Blue Smart IP65 12/10 purchased several days ago. S/N HQ2338… Victron Connect worked, offered to update firmware, version now 3.65 which is latest as of today.
I charged battery with LiOn setting. I added a Preset for my Volthium Pro2 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries. I was able to charge them successfully.
I then wanted to charge a 12V 105Ah AGM battery. I powered off, connected to the AGM, powered up, and the Mode button would not change modes.
Tried toggling the VC Lock button - eg to make sure it was not disabling the Mode button. Still no idea why it would not change.
So I reset the settings to factory defaults and tried again. Mode still not working.
So I used VC to pick Normal 14.4V charging. Mode still not working.
I pressed the Mode button for 3-4 seconds, and it switched to low current mode - Normal LED blinking now. Pressing again for 3-4 seconds, and Normal LED on solid. So it’s not the mode button itself - eg button hardware is okay.
l then found I could change the modes.
So there is some kind of firmware bug regarding the Mode button state machine. It’s not the hardware.
I saw some similar discussions, but they seemed to indicated a fault with the button. Since my button does change Normal/Blinking Normal, it’s not a defective button.
I just tried to reproduce your issue on a 12/7 running 3.65.
Changing the battery type using the mode button, when a user defined preset is loaded, works as expected.
These were my test steps, please comment if you feel I am missing something
Update the charger from v3.61 to v3.65
Create a custom battery profile
Power-cycle the charger
Change the mode by pressing the button.
I will verify these steps on a 12/10 in a few days (I have to get one out of storage first). But since these chargers are closely related, I do not expect any different outcome.
Btw. if you press the button once, the charger will restart the charge cycle. You have to press it again, within a few seconds, to change the battery type.
I can try to come up with a simpler test case to reproduce the issue.
Is there a way to reset it to factory defaults? I know Victron Connect - Settings - … menu - Reset to Defaults is available. Does that reset absolutely everything?
That way, I can try to come up with a precise set of steps and minimal test case.
There is a a small translation issue with the Documentation “Manual-Blue-Smart-IP65-Charger-120V-EN-FR-ES-.pdf”
Quick user guide
“The charger can be switched to low current mode (see technical
specifications) by pressing the MODE button during 3 seconds. The
MODE LED will blink when in low current mode.
The low current mode remains activated until the MODE button is
pressed again during 3 seconds.”
“during 3 seconds” should be “for a duration of 3 seconds” or simply “for 3 seconds”, meaning you depress the button and hold it down for 3 seconds.
Otherwise, it means that you have to do it within 3 seconds of something, like within 3 seconds of powering on, or within 3 seconds of selecting the mode.
It isn’t entirely obvious that you can only change the Mode after the Test LED is on solid. I’m not sure what the rationale is for preventing the user from changing mode until Test is on solid. e.g. I connect the battery, I plug in AC, I already know what I want to do - like select LiOn or Normal+Recondition, so why do I have to wait to the end of the Test blinking to tell the unit what I want it to do? Yes, it is mentioned in the documentation as the last sentence of 1. B. It might be good to make that stand out more.
Yes, when you press Reset to defaults in Victron Connect, all settings in the charger are reset. Except for bluetooth pairing.
Using Reset to defaults in the test setup steps, makes sure we both test with exactly identical settings.
Thank you for pointing out the translation error in the manual. This is not correct. I will pass it on to our technical writers.
You can change the battery type, during the test phase (I just verified it). The manual is outdated at this point (thanks again, I will pass this along as well).
The last point confirms my suspicion, that your device must have some hardware issue with the button. Please contact your distributor to get it replaced under warrantee.
Hello @lgorter - I’ve reset the unit again with firmware 3.65. The Mode button is working perfectly now. I was going to send you a video showing the problem, but it seems that resetting it again has got the mode button working properly. Now I have a video of everything working perfectly.
So it’s definitely not the button hardware. I am a bit puzzled.
If I can get it to stop working again, I will shoot a video.
