Pytes battery bank not charging

Q&A and troubleshooting
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1

Hi fellow Victron enthusiast.

Has anyone knowledge of interoperability issues between Pytes E-Box battery banks (more than 4) and Cerbo 3.41 / Quattro’s?

We have a situation where some engineers in the field suggested ‘this is a known issue with Pytes’ where the batteries would simply not charge even if set to charge from grid. Customer replaced Pytes with AGM batteries and charging worked as expected.

The Pytes batteries:

Manufacturer : PYTES
Device name : E-BOX-48100R-C
Board version : SQBMSV15
Main Soft version : SPBMS16SRP2203V1.5.24.C8
Iterate version : SPBMS16SRP2203V1.5.24.C8.T1
Soft version : V1.5
Boot version : V1.9
Comm version : V2.0
Release Date : 23-06-07
Barcode : LC0B010403020682
Board ID : GD373739360001303633399292
Board SRAM Size : 96KB
Board FLASH Size : 256KB
Specification : 51.2V/100AH
Cell Number : 16
Max Dischg Curr : -102000mA
Max Charge Curr : 102000mA
Console Port rate : 115200
Command completed successfully

Cerbo and Quattro latest versions as of today.

Regards,
Dan

2

Was the battery showing the packs as online in the GX and was the CVL and CCL what they are supposed to be?
It almost sounds like the BMS was blocking charge, but that would presumably show up in the BMS management tools?

3

This was the first thing we looked into, but it is not at the BMS’s request it seems:

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Setup is like this:

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4

Ok. So no DC mppts, only PV inverters?
Which are they and how are they configured?

5

Correct. Connected on AC out.

6

If you configure dvcc to not use the pytes bms (requires restart of everything to take effect iirc)
What does it do?

7

Good idea. Let me try this out. Should rule out BMS then I guess…

8

@dansz Daniel I wonder if the battery is definately not in “Protection Mode”? I think if the batteries have been fully charged they will not accept any current as they are in “Protection” mode which can be seen by the LEDS on the battery. I realise the CCL does not indicate Protection mode but thought it was worth mentioning.

9

No, the batteries sit at 50% or less. At 100% the CCL was very low as expected.

10

Not name shaming anyone but layely Pytes support is inexistent. Emailed them several times over weeks on different topic. Not even an acknowledgement. Will definitely look at another brand going forward. Even though so far we have installed 20+ .

11

Daniel try to update to the newest Bootloader + FW.

This is what i found and updated with the C8:
image

1 Like
12

Hi Daniel. I have a lot of experience with Pytes + Victron. It’s our preferred stationary solution. I can help you with links to the latest firmware, bootloader, and email addresses for Pytes support. You can email us at (personal information moderated) and I’ll get back to you.

I have not seen the issue you are experiencing, but as Rob suggested your first step is to update bootloader and firmware.

-Ed

13

I have contacts from Pytes engineers, ping me in whatsup (personal info moderated)
Keep in mind the following:

  1. Your batteries should be on same firmware. Are they? There is a minimum firmware requirement from Victron regarding Pytes
  2. Try to change master battery (make other battery as master)
  3. How many batteries you have in bank? 8? Try to disconnect 2 and see if any changes happen (don’t forget to rebook whole bank when you did it)
14

If checked the data you have in the post. I think you have problems cause of old firmware. Current latest is 1.5.38 for C8 version.
BTW do you have all batteries in bank C8? Or C16 as well? (C16 easy to find with a small sticker in front of the battery, you will not be able to miss it). Also are they all C revision?

15

Hi Ed. That would be great. We use quite a lot of EBoxes and V5s. Can you PM me your email? Maybe can help eachother in future. Thanks

16

Hi Yevhenii. Back to this issue now, as location was unaccessible for a while.

Yes, they are same version. Will try put another as master.

Tried to read some docs but hard to tell these are C8 or C16, no sticker on this lot. How can you tell which is which?

17

I don’t see a way to send you a private message on this site and apparently the moderators didn’t appreciate me including my email address. Click on my username, expand the profile information if necessary, and you’ll see a link to our website. Go to the website and contact information is at the bottom. Thanks.

1 Like
18

Its not about appreciation. Personal details get harvested from the site if posted publicly which exposes users to spam and other issues. So we ask users, in their own interests, to refrain from sharing that data here.
PM’s have also been discussed at length in the community feedback category. Thanks for understanding.

1 Like
19

Are they at the same latest version?

20

Unfortunately not. They are on version on website from early 2024. Do you have a newer one?