable helper with me. No reason that I actually need to have this working right now, the battery is still getting charged from driving. My fridge is out of the truck so I'm not even using the 2nd battery for anything right now. I just get impatient/excited when I get something new, and all my usual helper folks are either out of town or busy for the holiday's. Anyways, I'll post up what I get from the diagnostic tests later today

 

[DPA200]

Only had a few minutes this morning so this is all I have so far, but here are photos and the specs from the old solar panel that was working correct:

https://www.renogy.com/content/RNG-175D/RNG-175D%20Datasheet.pdf

 

[rlynch356]

On the BCDC side - you can check the ground connectivity (I don't think the yellow wire from the BCDC has 12v unless it is getting it from the panel, but dunno..I have not tested it on my setup like that)
I would check that and make sure you have a ground on the - (neg) side of the BCBD solar input Anderson plug. Normally this is wired to a chassis or battery ground so you should have a good ground there.

Seems like the 180w panel is wired properly, based on what you are saying and if anything the truck side BCDC wiring is suspect. if that is all wired up correctly then I would move to the colder 1/2 the panel and check compatibility for the voltage. The panel specs should be in the range of the BCDC..

hope that helps.

 

[DPA200]

Forgot I never updated this thread, but after I got a multi-meter up there it all made sense. The "over voltage" error appears to be nothing more than "over voltage".....shocking right? This solar panel is a beast apparently, and is very efficient even in shade or less than ideal sun situations. The RedArc 1225D has a solar input voltage limit of 32, and even with the panel flat in partial mostly shade I measured over 33V. Curious in full sun at the correct angle how many volts it'd be bringing in.

To test this out I then just placed a piece of foam board covering maybe 1/4 the panel in the same shaded situation. This dropped the voltage to 27.4V and just like magic the RedArc error lights stopped flashing and indicated that the solar was charging like it's supposed to.

So, the plan is to do 1 or 2 things. I'd already bough the Victron MPPT 75/10 Solar Charge Controller and would like to install this just for the solar. From what I understand it is rated to handle whatever this solar panel can throw at it:

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-SmartSolar-charge-controller-MPPT-75-10,-75-15,-100-15,-100-20_48V-EN.pdf

Also, I do need somewhere to put my MaxTrax so I made use Bush Company's mounts which would then cover part of the solar panel. Ideally I'd like to do both so if I ever need more power coming in I could just take the MaxTrax off and the Victron would then be able to handle the full panel voltage.