Sunsaver 10 Problem

[oldmil]

Good Evening All,

I recently disconnected the load wire from my SS 10 to re-route the wire.  While reconnecting I had the - lead hooked up and momentarily touched the + lead to the negative.  After that the load did not work.  The load wire works when hooked directly to the battery (the load consists of a small radio and a gas fridge that only uses power to fire up and light an led).

Is it possible I fried the controller?  The green led was still on.  I haven't been back to the cabin yet to test the load terminals with a meter or to make sure the battery is getting juice from the controller.

Any advise is appreciated.

Oldmil

ps - the battery bank consists of 2 6v golf cart batteries if that makes any difference.

[DanG]

"Due to the fabrication process of the SunSaver controller, it may only be possible to
determine if the unit is functioning properly. The exact damaged component or part
may not be evident. Other factors however, may be apparent that will enable the
technician to determine the cause for failure. These factors include, but are not
limited to:
burned leads
excessive loads
evidence of short circuits on load leads
over-rated current input"

They say the low voltage disconnect FET (transistors) may be the weak link - the text above is clickable to get to the bench test procedures for the SS10.

[ghurd]

I don't really understand what you are saying.

"I had the - lead hooked up and momentarily touched the + lead to the negative."
Was the + connected to the + terminal when it touched the negative?  Then the load fet is blown.

There is a chance the whole thing is blown.
Shorting them is always bad.  They are very sensitive to shorting.  It is the price you pay for a controller that works great.

Myself, I avoid the LVD on that series of controllers, except for special circumstances.
Why bother with LVD?  The fridge bulb is LED and is only on when the door is open, which is certainly not going to run down golf cart batteries.
If the radio is on 24/7 as a deterent or something, then the battery is probably being ruined anyway because the LVD is keeping the battery lower than it should be kept (unless the solar is far more than enough, in which case the LVD is not needed).

"I haven't been back to the cabin yet "
If the battery has NOT been loaded for a few days, the voltage should be up past 12.5V if the controller is working.
If the battery has NOT been loaded for a few days, and the voltage is down to like 10V or less, the controller is toast.
If the sun is out and the controller is pretty warm (not exactly hot, but very noticably Much MUCH warmer than the surroundings), then the controller is toast.
If it made the tinyest of sparks between + and - during the reconnection, the controller is probably toast.

Last- Don't ask me how I know 100 ways to ruin a SS controller in a half a millisecond.
G-

[oldmil]

Thanks for the replies.

This happened at the end of a 10 hr day of replacing floor joists so my memory is a bit fuzzy.  I had the - wire hooked up to the controller.  As I was hooking up the + wire I touched the negative terminal.  I do believe I got a spark. 

I guess I'll check it this weekend when I go up.  If it's fried, a new one will be on order soon.  I will also run the load directly from the batteries.  The radio is used 5-6 hrs a day a few days a month.  The light on the  fridge is simply an 'on' indicator light so the power draw is minimal (and it's only turned on when we are there).  The only power draw while we aren't there is the memory for the radio.

Oldmil

[ghurd]

Like I said, I avoid the versions with LVD.
But the rest of it may be fine.  I don't know if the LVD can be smoked and the rest of the controller still work.

The radio memory takes almost 0 power.  I would have no concern at all about leaving that connected in the system.

I suppose you saw something about testing and or replacing the fets.
They are not really replaceable in that controller.
G-