bony999 Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 Hello All I recently purchased an MPPT board from a comapny in South Africa and it has now arrived. Many thanks to BritishRacingGreen for the link. When the board arrived it had a seperate component in an anti static bag that I do not appear to have in my UK version of the inverter. I will attach the picture at the end of the question. The board is identical to my old one and short of having it sent off and tested I am quite happy to just fit the new mppt board. I am however not too sure what and where the additional item is to be installed. Asyou can see from the picture it has a live and neutral wire with fittings that I am currently assuming go on to the two cable fittings for the boards power supply. I am not fitting it yet as I am unsure what the item is for it is for clarity labelled WDC 105K 630MP. Does this in fact fit on to the power terminals that supply the mppt board and is it an additional device to protect the board from something like interference or power surges? I would be grateful if someone who has experience of fitting these boards could drop me a line to tell me definitively what it is and where exactly it goes. As ever I am truley grateful for the help Regards Bony 999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bony999 Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 Subsequent to my question above. On further inspection of my inverter I have found a similar item but a bit bigger and this has labeled on its base <>mkp21 335k630 p42748 It was fitted onto the same terminal as the mppt but below the frame so I had a job seeing it. I have attached a picture and am now wondering if this is what the additional item is and now need to know if this needs to be swapped or do I leav the original grey one in place. Picture attached below and thanks for any information you can provide. Regards Bony999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritishRacingGreen Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 (edited) 3 hours ago, bony999 said: Subsequent to my question above. On further inspection of my inverter I have found a similar item but a bit bigger and this has labeled on its base <>mkp21 335k630 p42748 It was fitted onto the same terminal as the mppt but below the frame so I had a job seeing it. I have attached a picture and am now wondering if this is what the additional item is and now need to know if this needs to be swapped or do I leav the original grey one in place. Picture attached below and thanks for any information you can provide. Regards Bony999 Hi @bony999 I think this capacitor is required to combat noise that is induced into the display circuitry. Many owners have complained about distortion of their displays when the MPPT is active on the 5.6kw machine. So the mod is not a prerequisite if you dont experience the defect. If memory serves @Coulomb is aware of this solution, so he might be able to assist you further. Edited August 21 by BritishRacingGreen Scorp007 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bony999 Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 Hi BritishRacingGreen Many thanks for the reply. I wondered what it was for. Given the markings on the two of them and the grey one is possibly 335K and the yellow one is 105K is there any distinct advantage to fitting the old one or the new one or will they difference between them not matter that much? I have changed the mppt as it was indicated by the original provider that they thought this was the problem. I am happy to keep the original capacitor in, if it will work correctly and given I did not have any issue with the display with it fitted. I will be happy to take any advice on the difference between the two capacitors and their suitability before I fit the board and get it up and running. As ever many thanks for taking the time to respond, I am very grateful. Regards Bony999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulomb Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 The capacitor goes directly across the PV input terminals. If your old capacitor is working, it nominally has 3.3x the capacitance, so that's presumably better. But these may be safety capacitors with fusible foil, which may lose capacitance as they encounter voltage transients, say from nearby lightning. Ideally, measure the capacitance of both and use the one with the highest remaining capacitance. Some multimeters have a capacitance range, though some struggle with the higher values. 3.2uF should be ok though. Beware of residual voltage on those capacitors! Measure on a voltage range and discharge with a resistor if necessary. The last 10V or so can be discharged by shorting the leads. BritishRacingGreen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bony999 Posted August 22 Author Share Posted August 22 Hi Coulomb Thanks for the info. I don't seem to be able to read the capacitance with my cheap meter but as I had no interference on the display prior to this I am thinking I will re fit the original and see what happens. Am I right in assuming the capacitor is only to stop the interference and does not effect the mppt in any way? Many thanks as ever Regards Boy999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulomb Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 19 minutes ago, bony999 said: Am I right in assuming the capacitor is only to stop the interference and does not effect the mppt in any way? Yes, that's correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bony999 Posted August 22 Author Share Posted August 22 Hi again both I have the new board in nd the original capacitor too. All I have to do now is to re fit it and then look at how to reflash the firmware from what it came with. I will look at the conversatio I had previously with you Coulomb and see if I understand the process correctly. If it is OK with you I may have to come back to you for definitive advice on the process if I dont understand it all fully. Thanks again both Regards Bony999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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