Solar panel CTEK connection

Ian28

Ian28

Senior Member
T6 Guru
Hi,
Long story short - my LiFOS/CTEK set up annoys the Sargent unit and makes it beep for long periods for no reason. LiFOS/CTEK are under the passenger swivel seat. I detached the solar panel feed into the CTEK and the bulk of the issue is resolved - suspect it was causing voltage spikes which the Sargent didn’t like. It now only beeps after starting the ignition which I gather there is a way round reasonably easily by fitting some sort of relay. My question is - I would like to be able to connect/disconnect the solar panel to the CTEK without having to remove the passenger seat each time so I can use it off grid. Is it feasible to have the feed spliced/extended with a connector switch/attachment placed in an accessible position? If so, can anyone recommend someone in Scotland who could do this for me?
Cheers,
Ian
 
You can do it yourself, its only a switch connected in series with the positive from the panel... take the wire you just removed to one terminal of the switch. Take a new wire from the other switch terminal to the CTEK, into the terminal the original wire came from. Thats it, easy DIY. If it was me I'd be investigating why this happens though.
 
Cheers Phil, much appreciated. Investigation went on for 2 years involving LiFOS, Sargent & converter. Latter two were very helpful but no answer supplied. Converter now no longer uses LiFOS or Sargent!! I’m just looking now to tweak my van and accept these idiosyncrasies. Cheers.
 
@Phil G - I’ll post a photo of the CTEK - can you tell me where to source the type of ‘in series’ switch you’ve mentioned? Thanks, Ian. 6137D4CF-1DBA-48F6-BDCB-5B6B5D31F752.jpeg
 
Switch installed by local outfit who were brilliant. My solar panel is now charging my leisure battery again but I can easily switch it off when the system misbehaves. Thanks for the advice guys. Would the solar panel on a sunny day be able to actively charge the leisure battery up to near max, or does it just reduce the rate of discharge? I ask because the other day the battery lost a wee bit of charge despite the solar feed working (according to my CTEK).

D98CDE1C-588D-47DE-9A83-24CBC5BC6014.jpeg
 
What loads are connected to the leisure battery?...
 
It runs the fridge (30L drawer job), all the lights in the back and I guess the Webasto and water pump too. The App has never been that reliable tbh so I take anything it tells me with a bucketful of salt… The van was locked and nothing switched on when I checked the App but it seemed to think the battery was in a state of discharge rather than idle. Will investigate again the next time it’s sunny in Fife…might be a long wait…
 
What size solar panel?

On the roof?

Any pics?
 
also is that Lifos the 60 or 100ah version?
 
My LiFOS is 68ah version and I have no info on the solar panel stuck on the roof. The only marking on it is a bar code but memory suggests it was around 100W.

E9E6C772-2657-4BB3-8342-80085A3C6619.jpeg

09DAAC42-1EB5-41E9-B49D-5718187C370C.jpeg
 
Sun’s made a rare appearance & App saying battery idle, solar panel switch is on & CTEK light indicating it’s receiving charge from panel so will see what happens later in day!
 
Thanks for the interest @Dellmassive but I’m not expecting any answers - my Sargent EC51 control panel never reads the same as the LiFOS app anyway. Sargent says LB fully charged & App says 52%. Sargent also says water empty & flashes alarm when it’s clearly not. With my knowledge now I wouldn’t touch Sargent with a barge pole!
 
well as you say ignoring the Sargent unit . . .

i would believe the LIFOS battery state of charge via the BT APP. . .

so keep and eye on that . . . . . with good sun that 100W solar panel should give you around 3-6A charging current (with your loads switched off)

the loads you mentioned above could consume 3-6A . . .

so dcepending on the weather your system may balance out.

can you post a few pics of the Lifos APP pls?
 
Hi
regarding the LiFOS battery app showing discharge when nothing in the van is in use, this is due to the Bluetooth being activated & is normally 0.06 amp and 0.08w. This will continue as long as the app is activated and the phone is in range interrogating the battery. So would not betoo concerned about that.
Also looking a photo of Ctek it only has one wire on the - terminal normally would expect 2 , 1 from solar & 2nd battery earth. Unless you are using an earth buss bar.
 
525F5731-B2DB-4B75-AB68-AAA5E061BAE0.png
app just now - 52% SOC, identical to this morning with patchy sun & no use. Definitely not 20.8 degrees.
 
Unless that’s the temp inside the van at battery level in which case probably accurate.
 
Interesting info re app amp use, thanks for that. Battery def earthed as someone confirmed that recently so must be one of those bars.
 
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