The solar "switch"

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, LadyG said:

I've shoved it back in and now have power input, but it's not fixed in any way, the output side is fixed with a sort of clamp, but until the batteries are charged and there is no sunlight I'll just leave it alone .  

Dont just leave it. with a poor conection and a few amps flowing through it, it could get quite hot, enough to damage the thing

[Sea Dog]

4 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Dont just leave it. with a poor conection and a few amps flowing through it, it could get quite hot, enough to damage the thing

He's right. Just turn the breaker off so there'll be no current flowing until you are happy you've done it up correctly.

 

With the breaker off, you can be confident that you won't get any arcing and sparking when you connect it either. Just take care to keep the bare end of the cable away from any metalwork whilst you're poking about. 

[Old Son]

Get the guy back who did the job. 

[TheBiscuits]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Plus she's right - what sort of a job did she get from the "professional" installer? I'd be cheesed off too.

 

Well it lasted for four years until she tried to "tidy it up.". Maybe it wasn't that bad a job in the first place ...

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

…and if she’s been tidying up with her club hammer 🤷‍♀️
 

 

like wot I do

(but not with her club hammer mind)

[MtB]

3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Confidence in her own understanding and/or ability to do this particular job herself would be my guess. It might sound easy to you and I, but it clearly isn't for her, even with the helpful guidance from the likes of @Jen-in-Wellies and @Tony Brooks.  Plus she's right - what sort of a job did she get from the "professional" installer? I'd be cheesed off too.

 

For LadyG, here are some photos of one I have here on me desk.

 

This photo shows the cable connector fully open, by turning the screwdriver anticlockwise: 

 

 

 

 

And here is the connector partly tightened, showing how the bar moves across to grip anything in the gap (e.g. the solar cable):

 

 

 

 

 

Now put the solar wire into the gap like this:

 

 

 

 

Now tighten the screw to grip the wire like this:

 

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Nah,

don’t make no sense

LadyG has a black wire. 
 

 

LadyG,

you do know you don’t have to move if your solar ain’t working?