I can no longer connect to my ve.direct bluetooth dongle which is connected to a non-bluetooth MPPT 75|15. Originally it had blue and red LEDs blinking simultaneously. I went through the troubleshooting steps: unplugged/replugged , powered off the MPPT completely, deleted and recreated bluetooth connection, rebooted my phone, verified location services (now nearby devices) and location is enabled on the phone, but it hasn’t changed. After all that I now can see the device, but no data appears (see screenshot). If I click the device, I get a “Fetching data” message that never goes away (see screenshot). At that point the leds on the dongle are both solid blue/red.
This thing worked perfectly for a few weeks and it seems like it’s gone bad or else the MPPT is bad, but it’s happily blinking away with an amber light indicating “absorbtion.”
What’s my next step? Is this forum the best way to get answers? Westmarine won’t take it back, I understand Victron has a 5 yr warranty. Is this correct and at what point can we determine that a return is the only option?
Any authorized Victron seller is responsible for providing all necessary support - including processing warranty claims - for the units they’ve sold.
I say call ‘em back and let them know you know that, and make them perform troubleshooting (as is required of them, if they’re an authorized seller) and, should troubleshooting indicate the unit is likely defective, give you an RMA to send it in to them for verification of the fault and replacement if applicable.
I went at Westmarine again and this time I didn’t take no for an answer. They’re going to refund me. I think at this point for $70 I can get a whole new MPPT with bluetooth and don’t need the $41 dongle. For all I know I could have gotten a brand new dongle and the problem would be with the MPPT (it’s old) and then I’d need to buy a new one anyway. This works out much better.
Agreed, the distributor I work for stopped selling the BlueSolar models altogether a couple years ago because they just didn’t make sense anymore once the cost of the SmartSolar units came down. You’ll be better off this way for sure!