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jackandy avatar image
jackandy asked

MPPT stops charging - thinks batteries are freezing

I've got a Victron system with a Multiplus 24/3000, 5 smart MPPT charge controllers, CerboGX, Smartshunt and some Weize lifepo4 batteries.

Today all of the MPPT's stopped charging at the same time. They all showed "battery temperature -1c" which is of course too cold to charge but the batteries were at least 24°c. They were all showing PV array voltage of >40v, bulk charging mode, battery voltage around 26.5. I went ahead and shut everything off, even disconnecting the batteries. When it all booted back up, same thing. The only battery temperature sensor is actually connected to the Multiplus and I didnt think it shared that data over the VE.smart networking because it isn't on that network at all. Its only connected to the CerboGX of course.

I noticed in Victron Connect that the MPPT's were reporting that they were getting battery voltage and battery temperature from the Smartshunt but there is no temperature sensor connected to it - only voltage. So I removed the Smartshunt from the network and the MPPT's still wouldn't charge. So I removed one MPPT from the network and it began charging. I did the same for all the others and added them back into the network and they're all charging as normal.


What I dont understand is where that battery temperature data comes from and where it went wrong. In the trends tab in Victron Connect, I was able to pull up a graph of battery temperature. It was showing in the 30°c range and then suddenly dropped to -1c. Now the battery temperature is greyed out in Victron Connect trends. That is what I would've expected but somehow it was there before. I kind of want to know why because it stopped my solar charging completely. My MPPT's are running the latest firmware, v1.61 and I have (3) 100/20's and (2) 75/15's.

MPPT Controllers
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jackandy avatar image jackandy commented ·
The same thing happened again. Once again, very warm temperatures all MPPT charge controllers on the VE.Smart network showed -1C and stopped charging. I had to remove everything from the network. As soon as they were removed from the network, they started charging again. I added the smart shunt back in and they started synchronized charging using the smart shunt voltage.
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4 Answers
kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

MPPTs have an internal temp sensor.

Seems from your description that you have smart Bluetooth networking on and some other Victron network in the same system. Guessing VE Direct. This is not supported. There have been a few posts recently where mixed networks have stopped working.

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elvis avatar image
elvis answered ·

Have you verified the Victron connect app for the "Low Temperature Cutoff" value under the battery settings?

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jackandy avatar image jackandy commented ·
The low temperature cutoff shows 5C for all MPPT charge controllers. The Smartshunt doesn't have a low temperature cut off.
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carlrjohnson avatar image
carlrjohnson answered ·

If they all stop at the same time then it isn't individual units, but a sensor telling them all to stop. Do you have smart networking enabled?

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jackandy avatar image jackandy commented ·
Yes I agree and yes they are on a VE.Smart Bluetooth network. There is no temperature data in that network.
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carlrjohnson avatar image carlrjohnson jackandy commented ·
Well there is a temperature sensor in there somewhere. In the MPPT you can go to user defined, and then advanced options to see if it's getting a temperature from that.
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Cristian avatar image
Cristian answered ·
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