Flexible solar panels failing.

[Milarepa]

I just wondered what your opinion would be.
I wild camped for one week and noticed that my two 60 W solar panels and my MPPT controller, would work in the morning drawing a charge of 20 to 30 W but when the Sun rose there would be no charge at all.
In the evening as the Sun dropped there will be a charge again.
This was consistent for an entire week.
A red light on the controller and no charge going into the van according to the app on the phone from about 11 am when the Sun was brightest right above.
Brilliant sunshine and the panel stopped working when it was at its fullest.
What do you reckon?

 

[Salty Spuds]

I just wondered what your opinion would be.
I wild camped for one week and noticed that my two 60 W solar panels and my MPPT controller, would work in the morning drawing a charge of 20 to 30 W but when the Sun rose there would be no charge at all.
In the evening as the Sun dropped there will be a charge again.
This was consistent for an entire week.
A red light on the controller and no charge going into the van according to the app on the phone from about 11 am when the Sun was brightest right above.
Brilliant sunshine and the panel stopped working when it was at its fullest.
What do you reckon?

I reckon if you do a search of the forum, you’ll find loads of info on your problem. That’s what I reckon.

 

[widu13]

Lots of reports of 2+ year old flexible panels failing, in fact more common than them remaining good. I installed a flexible about 12 months ago, knowing that I will likely have to change it after two years.

 

[Grim Reaper]

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Edited to add another : Three possibilities I can think of off the top of my head.. 1 The batteries are full and the charge controller sees this so doesn't pull any current. 2 The panels are getting hot and failing. 3 the charge controller can't handle the input from the panels once they get up to full voltage/current and is shutting down.
You need a multimeter to take some measurements to find out what is going on. (and give details of the panels max voltage and current, whether they are connected in parallel or series, and the make and model of the charge controller and its specs for max voltage and current.)

 

[Milarepa]

I reckon if you do a search of the forum, you’ll find loads of info on your problem. That’s what I reckon.

Thanks for that. I did have a look first

 

[Milarepa]

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Edited to add another : Three possibilities I can think of off the top of my head.. 1 The batteries are full and the charge controller sees this so doesn't pull any current. 2 The panels are getting hot and failing. 3 the charge controller can't handle the input from the panels once they get up to full voltage/current and is shutting down.
You need a multimeter to take some measurements to find out what is going on. (and give details of the panels max voltage and current, whether they are connected in parallel or series, and the make and model of the charge controller and its specs for max voltage and current.)

Thank you, I did wonder if they were getting to a level and cutting out, but wondered whether they would behave in such a way.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Thanks for that. I did have a look first

Search results for query: Solar panel failure

www.t6forum.com

 

[Rianscott2000]

To be fair to flexible panels, it depends on the brand. I bought Renogy because of the 5-year warranty. Here are a few pics of mine on the roof. Mine have only just reached 2 years old so widu13's comment about 2 years might well be valid. Surely how they are mounted will give different life expectations.

Milarepa, how are they mounted? are they glued or taped without an airgap? Are they mounted on corrugated plastic or with mounting corners? I think mounting can have an awful lot to do with reliability. Also, the colour of your roof could be causing excessive heat. (not sure why this has changed to bold)​

 

[Milarepa]

Thanks for the reply.
They are PV Logic, glued to a black roof without an air gap. I did think about excess heat as that was the only variable since this current issue…it became so heat here near London, before I camped, the inside of the van got up to 47.6c at one point.
I know these panels fail eventually but it’s the strange manner that when the sun rose to an ideal angle, they cut out.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Can you get a hosepipe onto them or some other way of cooling the panels while in full sun to see if it’s a heat issue

 

[Milarepa]

Can you get a hosepipe onto them or some other way of cooling the panels while in full sun to see if it’s a heat issue

Good idea but I was wold camping at the time. Ill have to try it now I’m back

 

[DXX]

My flexible panel has just been into a paint booth for baking the roof paint repair, no problems reported, working fine and it’s already 4 years old.

 

[drinfinity]

To be fair to flexible panels, it depends on the brand. I bought Renogy because of the 5-year warranty. Here are a few pics of mine on the roof. Mine have only just reached 2 years old so widu13's comment about 2 years might well be valid. Surely how they are mounted will give different life expectations.

​

I read your post about your Renogy set up, good to hear it is working well as I was thinking of getting this equipment. I like those roof mounts you link to as well. Regarding your roof mount approach - do you have anything across the leading edge (like a bit of tape visible in the photo) ? If it is open, do you get issues with wind under it making it resonate like a reed?

 

[Rianscott2000]

I actually put a line of duct tape across the front. There wasn't a problem, I just imagined the front being open would put a lot of upward stress on the panel and mounts. I don't think having it open at the front of the panel would aid that much with cooling when driving. I presume heat damage really is a problem if you have a dark roof and the panel being sika flexed to the roof and parked up. This would create a major high temperature on a sunny, still day with nowhere to dissipate.
I feel (maybe foolishly) that because mine has 360 degree air then a small amount of air would cool it dramatically.

Milarepa, I would be interested to see if your panel was giving out any voltage in high sun. I know you said no amps but sometimes they can still give voltages when no amps are present. With a bit of amazing luck it might turn out that at a certain temperature, expansion forms a gap in the main connections. I am a trained Electrician but don't have a massive knowledge about solar panels. Panels are made from individual cells so I would imagine that no voltage present would suggest a simple break somewhere.

 

[Milarepa]

Redline campers are taking a look on Thursday. I’ll let you know what they find.