When you examine the terminal you will more than likely find signs of oxidation.
Burn marks on solar panels.
The current output from the whole panel is limited to that passing through the weakest link cell.
You will need to replace all metal parts in the terminal.
Mark having solar panels in the sun without a load on them should not damage them.
When you use a charge controller that is what it is doing anytime the battery bank is full tapering off the.
Just like a car battery solar panel system battery terminals can burn out.
This is a sign of a burnt terminal.
About half of the panels appear to have burn marks of an unknown origin.
A burnt terminal can be cause by wiring too many panels to one terminal.
Typically they are in the same exact place on multiple solar panels.
Hotspots on panels are mainly caused by badly soldered connections or are a result of a structural defect in the solar cells.
If you work in the solar panel installation business long enough you ll inevitably come across solar panels with strange brown spots.
Badly soldered connections cause low resistance in the part of the panel that receives the power generated by the cell.
This is because a pv solar panel is made up of a string of individual solar cells connected in series with one another.