Solar panel connector melting!?

[Royco]

I have my solar panel permanently mounted on my roof rack.
I recently noticed that the amp output is much less than expected (rated 6 amp) - sometimes less than 1 amp in midday sun.
So I checked the wiring on the panel, this is what I saw:

Panel-1.jpg (105.87 KiB) Viewed 1166 times

I managed to remove the positive wire, and reconnected it, and managed to get 5.2 amps.
But a few minutes later, it dropped to around 2 amps, then back to 1 amp, then I smelt the connector starting to melt again.

What causes this?
How can I prevent it from happening?

[Willem01]

Only reason I can think of is that the connector(screw that you turn that holds the wire) is not properly making good contact with the wire and the diode thus causing it to melt, what does it look from the otherside, cant you maybe use a connector block between the diode and the wire.

[Royco]

Only reason I can think of is that the connector(screw that you turn that holds the wire) is not properly making good contact with the wire and the diode thus causing it to melt, what does it look from the otherside, cant you maybe use a connector block between the diode and the wire.

Thanks Willem.
The other side is the panel itself. It's "glued" to it.
There are no screws, the wire is just pushed into the connector.
I soldered the wire tip, to make it more rigid. Could it be the different metals? Either the solder, or the copper wire?
I would have have preferred to have a screw to tighten the wires.

[Willem01]

If you have a good solder iron , I would solder the red wire to the end of the diode,seems that they are connecting to same end,,,without warming up the diode to much to damage it....just wait maybe for the experts to give some feedback seems they are all on holiday....

[Mud Dog]

It is as a result of poor contact .... I dislike those 'push in' connectors at the best of times. If you have enough space under the cover you can solder a little extension wire onto the leg of that diode (or remove the leg from the push-in connector), and then put a single pole from a strip connector (blokkie connector) onto that leg .... then the wire can be connected / disconnected there. If there is not enough space you might have to solder the wire directly to the diode but then it's a hassle if you ever need to disconnect. Either way you would have a more secure connection that doesn't heat up.