I suffered a complete loss of AC power out this evening and I suspect it may be an issue with the firmware on the Multiplus II.
All equipment (BYD batteries, MPPT, Multiplus II) are all less than 9 months old and have worked fine up the this point.
Even though the SOC was at 35% and the Voltage at 51.50, as I say the inverter seemed to be not producing any AC output. (The GenSet settings are 25% SOC and 50.50v for the generator to kick in, of which has worked fine for all the time it has been installed, up to now)
I manually started the generator and charged to 100%. Now the generator is off, the AC power via the invertor is still on thankfully.
I have looked at some videos on how to update the Multiplus firmware, but am at a loss as to where the settings are, where they can be saved to and how to reload them after the firmware update.
I have the Victron Connect app on my phone and can connect to the Multiplus via that, or via internet connection in VRM. (Though I understand during the firmware update the would stop inverting, so I would lose my routerâŚ.)
*Are the some novice-proof instructions as to specifically update the firmware on the Multiplus please? I am pretty good with any apps or software but a little baffled by this. *
As an aside, I did raise another topic that my inverter seemed to stop output when switching from generator back to battery and I cannot help but think these issues may be connected and the firmware is probably a good place to start.
It is unlikely to go from working to not working because of a firmware issue unless it was triggered by an attempt update or change in settings.
I have systems I have never updated or redone in over 5 years after install. And they work well still.
What i ahe experienced is changes in wiring or equipment âwellnessâ
You me mentioned you are offgrid. The battery can be at an ok voltage overall but have a low cell. This can cause s system shutdown.
How was the system and byd bmu programmed? Is it using the offgrid voltages recommended?
It is likely the byd sent a 0DCL and switched off the system as well. It is possible to check with the vrm and see
What errors or warnings does the GX show?
Thanks for this. Something to look at when I am a little more awake in the morning.
Well the inverter definitely wasnât inverting. The green âinvertingâ light wasnât on, only the low battery light. The SOC %age was high enough for the generator not to kick in, but it may have been that the parameters for the voltage level were briefly met - which worries me that the generator didnât kick in as it always has done in the past. The autostart toggle was in position and the generator itself is always on âautoâ.
Having done a little more research before your reply then yes, there is actually little to suggest it may be a firmware issue. Which now leads to wonder what else it could be. One thing I noticed later was that I didnât get any warnings for low battery or low voltage as would normally be the case when the SOC drops below 40%.
They would be initiated by the Ekrano would they not, which would also be responsible for asking the generator to kick in. The autostart toggle on the GenSet settings is on.
Hi, thanks for this. I will have to check with the supplier that the correct offgrid voltages were programmed. At the time I took their word for it given they new I was offgrid. Unfortuntely they are not around until Monday.
The only warning on the GX at the time was a low battery warning. In the past, this has usually appeared when the SOC hit 40% and/or when the voltage is <51.00
In essence, there was nothing out of the ordinary to what it has been like for the last few months. There has been very little in the way of Pv over the last few weeks (I am in the Peak District and get a lot of low cloud) and the system has worked fine with the generator kicking in automatically when the settings have been reached.
Interesting what you say about one of the cells. As mentioned the system is less than 9 months installed so I would have liked to have hoped there were no issues (with the battery).
Attached a little more detail as to what was going on at the time. You can see where it stops inverting around 17:10, and when I then manually started the generator. Since running the generator (until at 100%) after it happened it appears to be working as usual.
Which are the config values for the voltages on MP2?
Inverter â DC input low shutdown, DC input low prealarm?
Post some printscreens from the VEConfigure, from the Inverter and Charger tabs.
Also, do you have any ESS configured? On its settings which are the Dynamic cut-off voltages?
I am asking you this, because the graph shown that when the cut-off happens, the battery voltage was about 50.5V, which are about 3.15V per cell, which means about 5-10% SOC battery.
Also, at the time of cut-off, it seems that there was a higher than usual consumption - 20A, twice about the normal 10A - which may have triggered the cut-off.
Take into consideration the fact that on such low consumption like yours, the SOC value tend to drift from truth during time.
Ok so it is a ve bus warning meaning it is coming from the inverters themselves.
You can get state of charge drift when batteries are not fully charged up regularly (not necessarily every day but at least once every 2 weeks).
We will assume for now that they have done the recommended things. But a supplier is not the same as an installer. So who did the installation?
I am going to suggest you fully charge them and hold them there for over an hour and sorry its on generator. But it will be the fix as the voltage ls dont look right for byd at that soc.
Hi, yeah on reflection they have probably not been fully, fully charged for some weeks. Good advice on this - thank you. Will schedule regular charges until the solar is enough to do so.
The installers arrange with the suppliers for all the set up to be in place for it being an off-grid system, but I will obviously check this with them. On installation I did go through the settings on the Ekrano with them (on my legacy system is was a CCGX) so I was familiar with it. However, we didnât speak about anything to do with the BMS and the Be Connect app either.
Generator is running now on your advice and I monitor what the voltage is as it is at 100%.
Not going to name the companies who supplied and installed at this point until I have had chance to hear their views. It has made me think about the timing issue of the incident and what support is available. 5:15pm on a Friday when they have gone home for the weekend isnât ideal and I need to speak to them about SLAs and support. As I say I was here when it happened but if it had when customers were in the holiday let, it would be far from ideal. Also going to collect some emergency lightingâŚâŚ.
