Buttons hard to use on a GoPower solar controller

[FlatlandFlyFisher]

Hello,

We have a 19' with solar, and a Go Power solar controller.

We find the the four control buttons on the solar controller are very difficult to use. The amount of pressure to activate the buttons seems inconsistent, which coupled with the 3-second activation time, makes this unit a PITA to use. I'm not sure if this is 'normal operation' or 'broken', but it's a source of frustration amongst users of our trailer.

Has anyone else experienced this? Am I the outlier data point?

thanks,
Stephen

[Bayner]

They're not activated by pressure but rather by touch (capacitive or some such). Try using them gently and see if that improves your results. Hopefully the unit is not damaged and it's just a different technique required.

[FlatlandFlyFisher]

Originally Posted by Bayner

They're not activated by pressure but rather by touch (capacitive or some such). Try using them gently and see if that improves your results. Hopefully the unit is not damaged and it's just a different technique required.

That's not our experience - touch is not reliable.

[cpaharley2008]

I have never pushed any buttons on my solar controller, ever!. They keep the batteries charged, I'm happy. I do verify the correct battery type, but once that is done, so am I!.......

[Shiny]

Sounds frustrating... not sure how to tell if your buttons are not working as designed.

On ours, I can't read the display without crawling so I try not to. But when I touch a button gently, the panel lights up. As mentioned, it is a capacitive touch button so no significant pressure is needed to activate and ours works reliably.

Do you have the GoPower app installed on your phone? If not, I find it useful. I use the app to turn the inverter on and off without having to drop onto all fours.

[FlatlandFlyFisher]

Originally Posted by Shiny

Do you have the GoPower app installed on your phone? If not, I find it useful. I use the app to turn the inverter on and off without having to drop onto all fours.

My unit pre-dates the app.

From my read of responses, it seems that the capitative touch is broken on our unit. It's also very hard to see the display, which is a design limitation of this unit (depends on angle, requires light, etc)

[Shiny]

Originally Posted by FlatlandFlyFisher

My unit pre-dates the app.

From my read of responses, it seems that the capitative touch is broken on our unit. It's also very hard to see the display, which is a design limitation of this unit (depends on angle, requires light, etc)

Doh! I assumed yours was like ours, sorry.

Given we may be talking apples and oranges, I would not assume yours has a capacitive touch panel. I guess you could try to locate the model number and maybe find a manual online to be sure...

[John in Santa Cruz]

I solved that by replacing mine with a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30. no buttons, no display, so its mounted inside the rear bench of the U dinette, totally out of sight... you use a bluetooth app to monitor and configure it.

[FlatlandFlyFisher]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I solved that by replacing mine with a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30. no buttons, no display, so its mounted inside the rear bench of the U dinette, totally out of sight... you use a bluetooth app to monitor and configure it.

John - did you have the same button problems with your Go Power unit?

I have a Victron Shunt, and I like their products. I want a display - bluetooth is fun, but sometimes the phones stay away - but it looks like I can add a display.

thanks!

[John in Santa Cruz]

um, i never used the buttons on the gopower

[FlatlandFlyFisher]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

um, i never used the buttons on the gopower

OK - since the original post was about difficulty with the Go Power buttons, it's not clear what problem you solved!

[AndNeitherDoI]

I have the same experience as you. Sometimes it takes a really hard push, sometimes it doesn’t. And it is not a capacitive touch, so being gentle doesn’t help.

You are not alone!

[Padre]

We have the same issue having me wonder is it broken? The only button we use is the one that activates the inverter. It's bad/inconsistent enough, since we still have time under warranty, that maybe we need to go back to Gopower.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Padre

We have the same issue having me wonder is it broken? The only button we use is the one that activates the inverter. It's bad/inconsistent enough, since we still have time under warranty, that maybe we need to go back to Gopower.

If the only button you generally use is the one to turn on & off the inverter, you might consider changing to a GoPower remote. The GP-SWR-A remote is inexpensive and solves both the problem of dealing with the capacitive touch hassles, and, at least in the case of my 2017 21C, standing on your head to reach & see the solar controller & button.

Like John, I also switched from the GoPower solar controller to a Victron.

[J&B Mitt]

Originally Posted by FlatlandFlyFisher

Hello,

We have a 19' with solar, and a Go Power solar controller.

We find the the four control buttons on the solar controller are very difficult to use. The amount of pressure to activate the buttons seems inconsistent, which coupled with the 3-second activation time, makes this unit a PITA to use. I'm not sure if this is 'normal operation' or 'broken', but it's a source of frustration amongst users of our trailer.

Has anyone else experienced this? Am I the outlier data point?

thanks,
Stephen

The 'B' button on our controller was always kind of balky. Then, last summer it quit responding completely. I described this to Go Power in an email. They immediately sent us a replacement controller, no questions, no RMA. Since our trailer was four years old, we were surprised and pleased!

But since then, they were swallowed up by Dometic...

[FlatlandFlyFisher]

Originally Posted by J&B Mitt

The 'B' button on our controller was always kind of balky. Then, last summer it quit responding completely. I described this to Go Power in an email. They immediately sent us a replacement controller, no questions, no RMA. Since our trailer was four years old, we were surprised and pleased!

But since then, they were swallowed up by Dometic...

Oooh, I'm going to email Go Power! Even if assimilated into the Domestic collective, resistance might not be futile!

thanks!

[John in Santa Cruz]

a lot of devices that use those rubber buttons common on tv remote controls and such, tend to get flakey with age. if you take them apart, the buttons are all molded on a sheet of rubber, and each one has like a 'post' behind it, that is painted with a dab of this black paint containing a lot of carbon, when you push the button, it presses this against a contract area on a printed circuit board. that black carbon paint tends to go bad with age and heat.

once upon a time, you could buy a little vial of the paint along with an applicator, so you could repair these but last time I went looking for it, it was out of stock everywhere with no availability date.

[Shiny]

I was wrong and apologize. I walked out and now think the switches are what I call "membrane" switches and are not capacitive touch.

Regardless, a light touch on mine after descending to my knees was rewarded by an instant response. But I can understand the frustration if it didn't work.

To those with Bluetooth-enabled controllers (ours is a 2020 Escape), the Go Power! Connect app is easy to use and totally eliminated my need to crawl and push buttons. Maybe the lack of use is why mine still works? I will also say GoPower support was responsive when the app had an issue!

For those unfamiliar, I attached images of the main screen and the "settings" screen where the inverter "on/off" control is found.

[KirkB]

I use the B button regularly on our Solar controller to switch between Amp/Volt/percent display. Many times I need to press the button twice to change the display. I think it has always been that way.

Ours is mounted on the cabinets above the kitchen sink, so at least it is easy to access. I can't recall if we asked for that on our build sheet or if that was the standard location.

[John in Santa Cruz]

the solar controller needs to be connected to both the solar panel(s) and to tthe battery, so the best location is in the middle between them, to keep the wire lengths to a minimum. since my batteries are below the curbside rear dinette bench, and my solar panel is above the dinette, the face of the dinette bench base was the logical place.