Solar Rich Solar Panels connections around the wrong way?

Chris Daly

New Member
Sep 4, 2017
14
7
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53
Malmsbury
Hi All,

I have a set of rich solar panels which have the blue CY1210 solar charge controller. I was looking at the connections the other day and noticed the input wires for the solar panel are reversed i.e plus is negative and vice versa. Is this the way it is supposed to be? I havent touched them, the came from the factory like this. The wires that go to the battery are the correct way around. Thanks for any help. Chris Daly.
 

14" of Joy

New Member
Sep 28, 2017
12
5
3
49
Melbourne
Yo Chris, i once purchased panels online branded Rich Solar and had the same problem. When i reversed the controller they still did not work. I found another controller online for around $15 bucks, wired it in and the panels work a treat now.
 

Drover

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2013
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QLD
Piccies please.....................does the thing work at all ????? More than likely find that if it's a cheapy controller it is possibly fried but it most surely should have Solar Black to NEG - and RED to POS + on the solar input and the same for the battery terminals....................piccies and more details is a help.

Well a quicky look at Mt Google shows that it has reverse polarity protection so should be okay, swap the wires around and see if all comes good, I would run a meter over everything first just to see and if your van came new with it all like that I would use another dealer as that one is not very good.

A few others are sure to chime in and advise to throw it in the bin and get a decent unit as it's not really much chop.
 
Last edited:

GrantEd

New Member
Jan 15, 2018
10
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Adelaide
To be honest the controllers that come with the cheap Ebay panels are rubbish. I have seen batteries worth many hundreds of dollars damaged by these controllers which have very poor voltage regulation. You are much better off buying a quality controller.
 
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Boots in Action

Well-Known Member
Mar 13, 2017
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Ferny Grove, Queensland
To be honest the controllers that come with the cheap Ebay panels are rubbish. I have seen batteries worth many hundreds of dollars damaged by these controllers which have very poor voltage regulation. You are much better off buying a quality controller.

I thought that the Rich panels were pretty good. Obviously their assembly to controller is not correct. Although as @Drover said, reverse current protection should protect the system from the incorrect connection by the unknowing. If when you reverse the wiring to the correct way and there is still no output, then the controller has sacrificed itself to protect battery etc. Very poor quality control and yes, whilst panels may be good, the controllers are usually the cheapest they can put in to just work. Good controllers are worth it in the long run, regardless of cost.
 

Boots in Action

Well-Known Member
Mar 13, 2017
2,054
1,804
113
Ferny Grove, Queensland
Hi All,

I have a set of rich solar panels which have the blue CY1210 solar charge controller. I was looking at the connections the other day and noticed the input wires for the solar panel are reversed i.e plus is negative and vice versa. Is this the way it is supposed to be? I havent touched them, the came from the factory like this. The wires that go to the battery are the correct way around. Thanks for any help. Chris Daly.

Hi @Chris Daly and welcome to this forum. Noted your problem and have replied already. Decided to search further and found a review on your Rich 200 watt panel? from September 2017. Quotes "good product, but wired up in a hurry. Suggest remove all wiring and reconnect properly as had incorrect connections between panel and solar controller." So you are not the only one!! The controller is only rated to 20 amps but should do the job satisfactorily, but there are better ones out there if you are able to spend the money. Good luck. There is plenty of info about solar hookups on this forum for you to refer to.
 
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Boots in Action

Well-Known Member
Mar 13, 2017
2,054
1,804
113
Ferny Grove, Queensland
To be honest the controllers that come with the cheap Ebay panels are rubbish. I have seen batteries worth many hundreds of dollars damaged by these controllers which have very poor voltage regulation. You are much better off buying a quality controller.

Hi @GrantEd , the main reason batteries are "damaged by controllers" is because a lot of people do not have sufficient knowledge of what they are doing and what may result in wrong connections. Even the cheaper ones mostly work if not overloaded or used outside their parameters. One has to know at least the basics of what should happen and what are the correct ways to connect the different leads. In a lot of cases, some people just connect them up and do not go through the various settings available to them and/or do not look at what is happening on the readout or various light systems. Here is a case of a new member with little knowledge of solar electrics believing that all was well as it came. Others have purchased flexible panels (with no controller), and connected panels directly to battery without a controller in circuit, all because the seller said "it was ready to install as is". It was, but the seller assumed that the buyer had the knowledge to fit his own controller into the system. A little knowledge is dangerous, but informed knowledge is vital!! There is plenty of "informed" and experienced knowledge on solar setups provided by many members on this forum.