Swapping Charge controller - solar flickering?

[afk314]

Hi all,

I'm doing a charge controller swap and have unplugged from shore power and unhooked my battery. However, if I turn on an LED, it will flicker briefly, pause and flicker again. I'm assuming this is power coming from my Solar panel directly into the system? My solar charge controller is receiving no power so shows nothing. Major systems don't work (water pump, etc) - I just want to make certain I can safely work on the charge controller with this little bit of charge.

Thoughts?

-Adam

[glcmranger]

Make sure you cover your panels first to reduce or eliminate any power coming into the controller. I use cardboard. This is a strong recommendation from major solar manufacturers when installing a solar system.

[rmkrum]

Or, as Lewster has recommended, have a disconnect switch for the panels before the controller input.

[afk314]

Thanks, all. Appreciated.

[WayneG]

I use aircraft circuit breakers on each of my panels. This allows me to test individual panel output or disconnect them all for maintenance. It also protects a totally shorted panel from interfering with the good ones.
I have been warned by others that breakers have some internal resistance that will reduce the system efficiency, but with these breakers, I dont detect any problems.