Battery Woes - Pecron e1500lfp V2
If there is a better community to help me, please let me know!
My current set up which was working just fine for 2 years and now isn't. What I have: Topo Topper Rincon with solar gland installed from their factory ready to receive solar and partial positive and negative wiring on the underside of the roof available for hookup with wire extension to the battery. Version 2 of the Pecron E1500LFP. I have a alternator charge eTaker F1000 that has two imports, one for alternator and one for solar with one out that goes to a battery. I never plugged anything in to the solar and my alternator charger set up was working flawlessly for 2 years. The Version two needs a XT60 to 5 prong aviator adapter to plug in to the battery which i purchased from Pecron. Has been working great. Note, important, this Pecron version uses two plug ins for DC. One is high voltage, one is low voltage plug in. The high is 32v-95v and the low is 12-18v. This is important for what's ahead.
Recently, I got myself in a situation where i was parked for 4 days using the fan, lights, fridge cooler, heated blankets and it drew the battery down. It would have been perfect to have solar to trickle charge. So, I got a renogy 200w panel. installed it on the roof. Plugged it in the solar glad that goes through the roof. Like this. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vrbgify-Durable-ABS-Solar-Dual-Cable-Entry-Gland-Weatherproof-Fit-2-sq-mm-6-sq-mm-Cables-for-RV-Campervan-Boat-Solar-Project-369SA04-427D/335096961
I butt spliced in to the cables with matching cable gauge. Ran it 17' to the battery. Spliced in the XT60 plug to the xt60-5 prong adapter. The Pecron displayed it recognizes that plug in but didn't charge. Okay. I remove the splice and use my volt meter to check the charge. All looks fine to me... coming in around 33v late in the afternoon. Makes sense. I checked it later in high sun and it was about 40v. ChatGPT says maybe some losses through the internal MPPT controller. It is not triggering the charge requirements likely because it is coming in too low which makes sense because the Vmp of the solar panel is 31V. I looked up the stats on the panel. So it's operator voltage isn't triggering the MPPT controller. It's not enough voltage. And it's TOO much for the low voltage plug in 12-18v. GRRRR.
Note: my gauge goes from 10awg, to 12awg to 16awg. I was worried about this but my electrical engineering coworker said my voltage drop won’t be enough to worry about and my run is mostly 12awg with a small 1ft section of 16awg. That won’t contribute to any significant drop he said. I checked on my volt meter and confirmed this.
So i am about to leave to camp for the weekend. I hook my previously working alternator set up BACK in to the adapter. Turn the car on... it's not charging. WTF. I check the adapter cable for continuity. It's fine. I check the voltage coming in from the cables from the eTaker and alternator charger. Reading a strong 40v. WTF. I do a hard reset. Turn the battery off. Hold the AC on button for 20s. I plug it in to AC plug in to get the click for it to reset the battery safety precautions. It charges great from the AC. I plug the DC plug in from the alternator that again has previously worked for years... not working. Recognizes the plug, but still doesn't charge.
So what do I do? I explore the lower voltage DC input of 12-18v. I get a 100w panel. I check the Vmp this time it operates around 19-20v. DAMNIT. I am shooting this annoying gap! So what do i do... I get a volt limiter. https://powerwerx.com/mppt-150w-solar-charge-controller This MPPT limiter specifically. It is compatible with LifePO4 and fits my volt range at 14.5v output. Great!
Just tried it this morning and it doesn't work. Still doesn't recognize the charging but recognizes the plug. What is wrong?? My guess? Something in the MPPT controller internal to the Pecron isn't opening back up to charging from the DC. I have reached out to Pecron for support and I have not heard back in a week.