RV Solar Panel Troubleshooting - How To Tell If It's Working Or Not?

Question: I have a solar panel to maintain battery charging. How can you tell if it is working or not?

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Robbie: First off the Sun must be out!!!!

You'll need to disconnect the positive at the battery and with a meter see if your receiving voltage from the panels through the controller. It should be over 13.0 volts

NOTE: You cannot have the unit plugged into 110V or the engine running. Also the unit will need to be sitting for a few hours on battery only.

If you can take a voltage reading coming directly from your panel's wires, which must be disconnected from the controller, the reading should be as high as 29 volts. (The controller is the component that regulates the volgtage from the solar panel to the batteries). This test is for full size solar panels. The test I've given you cannot be done on the really small solar panel that mounts on top of your AC Cover or one that connects through a cigarette lighter.

If you have 29 Volts to the controller and nothing coming out of the controller then the controller is bad. If you do have 13 plus volts coming out of the controller and not at the battery positive then you have a bad connection somewhere between the controller and your batteries.

I suggest you look into a solar monitor that installs on an interior wall and gives you a constant digital display of the charge going to your batteries.

Good luck,
Robbie