solar charging 60w panel

[nigelgibson]

I have recently fitted a 60w panel to the roof of van and within hours of connecting the panel the voltmeter had gone from 12.6 starting to 17 volts then came to rest at around 13.7 volts and charge light indicated full. I have taken a look again today [ having ignored it for a few days due to being poorly ] and after using the 12v tv and lights for half an hour checked battery with voltmeter and it read 15.3 volts.
The regulator states it stops charging at 14volts so why is it showing over 15v and the charging led is lit [ rather than flickering which indicates floating , ie fully charged/top up when necessary ?

I know the spec states operating volts of 18v so does it charge up to this and then drop when battery full?

what exactly is the voltmeter telling me ?

Am i missing something [ entirely probable as i am an electrical numpty ] or is it not working correctly.?

edit; just checked again using another meter and both show steady 13,5 volts now but charging led still on.

Also -- how do i check amps going in using multimeter ?

[g8dhe]

It will depend on where you are measuring the voltages you give. The voltages you state above would seem to indicate the voltage from the Solar Cells themselves rather than at the terminals of the battery - if that is not the case and you are indeed measuring the battery voltage at the terminals, then you are likely to be killing your battery! Any voltage exceeding 14.8 volts on a lead acid battery will cause the battery to gas and give off Hydrogen and Oxygen from the water, not only is this an explosive combination but it will lead to permanent damage unless refilled - a lot of L/B are NOT refillable!

So can you confirm that the voltages above are measured at the terminals of the battery ?

[nigelgibson]

yes , readings given are from battery terminals, tried taking a reading at the terminals where panel connects to regulator and that showed 19 volts [ although spec on panel states 18volts ].

just tried again [ reading at battery terminals ] with panel connected , reading was 15.7v ,then disconnected and reading was same but dropped steadily and quickly [ within 30 seconds] to a steady 13.7v

[g8dhe]

In that case the regulator is NOT regulating, take it back as its faulty and will lead to damaged batteries if you continue to use it!

[nigelgibson]

thanks Geoff !

how do i check the amps with multimeter?

already disconnected from battery !

[g8dhe]

Set the meter to the highest Amps range (10-20 Amps) then move the leads to the correct socket on the meter (+ve lead normally needs to be plugged in a different hole), then break the circuit you wish to measure the current in and attach the meter leads (handy to remove a fuse and plug leads into fuse socket). Reduce the meter Max range as required. Bear in mind that the meters have an in-built fuse which if you exceed the highest current allowable will (of course) blow!

[nigelgibson]

thanks Geoff - will try that tomorrow [ when help is at hand ! ]

emailed the seller of regulator for a refund - going to try a different, bit dearer brand. Just tried battery and it is now resting at around 13.2v disconnected. It's a sealed LB , nudged it around and it appears still full so hopefully caught it in time as only been connected a few days,