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I have a cheap MPPT solar battery charge controller I use as a lab for high school students. It has no reverse battery polarity protection and wanted to add some protection because we've lost some units already.

My go-to of an inline diode doesn't work obviously because (a) diode voltage drop and (b) current direction based on charge/discharge.

Right now my solution is to use gendered connectors, but those aren't foolproof because the leads can accidentally be reversed when assembling lab units (the gendered connectors +/- can be difficult to see and isn't color coded). I was hoping for something a little more foolproof.

Any ideas?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ My 2 cents/quid is to pre-wire or solder the leads/connectors, so that they can only be connected properly. Use color-coded wiring everywhere, so that a mistake is obvious. \$\endgroup\$
    – rdtsc
    Commented Aug 25, 2021 at 13:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ 4P Molexpower plugs may be better,ike HDD on PC's otherwise Dual Fet reverse protection board is needed \$\endgroup\$
    – D.A.S.
    Commented Aug 25, 2021 at 14:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ Related: electronics.stackexchange.com/q/305425/2028 \$\endgroup\$
    – JYelton
    Commented Aug 25, 2021 at 15:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ Fuseholder and bunch of replacement fuses? \$\endgroup\$
    – vir
    Commented Aug 25, 2021 at 16:22
  • \$\begingroup\$ Add the diode. Battery doesn't quite charge to 100%, oh well! Does it even matter for a school project? \$\endgroup\$
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Aug 26, 2021 at 5:08

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