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Subject Topic: Bailey Unicorn Solar Panel Post Reply Post New Topic
Personjjgderbyshire
28/7/2017 at 12:39am
 Location: Nottingham
 Outfit: Lunar Solaris 524 View jjgderbyshire's Profile View Profile   Reply to jjgderbyshire Reply   Quote jjgderbyshire Quote  
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I bought a Bailey Unicorn Valencia brand new just over 2 years ago and even though the dealer had six weeks to make sure everything was right, because I made it clear I store it in France, I took delivery of the caravan with a number of faults including a solar panel which was not wired up.
I had to bring it back to the UK to get the faults sorted as the mobile engineer was unable to do them.
The dealer sorted the faults (or perhaps not) and I have it in storage in the UK.
I went to the compound today to check it out and when I tested the battery, it showed 12.2 volts.
The solar charger had been set to no.3 which is the setting for batteries with electrolyte and there has been about six weeks of sunshine since I left it at the compound.
The battery is 2 years old and when I charged it with a charger or when it was on hook-up, it always showed 13.8 volts.
I therefore assume that in the six weeks, the battery has discharged to the lower voltage and the solar panel is only there for decoration.
Any opinions from the technical experts would be appreciated.

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jjg


Personboff
28/7/2017 at 6:25am
 Location: N Wales
 Outfit: Hymer Nova 590GL View boff's Profile View Profile   Reply to boff Reply   Quote boff Quote  
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The first thing you need to do is to check the input voltage into the controller.   In decent daylight it should be 18v ish. If you aren't getting a voltage there, then obviously it is a problem on the roof. Actually it is unlikely to be the panel they seemed to be very reliable, more likely nothing more than a loose connection. If you do get a volatage from the panel it is possible that the controller is knackered. But before you buy a new one check the following. Firstly there should be a fuse somewhere from the controller to the battery. The wires from the controller may go direct to the battery or back to the 12v distribution unit. Finally as far as I know the Truma controller is capable of charging 2 batteries it is also possible to switch one of those outputs off so it is worth checking that your battery is connected to the one with the output.
If you need to replace the controller before paying the Truma price have a look at the one on photonics universe it looks to me the same controller with a different name on the front it's about £35. They also have a manual online that you might find useful.
All of these checks can be done with a cheap multimeter got from Maplins or wherever.


PersonGrampian91
28/7/2017 at 11:31am
 Location: Midlands
 Outfit: Mondeo Avondale Gram View Grampian91's Profile View Profile   Reply to Grampian91 Reply   Quote Grampian91 Quote  
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Your testing the battery straight after or very soon after charging so the voltage will be high.

Its possible the voltage drop is just the battery cells returning to an average voltage due to sulphated cells?

2 years old should be nothing for a battery, but if its a cheaper brand or the voltage has dropped and not been recharged quick enough then it may have lessened the amount it can take and store a charge.

I have my sisters old 110Ah battery she left it unused for 2 years, totally flat. It will easily charge to 13.8volts in about 15 minutes. But it wont hold that voltage for long at all. Even the green window will show its charged. But try running anything from it and the voltage plummets to about 9v and drops to less than 6 within a minute.

You need to measure the output of the panel/solar charger. How much power does the solar charger consume?

I have a few different chargers and some have LEDs and circuitry thats active even at night.


Personnavver
28/7/2017 at 8:24pm
 Location: West country
 Outfit: Mondeo View navver's Profile View Profile   Reply to navver Reply   Quote navver Quote  
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This is from the manual. The LED state is the top line for each and below that is what it means.


LED flashes
Check connections from the device to the battery and solar module, ensure that they are connected to the right terminals. Test the fuse, solar module and
battery

LED flashes in longer intervals
Battery is fully charged

LED shines
The battery is being charged

LED flashes in short intervals
The battery is not being charged. If necessary, replace faulty battery

LED does not shine.
Battery not connected or over-voltage

The other thing to check; is the panel unshadowed. A tree over it or a building causing a shadow will knock it out.


My Pursuit has one fitted and it keeps the battery charged fine. The voltage at the battery terminals is constant at 13.8volts.


Personjjgderbyshire
31/7/2017 at 8:12pm
 Location: Nottingham
 Outfit: Lunar Solaris 524 View jjgderbyshire's Profile View Profile   Reply to jjgderbyshire Reply   Quote jjgderbyshire Quote  
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Thanks for the informative replies. I'm going back to the caravan during the next few days and I'll see what the situation is.
I don't think there's anything wrong with the battery because prior to the solar panel being "connected" I had to take it home with me and even after a couple of months in my garage, when connecting to a charger, it would show 13+ volts in no time, so I really don't think it's getting any charge from the solar panel.

-------------
jjg


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Personjjgderbyshire
31/7/2017 at 8:13pm
 Location: Nottingham
 Outfit: Lunar Solaris 524 View jjgderbyshire's Profile View Profile   Reply to jjgderbyshire Reply   Quote jjgderbyshire Quote  
Joined: 21/9/2014

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Incidentally, I'm pretty sure it was flashing in short intervals.

-------------
jjg


Personraf290
01/4/2020 at 2:35pm
 Location: Cornwall
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It’s been awhile since this posting but can someone define flashings. Short flashes, London flashes or just flashes

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John M


Personnavver
01/4/2020 at 8:24pm
 Location: West country
 Outfit: Mondeo View navver's Profile View Profile   Reply to navver Reply   Quote navver Quote  
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I've only seen the battery charged flash which is on for about a second then off for about a second etc. This is long flashes according to the manual.

While charging the LED is continuously lit.

I've not seen short flashes but they're going to be half a second or less I would guess.



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