Hi all. A total beginner here so please be patient! I recently purchased a boat with an approximately 7 year old Victron system comprising a Quattro, Colour Controller, 4x MPPT, Smart Batterysense & SmartShunt. The system also has shore power & a generator plus the alternator inputs. And 4x 300AH Lithium domestic batteries.
Question 1. Why does the VRM and Colour Controller only show 3x MPPT on the device list yet the Local device list shows all 4?
Question 2. Yesterday, I’m fairly certain the domestics were being charged by the alternators and the MPPT outputs were not contributing in any way (as they were showing a total of 0W being produced). Today appears to be the exact opposite with with MPPTs producing about 500W (as I type) but with the domestics slowing charging as if there is no contribution from the alternators.
How are the alternators connected and controlled? What are the charging parameters of the controlling devices for the alternators, and the charging parameters of the mppt’s? My first guess is that the alternators were putting out higher voltage than the mppt charging parameters, resulting in taking them offline.
As @thomasinaz has said it depends on the relative voltages but can also vary if the MPPT is in float or bulk or absorption and also how full the batteries are. Do your lithium batteries BMS communicate with the colour control and control charging.
I suggest you go to the victronenergy.com and go to each product page in turn and download the manual and set about understanding how each component works.
Thanks to thomasinaz and pwfarnell for the input - much appreciated. I’ve spent a coouple of days reading manuals and trying to understand how the system is wired and what is going on with it. The previous owner tells me the alternators are limited to 30A output. However, looking at the shunt, it seems that perhaps only one alternator is outputting around 25A and the other alternator isn’t outputting. I’m not sure what’s happening with the MPPTs. Two are working just fine. One of them was working but now its state has changed to ‘Off’ and there’s no output. The fourth one appears to be working as the blue bulk LED is showing. However, it now refuses to be identified by bluetooth. I think it’s maybe time to call in an expert to try to get to the bottom of the various problems!