How To Tell Which Wire Is Positive Solar Panel

A simple voltage reading will show you the polarity of a solar panel even when inside.

How to tell which wire is positive solar panel.

Connect the negative wires together in the same fashion and the wires off the last panel in the parallel circuit are connected to the battery. Make sure that the locking tabs snap in for a firm connection. When stringing panels in series each panel additional adds to the total voltage v of the string but the current i in the string remains the same. Set the volt meter to read dc volts.

Another way to find the polarity of the solar panel is to check with a volt meter. When stringing in series the wire from the positive terminal of one solar panel is connected to the negative terminal of the next panel and so on. The bare end of the positive extension wire will now be of positive polarity. To measure across the solar panel terminals or wires put the red positive meter lead on one side and the black negative on the other.

Extend the output wires of the solar panel the positive wire of the solar panel is terminated with an mc4 female connector marked. There is no color code standard for solar pv panels like there is for ac systems. Wiring solar panels in parallel causes the amperage to increase but the voltage remains the same. Actually there is a color code standard for dc pv systems and as the nec code book does not specify ac or dc the color code applies equally to both such systems.

Only your volt meter will tell you the truth.