question

matthijsb avatar image
matthijsb asked

Victron Usb to rs485 converter blows and doesn’t show up on gx

I try to connect a energy meter with the mp 2 gx, i used an original victron usb to rs485 cable, but it did blow the usb part. Now i read that i probably need an isolated converter, but why does victron sell those cables for it if they just destroy themselves?

rs485
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10 Answers
matthijsb avatar image
matthijsb answered ·

And what converter do i need exactly? I did buy the original victron cable and another one, but both don’t work.

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ossi avatar image
ossi answered ·

Hi

RS485 Converters break from time to time, claim via victron eorder https://eorder.victronenergy.com/customer/login/?next=/customer/home/ or via vendor.


third Party RS485 Converter must include FTI chip for Victron/Carlo Gavazzi Meters to work.

Tested: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07Z1V5WQS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Matthias Lange - DE avatar image Matthias Lange - DE ♦ commented ·
E-Oder is only for distributors not for the normal end user.

The normal end user has to contact his seller for a replacement.

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Duivert NL avatar image
Duivert NL answered ·

What energy meter did you connect, and how?

Rj45 or wires?

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matthijsb avatar image
matthijsb answered ·

image.jpgEt112 with wires. That is how my converter now looks like.


image.jpg (3.6 MiB)
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Duivert NL avatar image Duivert NL commented ·
Wow thats burned indeed, if you are shure you have wired it correctly, then start a warranty claim


ET112 directly wired to a victron RS485/USB converter is the normal way of installing, i have multiple wired like that

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matthijsb avatar image
matthijsb answered ·

img-0711.jpeg

This is how it is wired.


So you say it should just work with those victron rs-usb?


I have another one from victron, but i do not want to blow that one too, want to be sure it will work.


img-0711.jpeg (2.4 MiB)
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Matthias Lange - DE avatar image Matthias Lange - DE ♦ commented ·

I never had a problem like that but I see you forgot to install the cover for the AC terminals, did you maybe touch the live or neutral wire with one of the RS485 wires by accident?

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matthijsb avatar image matthijsb Matthias Lange - DE ♦ commented ·
I did not forget that, i wanted to make sure it worked before i did that.


I did not touch any other wires or terminals than the ones they are connected to, and during installation the power was off.

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Duivert NL avatar image
Duivert NL answered ·

Yes thats how it should be wired, are you shure the other spare wires didnt short to neutral

img-6346.jpeg


img-6346.jpeg (110.8 KiB)
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matthijsb avatar image matthijsb commented ·
Yes, that was my thought too, so i checked that, but that was not the case.
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matthijsb avatar image
matthijsb answered ·

I connected the other usb-rs and the meter doesn’t show up.

That happened with the last lead too, the converter doesn’t show communication lights.

Last time i thought i give it some time, and then it will work. But that made it burn the converter.

If i touch the converter, it doesn’t get hot, but that was with the last one also, after a while it did get hot i guess, and found the mess shown above.


Any thoughts on how to get my et112 to show up on mp gx?

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matthijsb avatar image
matthijsb answered ·

I found another post about it, that told me to connect the converter to a pc and change something in the name.

But when i plug it in a pc, it starts to get hot fast, and the cable isn’t recognized.


Are both of my cables faulty?

Or am i doing something wrong?

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jetlag avatar image
jetlag answered ·

You might have killed the second adapter as well by connectig it without checking the conditions.

Maybe the Energymeter is faulty and the RS485 port has a too high voltage output. Or something else is not correct.

You could check the voltage level at the RS485 Pins of the energy meter. It should not exceed ~15V (as far as I remember).

Before checking the possible root causes, you should not connect another RS485-USB adapter. The outcome will, most probably, be the same.

Connecting it to the USB port itself, should not cause any damage, so I would guess the problem is on the RS485 side.

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matthijsb avatar image matthijsb commented ·
There are no high voltages on any pin combination, the highest i can measure is 5v. Thanks for your input!
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Duivert NL avatar image Duivert NL matthijsb commented ·
5v is normal, strange, looks more to me like the ET112 is not ok, not normal for 2 RS485 converters to blow up/get hot
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matthijsb avatar image matthijsb Duivert NL commented ·
It looks to me that it is a faulty (batch) of converters.

I contacted the seller, and they did send it through to victron. If i know more, i write it here. If there is someone else who has any ideas, please share them here.

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Duivert NL avatar image Duivert NL matthijsb commented ·
Hopefully it is a bad batch!

Im out of ideas ;)

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jetlag avatar image
jetlag answered ·

Interesting, let us know what is the outcome.

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