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Batteries No Longer Charging With Solar - Temperature Issues??
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4 of my 6 Arlo Pro4 cameras are connected to solar panels to maintain adequate battery levels. These cameras are located under the roof eaves (they are NOT in direct sunlight) and require a ladder to access them. The solar panels have been essential to keeping the batteries charged for the past 2 years without having to drag a ladder around when those batteries discharge to manually swap those batteries with the spare batteries I keep charged (for the other 2 cameras). The solar panels receive full sun most of the day.
Recently, 3 of the 4 cameras will not charge from the solar panels, or if they do accept a charge, it is for a very limited time and not long enough to make a difference. I have swapped out these batteries with my spare batteries and the problem still persists.
I live in AZ and we are experiencing unusually high day and nighttime temperatures with lows in the 90s and highs in the 110s. It hasn't been an issue previously (AZ summers are notoriously hot), but the battery issues seem to have begun coincident with the higher nighttime temps.
Is it possible that the high nighttime temps are affecting the battery's ability to accept a charge since the batteries are not cooling sufficiently overnight? I did notice, when swapping out batteries, that the battery I was removing was very warm.
It hasn't been an issue in the past, but as things age, they seem to become more temperamental and perhaps more finicky. This hasn't been an issue up to now. More importantly, any solutions if the heat is indeed the culprit?
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There was a recent firmware issue causing this. Try and unplug and then replug the solar panels back into the cameras. If the batteries are already quite flat take the opportunity to charge them up first.
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High temps can cause the cameras to shut down. If the cameras exceed 113F that will cause this and may be part of the issue. The solar panels have a somewhat higher upper temp range at 122F.
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Thanks for the info. My firmware version is 1.080.20.0_17_1a8a9cf for all 6 of my cameras with no updates available. If this is a known issue with the most recent firmware update, can I expect a future firmware update to correct this?
I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting the power cable from the solar panel (thinking the contacts needed to be wiped clean) - that didn't have any effect.
I'll post future changes/remedies here.
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This hasn't been an issue in previous summers (just as hot), so it sounds like I may have a combination of 2 issues - a possible firmware issue as well as a high-temperature issue. Last night's low was 87 degrees and at 8AM today (7/18) it is 97 degrees (typical AZ summer weather). All 4 cameras are now charging from their respective solar panel with battery levels currently ranging from 76% to 98%. The camera at 98% charge is on the north side of the house, so it tends to be cooler than the other camera locations. All cameras are located under the roof eaves and out of direct sunlight at all times.
I'll monitor the cameras throughout the day to see when they stop charging (prior to 100%) and what the outside temp is when that happens. I'll post my findings here.
Thanks to jguerdat and Streak2 for helping me troubleshoot this issue. Hoping to find a solution eventually to remedy this.
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