GlobalLink 520 with Smartshunt 300A

Q&A and troubleshooting
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1

First post in this new forum, so hello everyone :slightly_smiling_face:

I have a GlobalLink 520 that has been working fine for some time connected by Bluetooth to a Smartshunt 500A and 3 x Smartsolar MPPT chargers.

I have now replaced this with a GX device, so redeployed the GlobalLink to my backup system which also has 3 x (smaller) Smartsolar MPPT chargers, plus I have just added a new Smartshunt 300A. All the devices initially connected fine by Bluetooth, but after the first 15 minute cycle, the Smartshunt dropped off and could no longer be seen. Everything else is still connected and reporting every 15 minutes as expected.

I have tried powering everything down and starting again, and also deleting the Smartshunt and finding it again via Victron connect in the GL520, but it is no longer visible.

The Smartshunt looks fine when connecting via Victron connect and instant reading via Bluetooth is switched on.

Any ideas? Thanks

2

Ok so I fixed it. Despite being less than 2 meters apart, it seems the Bluetooth connection between Smartshunt and GL520 was not working.

Fitted a Bluetooth dongle to the Smartshunt, and all is now working as expected.

It would appear that the Bluetooth range of my new Smartshunt 300A is abysmal!

Have ordered a VE.direct cable and will connect with that instead.

3

A further observation that may help someone sometime.

I noticed that SOC wasn’t being reported in the widget every cycle, and mostly showing blank with status ‘idle’.

This turned out to be due to having both the Smartshunt and a Battery sense reporting by bluetooth to the GL520. Both were seen as a ‘battery monitor’ and seemed to be causing some sort of conflict. Turned off the Battery sense in the GL520 smart device list with the slider toggle, and SOC is now updated in the widget every cycle.