Electrical confusion...

That's great if they fix it. I just hope they have an explanation for why. I want to be able to trust my panels when I'm in the middle of nowhere.
 
If they don't see anything obvious when I'm there, I will ask them to send me an email after their diagnosis. I assume they will want to know the answer also.
 
Going to Renogy on Monday. My questions are
- are these Renogy panels? they were purchased through Amazon and came with Renogy packaging, but thought I would ask
- are these Renogy connectors?
- is the panel install ok?
- is the wire/connector install ok
- are the panels bad, if so, why?
- ok to install second panels on top of the first?
- best way to protect all this stuff from UV and the elements?

Anything else to ask?
 
I was not able to go today, but my son took the camper to Renogy for me.

The panels and all Renogy connectors I bought from Amazon in Dec are legit. My glue down of the panels and all wiring is good.

However, I have two bad panels! They have changed their design to address a few issues since the panels I purchased in Dec. Even though my panels are glued to the roof and I had cut a few of the connectors, they gave me two new panels and some wiring. They said it was ok to glue the new ones on top of the old ones.

The good news, is what I thought might be a complex electrical problems turns out to be simple. Glue some new panels down and hook them up. Hugh thanks to Ethergore for the diagnosis.

The bad news, is two 6 month old Renogy panels went bad.

For a while I'm going to be checking my panels a few weeks before each trip. I thought I could install and forget, at least for a few years.
 
Bittersweet news. Thats two people with bad panels posting this week. Sounds like its due to a known issue that was corrected by Renogy so maybe we shouldn't worry. Maybe you could post a picture of what the new ones look like so those of us with older models know if we are at risk.
 
DonC: Now three bad panels. I noticed my voltage dropping to half on a recent trip from the solar panels. This past weekend I tested my two Renogy 100W panels. The one I bought in December shows 15V with no amperage under a load. Seems I have the same problem. Called Renogy...replacement en route. Happy there is no hassle to replace. Not so happy about replacing panel. Thanks for your post; resulted in me checking out my panels.
 
Sledawg - sorry to hear that. What did you have to do to get replacement panels? When my son was at their shop today they wanted him to take mine off and give them back - but they were glued to the roof! They finally agree to replace without removing.

I just tested the two new ones and both are around 19.5v, but no amps on the trimetric when plugged in... I sure hope I have a bad plug - getting a new one later in the week. Frankly the panels look used after I took the plastic off, scratches and dirty.

I'll keep everyone posted here with the on-gong saga. What's a propane retro-fit cost?
 
DonC: called Renogy and talked to tech who wanted to know symptoms. He transferred me to customer service who told me they would email me a FEDEX shipping label. I received an email indicating they were shipping new panel. Confused I called back and was told that I would get an email with a shipping label and that they wouldn't ship until old panel was received. I suspect that this is "left hand not talking to right hand within the company." Will let you know how this transpires.
 
has anyone done an install with velcro? I know there is some industrial strength velcro

sure would be easier to remove and return...
 
I'm confident that even dime store Velcro would hold the panel down if you went all the way around the perimeter. With the extremely low profile, wind loading even at highway speeds is pretty small. I would worry about the adhesive holding the Velcro to the roof and the panel itself however. Those panels get really hot in full sun and I have little confidence in the stock adhesive to stand up to the elements. I could easily foresee a panel demounting with the Velcro holding together easily on either the panel or the roof. You could use sewing Velcro (no adhesive) and coat it with a preferred adhesive however.

I removed my second panel in preparation of sending both of mine back to Renogy for warranty replacement. It doesn't take that long. I recommend a simple bead around the perimeter as being enough. If you need to remove it later a handful of wood shims and a rubber mallet will see you right in less than an hour without scraping paint. Either way you have a rectangle of glue residue on the roof to contend with.

Alan
 
alano said:
You could use sewing Velcro (no adhesive) and coat it with a preferred adhesive however.
Click to expand...
I think this may be a good idea if velcro is really desired. We would just have to find an adhesive that works on TPT plastic and whatever the velcro is made of.
 
DonC said:
has anyone done an install with velcro? I know there is some industrial strength velcro

sure would be easier to remove and return...
Click to expand...
I did on Sunday. So far so good. I used a 1/2" bead of 3m on the front of the forward panel.



 
Sorry I meant to post more, that's all my 14 month old daughter allowed me to type! Haha. I have my hands full lately.

Not much to explain. I cleaned the roof and back of the panels. I bought 45' of 2" wide industrial strength velcro with adhesive backing. I stuck the hook side of the velcro (it laid flat better) onto the bottom of the panels, full perimeter and one line down the middle of the 100 watt panels. After marking my panel locations with a sharpie, I attached the other end of the velcro onto the panels and peeled off the adhesive. Then I carefully climbed the ladder and stuck the panels down. I laid pieces of livestock mat on the panels (with plastic covering them still) while the adhesive cured.

I peeled up the front of the forward panel to lay a bead of 3m adhesive under the front edge, and once again I used the livestock mat to weigh down the front edge.

That's pretty much it. I've driven a few hundred miles, it's been hot and parked in the sun. No issues yet. Hope it stays that way!

I used the two 50 watt panels in the back so I can run my yakima racks spaced 30" apart, with no shading when the sun is more than 45 degrees above the horizon. This layout leaves the driver's side free for snow board racks or a storage box. Big thanks to Don for provide me with dimensions and drawings for planning that out!
 
Casa Escarlata Robles Too said:
Do you think you might have problems with all that exposed wiring?
Frank
Click to expand...
I hope not. I'm not a huge fan of the mc4 connectors being on the panels. I'd rather cut the off and run everything into a combiner box. But cutting the connectors from the panel voids the warranty. So I used mc4 brach connectors. I have a combiner box and more wire, if it becomes problematic.
 
Couple questions:

What type of velcro did you use?
How hard is it to pull the panel off with the amount of velcro you used?

Thanks as I really want to do this. Please keep us updated and maybe consider making a new thread. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one interested.
 
Are all the Renogy panel failures the flat flexible panels. Anyone have a failure with the aluminum framed ones?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads - WTW

J
Circuit Protection in Typical Camper Power Systems
Jon R
J
Z
2006 FWC Electrical Issue
Wandering Sagebrush
Wandering Sagebrush
K7MDL
Installed Renogy One Core monitor and Battery Shunt 300
K7MDL
K7MDL
M
Noco Genius 10 not charging battery mystery
Vic Harder
Vic Harder
G
Battery charging with 2 sources at once
ckent323
C

New posts - WTW

Back
Top Bottom