Solar panels not charging batteries - what up with that?!

[MerlinsMaster]

Hey guys,

So I just launched a satellite into orbit, and it ran out of power. I have solar panels, which are getting sunlight, but the batteries are not recharging. This is the first time this has happened to me in the current game I'm playing. And before anyone says it, I'm am not running the Kopernicus mod.

Please help. Thanks.

False, alarm, everybody. It appears .48 exposure wasn't enough to get the batteries to charge.

Edited July 30, 2015 by MerlinsMaster

[FancyMouse]

Right click the panel and see what it says. It could be possible that your part is blocking the sunlight (even if visually it seems receiving some)

[MerlinsMaster]

Right click the panel and see what it says. It could be possible that your part is blocking the sunlight (even if visually it seems receiving some)

Thanks. It's possible that may have been a contributing factor, but I think the primary cause was that whatever parts I had using EC were using it faster than the solar panels could replenish, and it looked like they weren't charging. Also, the Remote Tech flight computer had the satellite pointed in a certain direction, and as a result I couldn't turn it. But I wasn't aware parts could block sunlight, so I will definitely keep that in mind going forward. Thanks.

[A_name]

I wasn't aware parts could block sunlight

Which sometimes leads to some funny stuff, for example the solar panel blocking itself (don't ask me how)

Obviously planets and moons also block the sun. Sometimes if your orbit is low and you're close to sunrise/sunset, even if you can clearly see the sunlight bating your craft, the panels will say they're blocked by the celestial body.