Certainly worth trying to swap controllers. Though if it is all connected up properly and in direct sunlight is able to pull the solar panel voltage down to just a few volts then you would likely either quickly smell a nasty burning smell due to some sort of short circuit in the controller, or you have a problem with the panels themselves (assuming you are measuring the voltage on the solar panel side of the controller).Big Jim wrote:Thanks for the replies .I am working away for a few days now so I will go through it when I get back . I messaged the seller with the symptoms . They replied " shall we send another controller ? " . I have said yes just in case it is that .
Jim
If your volt meter measures DC amps (10 amp range) you could try plugging it in series with the input to measure what current is being drawn from solar (in sunlight) to the controller - I bet it is only a few milliamps. Obviously be careful using your voltmeter on amps so you don't short something out.
Since I assume you'd have told us quickly if there was a burning smell, the problem is more likely to be an open circuit / high resistance from the panels to the controller. If you check all the cabling carefully then that would leave the panels - if there was damage to some of the internal connections you might only have a fraction of the panel connected, hence the low voltage. Inspect the panels carefully from above for any obvious damage / manufacturing fault - i.e. non-deliberate gaps in the conductors.
Steve.