After solving the RCBO fighting issue {I HOPE} {BUT MAYBE NOT} as this could be connected as it may be a neutral or a ground miss-match issue that is causing this problem and was causing the RCBO problem. All to be discovered soon I hope
I have another problem. It is AC-IN disconnecting
I have done a HARD RESET to the system shutting everything down and disconnecting all AC and DC connections for an hour our two while I did other things
SO I have a 48 5000 70 Multiplus II
a Cerbo GX with a Touch 70 (power feed from one of the Lynx distributors)
Four Pylontech US5000 batteries
two Lynx distributors
two AC Isolators installed beside the inverter {one for the grid the other for the consumer unit)
In the consumer unit is a change over switch which connects the consumer unit to either the grid or AC-OUT-1 in the Inverter {via the consumer AC isolator}
Sitting in the consumer unit but not connected electrically to the consumer unit is a 50A Circuit Breaker installed there physically BUT electrically only connected to the grid and feeds AC-IN via the Grid Isolator
Also in the Consumer Unit is the ET112 for measuring the solar energy and a 20A CB for the solar supply to the Consumer Unit {Since the AC-OUT-1 is also connected to the Consumer unit via the change over switch this meets the AC physically common connection requirement}
The problem is while the inverter is connected to the house via the Consumer Unit Isolator and the change over switch even though the grid CB and isolator are feeding power to the AC-IN connection (my multimeter shows me 237V at the AC IN Terminal) the inverter says disconnected and the relay that connects the AC-IN power is clicking every 24 seconds BUT power in never gets connected to the inverter it stays ‘disconnected’. And when the relay clicks and the AC Voltage changes for less than a second (see Video)
Now IF i switch off the Consumer Unit using the isolator this does not happen IF I restart the system without the change over switch and the Consumer Unit being fed by the inverter and I can see the voltage and frequency displayed on the Touch 70 screen IF i look at the inverter BUT when feed the consumer unit via the isolator and change over switch then the problem arises.
IF I power up the system with the Grid isolator off {simulating a GRID FAILURE) and the change over switch feeding the consumer unit then the inverter runs on the batteries and powers the house without any problem
IF I power up the system with the Consumer Unit Isolator off and the grid isolator on then the inverter quickly goes into battery charge mode and does charge the batteries.
As other post, a schematic drawing needed to understand your description.
There are many free ways to produce a drawing, starting with a pencil & paper.
Without an understanding of how system is wired, it is a stab in the dark why it is doing what it is doing and potentially dangerous.
Clearly either something or things are wired incorrectly , or there is incorrect isolation / understanding of the system.
Who fitted this system? Can they provide a drawing or shed any light on this ?
I DID SOME MORE INVESTIGATION and I am now TOTALLY CONFUSED
I discovered a situation With the changeover switch DOWN (this connects the inverter to the Consumer Unit when it is DOWN) (power to the changeover switch is from AC-OUT-1 then the isolator then to the down side of changeover switch) The non switched side of the changeover switch is connected to the power in for the Consumer Unit.
BUT with the isolator OPEN the voltage at AC-IN was only 30V
BUT with the changeover switch UP connecting the grid to the Consumer Unit AND the isolator between AC-OUT-1 and the changeover switch open the AC-IN was at 234V and the Inverter was happy and started to charge the batteries
THEN with the changeover switch DOWN connecting the inverter via AC-OUT-1 to the Consumer unit AND the isolator between AC-OUT-1 and the changeover switch open I had previously removed the cable from AC-IN rather unsurprisingly the voltage at the now disconnected AC-IN feed cable was now 234V
Opening the Grid Isolator and reconnecting the cable that feeds AC-IN to the inverter and then closing the Grid Isolator and we are back at 30V on AC-IN
The Grid feed to AC-IN goes through a 50A Circuit Breaker that is NOT connected to the Consumer Unit but is connected to the Grid and when the Multiplus II is connected to AC-IN AND the changeover switch is in the UP position connecting the grid to the Consumer Unit AC-IN shows the normal 234V AC voltage
NONE OF THIS MAKES ANY SENSE to ME
The idea of the changeover switch and the two isolators (One between the grid and AC-IN and the other between AC-OUT-1 and the changeover switch) was so I could run the house on the grid while the system was dead for any changes or maintenance
As you know how it’s wired, then either you have wired it wrong or maybe forgotten how it’s wired.
Whatever it is, your ongoing word description doesn’t help much, as your description may differ from others description. For instance what do you mean by"The non switched side of the changeover switch", can only assume you are referring to the common connection of this change over switch? But how is this change over switch wired? How many poles does it have, is it double throw or single throw ? A simple drawing answers this.
The idea behind a schematic drawing is for designing initially / at design stage can draw all scenarios of switch position ect to iron out potential issues and once complete its for your very situation - to record how it is wired for future reference.
I have a fairly good memory, but its impossible for me to remember how i have designed and wired my own systems / circuits, any add ons / alterations / issues i always look at as built schematic to see why / how alteration’s may or may not be implemented.
look at the consumer unit pictures and you can see the changeover switch YES technically I misspoke but !!!
THE COMMON SIDE is connected to the Consumer Unit with the Changeover switch IN THE UP POSITION that is the Grid Connection with the Changeover switch IN THE DOWN POSITION that is the inverter {AC-OUT-} and yes it is a double pole changeover switch
OOOPS I think my pictures are on another thread so here are some more
For instance what do you mean by"The non switched side of the changeover switch", can only assume you are referring to the common connection of this change over switch? YES LOOK above
JUST NOW LOOKING AT THESE PICTURE i can see that the changeover switch has on the input side the LIVE and the NEUTRAL wires reversed I need to look at the OUTPUT SIDE {the common side} and see if it is identically miss connected
I have contacted my electrician who did all the AC wiring including replacing the OLD ANCIENT CU with this new double consumer unit to get this issue rectified. I will get this corrected ASAP
I do NOT need a detailed wiring diagram to build this system or to understand how it is all connected. Obviously there is this issue, as I only discovered replying to you, and looking at the pictures of the wiring to the changeover switch in the consumer unit.
Pre this nightmare I have no in-depth knowledge of the Multiplus II and CERBO GX BUT I am getting there. My {really good} electrician {who has never wired up a system with a Multiplus II before doing this one} had gone through his wiring a number of times {finding nothing wrong} and in desperation we replaced the RCBO’s with ELCB’s that fixed the tripping problem. BUT then we get this inverter with AC-IN problem, so all we did was mask the real issue. IF as I suspect this miss wiring of the changeover switch IS the REAL PROBLEM then I will probably have the RCBO’s reinstalled as it looks like we do have a problem with the neutral connections which the RCBO’s correctly identified responded to and tripped.
Ac in bidirectional, meaning it can take power ( to pass through to ac outs / use it to charge battery) or supply power ( invert from DC to ac supplying ac to whatever is connected to ac 1 in, in your case grid and if grid is also connected to consumer unit, that also)
It was a neutral problem which is why the RCBO’s were tripping.
The electrician was a little out of his depth here {he is a great guy BUT this was his first BSS and Victron Energy Bits and Bobs system}
The problem was the miss wiring of the Grid. The Grid Neutral was connected to the Consumer Unit Neutral Busbar
ALL SORTED and working well charging the batteries and inverting to run the house and acting as a UPS when I disconnect the Grid
BUT VRM is showing the power to the grid fluctuating all over the place from -60W to 30W
I do NOT have a CT on the Grid connections and my VE Multiplus II suppliers ‘technical guy’ says this is ‘normal’ not something to be concerned about AND that fitting a CT to the Grid will not stop this.
Things are good but i think I will need to add two more Pylontech US5000 batteries. For sure one and I have room in my 19” rack cabinet for one more US5000 battery so that will be the first upgrade
Changing to Octopus GO at midnight tonight and have programmed the inverter to charge the batteries from 00:30 for 5 hours and being a late bedder certainly tonight I will connect my Nissan Leaf to the power outlet in the drive.
The Nissan Leaf has a big problem synchronising the two onboard clocks one is the cars ECU clock and the other is the GPS derived clock, unless you can synchronise them you cannot set up a scheduled charging profile
I will wait a few weeks before considering a Smart EV charger for my Nissan Leaf {RATHER EXPENSIVE with I would expect a long ROI {OMG the BSS has a much longer ROI} but then I can change to Octopus Intelligent GO} and to see how much battery capacity I truly need. Past figures {I have an octopus mini and the app} both great for looking at my energy usage show a max daily usage of 25 kWh
SO SORTED thanks for all you input, for sure that got me thinking and then helping my electrician understand how he had miss wired the A/C power lines. Replacing the RCBO’’s with ELCB’s indicated that it was not a problem on the ground side so that helped me focus on where the problem lay and then talking to my electrician he quickly understood where the problem was and today in 10 minutes it was fixed and another 30 or so minutes testing out all the functionality with the various Multiplus II A/C and DC configurations
as it may be a neutral or a ground miss-match issue that is causing this problem and was causing the RCBO problem. All to be discovered soon I hope
My {really good} electrician {who has never wired up a system with a Multiplus II before doing this one} had gone through his wiring a number of times {finding nothing wrong} and in desperation we replaced the RCBO’s with ELCB’s that fixed the tripping problem. BUT then we get this inverter with AC-IN problem, so all we did was mask the real issue. IF as I suspect this miss wiring of the changeover switch IS the REAL PROBLEM then I will probably have the RCBO’s reinstalled as it looks like we do have a problem with the neutral connections which the RCBO’s correctly identified responded to and tripped.