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Solar quick connect pos/neg switched

Home Forums Mayfly Data Logger Solar quick connect pos/neg switched

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    • #18492
      Jake Lemon
      Participant

        Hey there. We have a station where the black quick connect cable was installed incorrectly and the pos/neg cable from the solar panel were switched. Should I expect this to result in a damaged logger? Will it damage any other components?

        Thanks,

        Jake

      • #18493
        Shannon Hicks
        Moderator

          That’s a good question, and something that I’m sure a few other people have accidentally done before, me included.  Luckily the charger chip and the Mayfly v1.0 and v1.1 board should not be affected by having a solar panel connected with the wires reversed.  I just did a test here with a Mayfly v1.0 and a v1.1, where I first connected a panel with the correct orientation.  The battery was charging fine and the board performed properly.  Then I connected the panel with the wrong polarity.  The battery did not charge, but the Mayfly continued to work fine, because the battery was supplying all the operating voltage.  Once I reconnected the panel with the right polarity, the battery started charging again at the same rate.  So the charger chip or any of the other components on the board did not appear to be damaged during my test.  But depending on what battery situation you’ve got or solar panel size, or Mayfly version, things may have been damaged.  But if you station is operating properly after correcting the polarity issue and the battery is charging like normal, then I think you should be okay.

        • #18494
          Jake Lemon
          Participant

            Thanks Shannon!

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