is my solar panel salvageable?

[roam]

i have a Sunware 35/1 semi-flexible solar panel which has given several years good service but is now giving zero output.
over the years the junction box between the wire and panel has stressed, breaking the wires.
i now notice that the strap leading from the junction to the solar cells has turned green - probably as a result of corrosion from the stressed wires.
i have removed the plastic cover on the wire junction to reveal a rubbery plug that the wires disappear into.
does any think the panel can be repaired?
photo attached.

many thanks!

ps. imho, the wire/panel junction is a bit of a design fault. the wire needs to be secured so that it cannot twist at this point. once we'd noticed, we cable tied the wire to one of the corner fixing points.

 

[nimbusgb]

Is that a glassfibre substrate the tracks are behind? A dremel with a grinding bit might get you somewhere but its always going to be a bodge.You will have to get to the tracks leading to the cells and clean them up and solder on new flying leads. Once they are exposed you'll have to varnish them or cover them in resin to protect from further degredation.

As you say you need a separate main line connecting box to take the stresses and strains of the main lead off the flywires.

Certainly worth a try considering the cost of a new panel!

 

[ytd]

before you start digging around with a dremel, I would dig the wires out of the rubber block and see if there is any voltage on them. A break in the wires is most likely where they exit the rubber block.

 

[VicS]

Worth having go at it but the green colouration of the connection between the junction box and the photocells looks rather ominous.

Save the pennies for a new panel. Even if you fix this one up it may not last long

 

[Alfie168]

Why not have a go at fixing it. What have you got to lose.

I had a very similar experience on my solar panel. The wires disappeared into a plastic junction box and one of them had either corroded or fatigued and there was no voltage. I cut the wires back to where they were sound and re-soldered them back onto the panel, then I made a cable clamp out of a cable tie and encased the lot in araldite. The junction box was not recoverable which was a shame as it would have looked a lot neater.

Its not the perfect repair, but its done three years and still works. As Vic has said, the copper corrosion tracking into the panel looks a bit ominous though so don't expect miracles. Mine didn't have that problem

Tim

 

[ccscott49]

Mine had corroded due to water ingress and a subsequent short, they had turned green. I cut back into the tracking "wires" and soldered new wires in place, then used sikaflex to seal the joins to the panels, still going strong after 5 years. Oh! By the way, used tinned cable for them, to stop any further corrosion.
So to answer your question, yes, they are salvageable.