solar panels stopped working

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lewharve
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 7:59 pm

solar panels stopped working

Post by lewharve »

I am getting no energy from both solar panels , they are 3 years old and all of a sudden they stopped working.
I check all the inside connection and no power.
is there a fuse on the panels
what can cause them to fail

lewharve
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 7:59 pm

Re: solar panels stopped working

Post by lewharve »

don't worry
I checked at the plug and it was 18 v on the solar plane
so I guess new plugs
cheaper than new panels
but why both at the same time

midnightsailor
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:21 pm
Location: Greenport, New York

Re: solar panels stopped working

Post by midnightsailor »

Either just to confuse things or perhaps because they both have the same lifespan. I always try to remember to look for the simplest explanation though it seems almost human nature to expect the worse case. ;)
1982 Freedom 33 Cat Ketch, Hull # 53, Standard Booms, deep keel ,tall rig
An armed man is a citizen, An unarmed man is a subject. George Washington

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seadago
Posts: 154
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2012 8:42 am
Location: Lowestoft, England

Re: solar panels stopped working

Post by seadago »

Could be that you have panels rigged in series, without bypassing diodes. Failure of one -in this case could be the downstream one, but may be either- means you get a failure in the whole array. Reconnect in parallel as a test, and you'll find out
Rafael
s/v Nausikaa
SSR 30570, sail GBR 4619L
F30 CK (Hoyt), wishbones, centreboard, G10 rig. Built by Fairways Marine, Humble, UK, '82
Beta 16 hp with two-blade prop

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