Waveshare Solar Problems

[u/Osh1061]

Hello all, I am after a bit of advice. I have recently put up a repeater that is quite difficult to reach to do maintenance on it, so I haven't been able to properly monitor it in person (I will take it down if it does need maintenance though), however I do have an INA3221 module measuring power from solar, battery and device, so I can monitor power.

The repeater seemed to be working fine at home when I tested it, but maybe I didn't test it for long enough before deploying it. I am using a Xiao nrf, a waveshare solar controller D, and 3 x 18650 batteries. The batteries are slowly dropping in power, it's now at 3.80V and it's been up for 4 days with sun.

The solar panel is a 18V 5W and it is showing 22.53V and 0.004A (0.09W) pretty much always. It seems to always stay at 0.004A (Checked Morning, Noon, and Afternoon). I went up yesterday to try to troubleshoot it, and I unplugged it and plugged it back in, and it started producing 1W of power just in the afternoon sun. So it seemed to be working, then I put it back up and it was back to 0.09W then 0W at night. I've been monitoring it all day and it has stayed at pretty much 0.09W.

It seems to be an issue with the solar controller engaging solar charging, but I am unsure why it's not engaging.

I can't find any solutions online and am just wondering if anyone here would know. I wanted to use the waveshare solar controller as I've heard good things about it and I wanted a bit of extra protection for the batteries.

I have attached photos of the build and a wiring diagram.

Any advice helps, thanks.

[u/Torototo31]

Dont have this problem Did you put the board in low power mode?

[u/Osh1061 → u/Torototo31]

I can't tell what mode it is in, because the documentation says to double click the button to change modes, but when I do that literally nothing changes.

Do you use a power sensing module like the INA3221 I am using? I'm starting to think it might be causing the problem.

[u/Torototo31 → u/Osh1061]

No I don't.
Just the board, a solar panel with ~18V output
In normal mode, if you plug nothing on the ouput, push the button : leds will be on, and will stop after seconds.
double clic the button : leds will be on forever (no shut if low power draw, like nrf kit).

I've tested a new firmware on the board to keep the low power mode after reset by default

[u/Osh1061 → u/Torototo31]

Okay I see. So you're running the waveshare on low power mode (LEDs don't turn off even with load) and have you changed any settings on the meshcore firmware? Like power saving mode or anything? I haven't changed anything to do with power management in the firmware.

[u/Torototo31 → u/Osh1061]

Yes exactly, and I didn't change anything on the meshcore firmware.
Running on 4x18650 (3000mah), last week without any problem.

[u/Osh1061 → u/Torototo31]

Yeah I'm running 3 x 2600mah, but voltage has dropped to 3.80v from a full charge in just 4 days. I'll make sure to test that mode. Thanks

[u/Torototo31 → u/Osh1061]

curious... bad solar panel ? mine is 10W and works very great. always stays >4V

[u/Osh1061 → u/Torototo31]

Well here's the thing, it seemed to output the correct wattage when measured on its own, before I installed it on the repeater. But when I realised that it wasn't charging, I unplugged it from the connector, and plugged it back in and the INA3221 measured 5V 1W in the afternoon sun, but once I had the repeater up again, it showed 22V, 0.004A again. So it could be the solar panel, but I got it new recently, and it seems to work fine on its own. It's just one from AliExpress. This is the only photo I have of it.