Ok, please follow with me for a minute:
I have a 1996 28 foot excella.
It had the 5W, the pair of 53W factory panels, and another I'd judge 100-150W panel put on it when new either by a OC electrical engineer or someone he trusted to do so (he was getting up there in years.)
2 years ago I replaced the 53W panels with 100W panels and spent 6 months boon docking.
Doing it again, just got new deep cycle batteries (which I had checked before I bought them.) they were 80% charged and before I installed them I hooked jumper cables to them for 2 hours each. (should of been well charged)
It's been overcast, so I've run the generator a bit in the last week or 2, and I can't get the meter to go above about 12.4 (old needle type)
Yesterday the needle was BURRIED when I walked in in the evening. (I've replaced the lights with LED's.... Which were all off. The only thing running all day was the regulator on the propane fridge.
-just went through this 2 weeks ago and thought it was bad batteries.
I hooked up jumper cables last night thinking it might be the battery charger/converter, (I was thinking it was an inverter) and the little Honda EU2000i didn't have enough ass.
It hit 13 briefly and settled down to 12.4 (should of been higher with my alternator running)
Stayed there when I shut it off a couple hours laterand Was at 12 this morning.
Last time I was up here the sun would make it peg 14
It's like the solar isn't even there right now.
Neighbor who lives off grid thinks I put too much solar on the roof and burned up the charge controller.
I've got a Morningstar proStar-30 I bought when I boughten solar and never used...but he told me that's not going to handle the ~300w... It's for 30 amps, (like my plug) but he said I'd get more from the solar...
I'm pretty sure it can't be the converter as I'm running
12V
I got up on the roof and checked the solar wires... Don't see anything amiss.
Ok, thank you for getting through that:
1. Could it be anything else other than the charge controller.?
2. Is the Mornigstar a good replacement?
2. a: if not, please make a recommendation.