Hello everyone, I put my entire Victron system into operation over the weekend. So far, everything seems to be working as planned.
However, I noticed one thing that I would like to clarify.
The SmartCharger IP43 is only visible in the Cerbo, despite the VE.Direct connection, when it is being supplied via shore power. The charger is enabled as a generator via Relay 1 of the Cerbo. This enable signal is intended for a PV-priority switching system. Regardless of this, I believe that even without this enable signal via the Remote input, the Cerbo should always continue to work through the VE.Connect cable, since it is only a charging enable signal and the charger is always powered via its +/- busbar connections.
Is there any information on the subject of the Remote input and visibility in the Cerbo? Is this a BUG or a feature? The latest available firmware is installed on all devices (commissioned over the weekend — all devices updated themselves initially).
It would be great if the assembled community of experts could comment on this. I find the charger not being visible when “Shore power Off” is selected somewhat less than ideal. — MANY THANKS
Hello Victron Support,
I am using a Phoenix Smart IP43 Charger 12/30 (1+1) together with a Cerbo GX and a Supervolt 180 Ah LiFePO4 battery.
The charger is connected to the Cerbo GX via VE.Direct. In addition, I use Relay 1 of the Cerbo GX to control the Remote ON/OFF input of the Phoenix Smart IP43.
My intention is to use the charger as an automatically controlled shore-power charger:
- PV power is sufficient → Smart Charger OFF
- Battery SOC becomes low / PV power is insufficient → Cerbo GX activates Relay 1 → Smart Charger ON
- Smart Charger charges the house battery
- The second output of the 1+1 charger maintains a separate 80 Ah AGM starter battery.
The problem
When the Phoenix Smart IP43 is enabled via the Remote input, the Cerbo GX detects the charger correctly and its VE.Direct data is available.
However, when Relay 1 switches the Remote ON/OFF input to OFF, the Phoenix Smart IP43 disappears from the Cerbo GX device list and is shown as “Not connected”.
At the same time, the charger is still physically connected to the battery and VE.Direct remains physically connected to the Cerbo GX.
This means that when the charger is switched OFF via the Remote input, I can no longer:
- access the charger through the Cerbo GX,
- monitor its status through the GX interface,
- change its configuration remotely,
- or access/configure it through the normal GX/VE.Direct path.
The charger only becomes available again when the conditions required for the charger electronics to become active are present (e.g. shore power).
What I would like to clarify
Is this expected behavior by design for the Phoenix Smart IP43?
In particular:
Should switching the Remote ON/OFF input OFF also disable the VE.Direct communication / GX visibility of the charger?
If this is intentional, I would like to request a feature enhancement:
Keep the Phoenix Smart IP43’s communication and configuration interface (VE.Direct/Bluetooth/GX) available even when the charger is disabled via Remote ON/OFF.
This would allow the charger to be controlled automatically while still being fully accessible for diagnostics and configuration.
This is particularly important for installations where the Cerbo GX is used as the central energy-management controller and the charger is intentionally switched on/off depending on PV availability and battery SOC.
Additional information
My Cerbo GX is running Venus OS 3.80~49.
The Phoenix Smart IP43 is connected to the Cerbo via VE.Direct.
The Remote ON/OFF connection consists only of two low-current control wires from Cerbo GX Relay 1 to the charger’s Remote input.
The Supervolt BMS is connected to VE.Can 1 and is working correctly. The CAN bus currently reports:
- State: ERROR-ACTIVE
- TX errors: 0
- RX errors: 0
- Bus errors: 0
So there is currently no active CAN communication problem.
I would appreciate confirmation whether the behavior described above is expected for the Phoenix Smart IP43, and if so, whether keeping VE.Direct/GX/Bluetooth communication available while the charger is remotely disabled could be considered as a future feature.
Thank you.