I have a typical Victron system (24V) on my boat : Multiplus II, Smart Solar MPPT, Smart Shunt as battery monitor, Cerbo GX with Touch display. Have moved to the new UI a while ago and everything works fine. The battery bank consists of deep-cycle lead acid batteries, which will be replaced by LiFePO4 when they reach the end of their life. In preparation thereof, I have now replaced my old Balmar charge regulator with the Wakespeed WS500 Pro. I have meticulously followed the instructions of the Wakespeed manual as well as the Wakespeed-Cerbo setup guide :
-an extra (analog) shunt was installed on the alternator output circuit and connected to the Wakespeed (gray/purple wires);
-the Wakespeed was configured with the option “current shunt on the alternator” enabled;
-Victron-WS crossover cable for CAN communication with the Cerbo with appropriate terminators at each end;
-the CAN profile “VE Can & Can Bus BMS (250 kbit/s)” was selected for the Cerbo.
When the ignition key is activated, the WS500 shows up on the remote console as a third power source besides the shore power and the Smart Solar. When the engine (and alternator) is started, the Wakespeed starts charging the batteries properly, but the charge power is displayed on the remote console as a negative DC load, while the parameters on the Wakespeed icon remain blanc (two dashes). So I tend to conclude that the Wakespeed works fine but its current and voltage readings are not ‘understood’ by the Cerbo as the alternator current. The Wakespeed-Cerbo setup guide has a section titled “Current field contains two dashes”, which is exactly my problem but it only discusses BMS issues which are not relevant to my system with lead acid batteries (so no BMS).
I have tried various alternative settings on both the Wakespeed and Cerbo but nothing seems to help. Hope some of you can ?
I have a similar setup in a motorhome only I’m using a Lynx BMS & Smart Lithium batteries . I have two WS500s, one as a spare. One WS500 works perfectly, the other does exactly as yours does. Both have identical programming. I have been in touch with Wakespeeds tech dept. They have me checking and trying various settings, but with no changes. This is the guy I have been dealing with. Nolan Cardoza Nolan@dragonflyenergy.com If you haven’t, contact him and see what he says. I’m guessing something is wrong internally with one Wakespeed since one works fine and the other doesn’t. But the tech department thinks otherwise. It’s been a few weeks since I contacted them as I’ve been busy with other projects but I would like to get this solved.
If you haven’t, download the android app and use that to program the Wakespeed. They will want the JSON file used for the programming. Please post if you find a solution.
Thank you very much for this reply.
Good to know that I am not the only one having this problem. But I am surprised that not much info can be found on the internet although many Wakespeed users are likely also Victron customers.
I have followed your advice and sent an email to Nolan, with the JSON file and some screenprints from the Victron remote console attached.
Will keep you informed.
Best regards,
Rudi
I have a WS500 and works fine. I am also running mine on my AGM until I get the LiFePO4 installed after winter.
A couple of things to check on the WS500.
- What happens if you set the “Is shunt backwards” to on.
- Have you set “Enable OSEnergy (RV-C) CAN subsystem” to on.
- Have you set “Enable NMEA2000 CAN subsytem” to on.
I am using “Victron SmartShunt (Requires Cerbo)” for the alternative CAN / BMS protocol.
There is a WS500 Facebook group with some knowledgable members.
Thanks for your reply. I have configured the WS500 exactly as you have indicated. At the moment I cannot reconfigure the WS to set the shunt backwards because I am not on the boat till early march. But I am pretty sure that the purple and grey current sense wires have been connected correctly (purple closest to the battery; grey closest to the alternator) - see the wiring diagram that I made as preparation for installing the system. If you see something wrong, please tell me - thanks!
In the mean time, I also got a reply from the Wakespeed TechSupport : "The data that is displayed on the Cerbo is valued by Victron, not us unfortunately. I’m expecting this to be changed in a future update. " So they point to Victron, but you managed to get the communication with the Cerbo working, so I am still wondering which device should be looked at.
Nothing more that I can add, I have my shunt in the negative as well with the grey sense wire towards alternator, purple towards battery, I have checked the photos I took after the install as well as the wiring diagram.
