Powerwerx MPPT-150-14.6, DC-to-DC Solar Charger Controller for Bioenno 12V LiFePO4 Batteries

It does what it says it should do, but when hooked up to my 23Ah LiFePO4 battery and a 60w solar panel, it produces S7+ noise across several HF bands.  Had to disconnect it and go without.  Will likely fashion a Faraday cage of sorts around it in my kit for next time.

I've had this charge controller for a few weeks and I'm charging a 12V, 10Ah LiFePO4 battery from AmpereTime from a 25W Solar panel.  Initially things were great and the battery rested at 12.7 with the charging disconnected -- night or panel disconnected.  The panel is usually disconnected and has been for several days.  The charger is connected to the battery through a PowerPole 8-way splitter, probably from Powerwerx.  (It tests multiple megohms of resistance, by itself, positive to negative.)

Today I wanted a 100%-certain polarity check on an adapter and went to use my new battery as a source.  I thought my meter was bad because I had no voltage reading -- zero.  However, a fresh 9V battery tests just fine,  I see no evidence of a short in my PowerPole 8-way splitter but the battery is ruined, I bet.  

I reconnected everything to charge the battery with the solar panel and it is slowly taking a charge.  

With only a few minutes since the appearance of symptoms, the troubleshooting has barely started.  

MAYBE the instructions say NOT to leave the charge controller connected.  Maybe it's bad.  Maybe the battery has internal leakage.  The only discrepancy I noticed was that my new battery never reached more than 13.8V -- possibly because the current was too little from the solar panel.  The resting votage was right for about a 90% charge, so I didn't worry.

I have over 50 years of detailed experience in repair of complex Electronic devices, so testing and substitution are elementary techniques but I sure could use any help from people in the battery world.  Other than lead-acid batteries, I have little experience.  This my first LiFePO4 battery and I'll be surprised if it's still any good.

John Markham  markhamjf(at)cox(dot)net

I've used this unit for over a year connected to a 100 watt solar panel to keep a couple of LiFePO4 batteries topped up and it has worked flawlessly. The Hawaii sun is a great source of electricity.

This solar charger is great for using with my battery box. I have a 120 Watt solar panel that I am using  it with, During some of my testing with the unit I saw around current between 6.3 to 6.6 Amps into the charge controller and between 7.6 to 8.0 Amps at 14.6 Volts. I have measured the voltage on overcast, cloudy days and there are very little fluctuation in voltage. The other great thing about this is it's size and the fact that it is fully encapsulated so it could be used in damp environments. The only place where extra weatherproofing would be needed is maybe the Anderson connector.