Solar panel question

[Mucram]

Have 2017 17b w 160 solar panel. Go power display does not show info for 2nd 6v battery. Will call tech support but wondered if you have any ideas? (Yes read the go power guide, not helpful for this situation). TIA

[Viajante]

If the display is showing voltage in the 12 - 14 range it is showing the combined voltage of the two batteries. If it is showing voltage of 6 volts all I can think of is that both solar panel wires are connected to the same battery. Assuming that one battery isn't totally dead.

[cpaharley2008]

that is because you only have one battery, 2x6 volts in series creates one 12v battery. If you had 2x12 in parallel then that is another question.

[padlin]

If the GoPower is similar to other solar controllers, it is capable of charging 2 battery banks, you only have 1.

[Mucram]

Confused. I have 2 6 v batteries.

[Mucram]

As an aside I was camped in high winds, the voltage dropped as I watched. Plus the display was going bizurk. I turned off battery switch which seemed to returned things to normal display for batt 1. Still no display for batt 2 (2nd 6 v).

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Mucram

Confused. I have 2 6 v batteries.

Your two 6V batteries are hooked back to back in series, which creates 12V. The entire electrical system that runs off battery is 12V, including charging from either the solar panel through the solar controller, or being hooked up to 120V and charging through the converter. Both sources of charge for the batteries operate at 12V, and effectively see the two 6V in series as one 12V source, not two separate 6V.

[santacruzer]

Jim nailed it...you have two six volt batteries wired in series, which is, in essence, one 12 volt battery. Your controller will not read the six volt batteries individually.

[rbryan4]

Julie, Jim is correct.

Take a look at this schematic from the GoPower user manual. What may be confusing you is, there are references to "battery 1" and to "battery 2". When two 6v batteries are wired together in series, you have one battery "bank". Each bank of batteries would be wired to the controller as in the figure. Your dual 6v batteries make up one bank, and are wired to the terminals marked "battery 1" as mine are. So, "battery 2" would only have a reading if you had a 2nd bank of batteries wired to it.

Bottom line, there's nothing wrong with the display showing no reading for battery 2. Think of it as "battery bank 1" and "battery bank 2". You don't have a 2nd bank, so no reading.

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