BMV-700 disconnected, but functioning

DIY
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1

Hi-

We have a system with a Quattro 48/10000/140, a Venus GX and a BMV-700.

Earlier this week I installed a Tetonika cellular modem (RUT241).

I have just discovered that when I check the Devices page in the VRM, the BMV is showing as last seen 3 days ago, which is when the modem was installed.

I checked via the remote console and the BMV is not available through there either (Connected: No).

The BMV was operating/ displaying correctly when I was checking it earlier today while I had physical access to it, but I am now some distance away from the system and only just discovered the problem with remote access.

The system is around 4 years old and we’ve not had any issue with the BMV previously. Any idea why it would have disconnected when I connected the modem/ router?
I have previously connected into the Venus’s LAN socket to connect a laptop and perform firmware updates etc. and it’s been connected via Wi-Fi without a problem for the last year or so and communicating with VRM. Now that I’ve moved the system and need the cellular connectivity it has decided to stop being accessible.

Is there anything I can try to get connection back remotely, or is my only option to visit the system?
If I need to visit it, what is the most sensible procedure for getting the BMV talking to the rest of the system?

Thanks

2

If you have remote access to the Venus GX then perform a manual reboot and see if that gets the BMV to reconnect. If you have been inserting and removing connections on your Venus then have you accidentally dislodged the VE Direct cable from the BMV. This is where I would start.

3

Thanks- is that using the “Remote Console > Settings > General > Reboot?” option?

The system is currently being used as a UPS and the load is fairly critical- is there any chance that rebooting will disturb the AC output?

You may well be right, I could have dislodged one of the VE Direct connectors on the side of the Venus. I could go back to site, but would rather avoid it as it’s a fair drive and complicated access.

The main reason for needing the BMV to be connected at the moment is that I’m trying to set up an alert to be notified if the grid connection goes down so we can take appropriate action before the battery is depleted.

I previously set up a rule using the VE.Bus System:

Low: 200 Clear Low alarm above: 220
High: 250 Clear high alarm below: 245
Notify after: 120 seconds

…but it did not work reliably. The AC input was disconnected at 15:47, but we didn’t receive an alert until 07:36 the following day. This was strange, as nothing had happened to the system during this time and the inverter had been switched off.

It was when I was looking into setting up additional alarm alerts should the battery bank voltage or SoC drop below a certain point that I discovered the issue with the BMV. Unfortunately, I’d left site by then.

As it’s fairly critical that we get an alert, I’ve additionally set up this one:
Gateway:
AC Input 2: Generator (which is what we have the grid connected to)
Not Available is enabled.
Notify after 60 seconds.

As having a cellular connection is critical for the alerts, I’ve also set up a Communication disconnected alert, which is enabled and has the minimum delay (60 seconds).

Is there anything else that I can do that doesn’t require the BMV to make sure we’re alerted if there are any other issues with this installation? As things stand and as this installation is only active until the end of this weekend, I would rather have too many notifications than none, so multiple methods of achieving the same thing as redundancy is good with me.

4

Yes

As far as I am aware the inverter will still continue to function for the 60 second or so that the reboot is occurring for if it is a straight forward system. If it is ESS then that might not be the case, I do not know.

You can set up an alarm on the inverter state in VRM that alerts you if it swaps between charging/inverting/passthrough/off etc. that may help.

VRM is usually pretty quick at handling alarm events and issuing emails etc. once it gets the data in. The fact you had such a long delay suggests either lag on the message from your system to VRM, cellular connection or VRM to yourself. Do you have the VRM.app on a phone as this can be set up to provide alerts rather than waiting on emails.

5

Thanks for the heads-up on the VRM app- I had the Victron Connect app and had been using the VRM remotely on mobile via the website, but wasn’t aware there’s a separate VRM app. I’ve now got that up and running, tried a test notification and successfully received that instantly via email & app.

I’ve just tried to set up the inverter state alarm that you mentioned, but don’t seem to have that option. Here’s what’s I see in the inverter’s alarm rule list. Is it one of these?

  • Alarm notification
  • Phase rotation
  • Input voltage phase 1
  • Input voltage phase 2
  • Input voltage phase 3
  • Input current phase 1
  • Input current phase 2
  • Input current phase 3
  • Prefer renewable energy
  • Input frequency 1
  • Input frequency 2
  • Input frequency 3
  • Input power 1
  • Input power 2
  • Input power 3
  • Output voltage phase 1
  • Output voltage phase 2
  • Output voltage phase 3
  • Output current phase 1
  • Output current phase 2
  • Output current phase 3
  • Output frequency
  • Output power 1
  • Output power 2
  • Output power 3
  • Voltage
  • Current
  • Battery temperature
  • Active input
  • Active input currrent limit
  • AC Input 1 Current Limit
  • AC Input 2 Current Limit
  • Auxiliary output active
  • AC Input 1 Current Limit Adjustable
  • AC Input 1 Current Limit Adjustable
  • VE.Bus state of charge
  • VE.Bus state
  • VE.Bus Error
  • Switch Position
  • VE.Bus Switch Position Adjustable
  • Temperature
  • Low battery
  • Overload
  • Temperatur sensor alarm
  • Voltage sensor alarm
  • VE.Bus BMS Pre-alarm
  • High DC Ripple
  • Temperature L1
  • Low battery L1
  • Overload L1
  • High DC Ripple L1
  • Temperature L2
  • Low battery L2
  • Overload L2
  • High DC Ripple L2
  • Temperature L3
  • Low battery L3
  • Overload L3
  • High DC Ripple L3
  • Charge state
  • BMS lost
  • Unequal output distribution in parallel system: L1
  • Unequal output distribution in parallel system: L2
  • Unequal output distribution in parallel system: L3
  • Unequal mains distribution in parallel system: L1
  • Unequal mains distribution in parallel system: L2
  • Unequal mains distribution in parallel system: L3
  • Ignore AC input
  • Ignore AC input 2
  • Split Phase L2 L1 Out Summed
6

VE Bus state. You can choose which of the states to alarm on.

7

Thanks for your help @pwfarnell - the event passed without issue and the VE Bus State alarm worked nicely for what we needed.

Since we’ve got it back at our yard I have found that the reason for the loss of communication with the BMV was indeed due to the VE Direct connector having been pulled out of the back of the BMV while wiring up the modem (shame they don’t have a clip like an RJ45). Plugged it back in and it immediately started communicating.

Thanks again for your assistance.

8

Thanks for the update, I guessed it was that as I have popped my VE Direct cable out of the back of my BMV when doing wiring mods on my boat.

9

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