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pyry asked

Easysolar II GX generator charging stopped working

System: Off-grid Easysolar II GX (3000, early 2020 model) with 2x Pylontech US3000 batteries and a Honda EU22i generator for charging in the winter. The system has been more or less stable during the past couple of years.


The issues started when I plugged in the generator for the first time this autumn. The generator was visible as AC in 240V 50Hz but the input power stayed at 0W and charging didn’t start. I checked with a different charging cable and tried the generator with other devices (seemed to work ok). No help from that.


I also contacted the dealer that sold me the batteries and solar panels. He tried to remotely upload new settings (as far as I know, there were no changes since the settings hadn’t been changed from the previous season when everything worked fine). After a restart of the system, the inverter refused to power on. Leaving the Easysolar off and the batteries on overnight seemed to help and the inverter turned on in the morning.


So the current situation is that there’s about 20% of charge in the batteries, the inverter works, the solar charger works (albeit at minimal power this time of the year), the Multiplus charger does not work.


Changes from the last time it worked are that I have updated the solar charger firmware through bluetooth and the GX firmware through VRM. As far as I know, the Multiplus firmware is unchanged (v. 473).


Any ideas on what to check or how to proceed with this? The installation is in a remote location so it might not be feasible to get a technician to the site.


EasySolar All-in-One
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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·
@pyry

Have you seen the settings, has virtual switch been disabled?

If you tried updating firmware, the settings would have been wiped off and virtual switch would have been reinstated as it us base programming.

Usually after a firmware update over the vrm, the invterter will not (and sbould not be) started until it has been programmed to charge correctly.

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pyry avatar image pyry Alexandra ♦ commented ·

As far as I understand, the firmware of the inverter hasn't been updated. The Multiplus firmware is still 473 which is from 2020 spring. The gateway firmware I have updated and it's 2.92. The SmartSolar firmware is 1.59 which I think I have also updated.


So to my understanding, nothing should have flipped the virtual switch. I don't have the MK3 dongle which I assume I would need to check the Multiplus settings? My only access is through VRM remote console which is as far as I understand, connecting to the gateway.

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ pyry commented ·
You can check and chabge settings over the vrm.



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pyry answered ·

Looks like the virtual switch was not the issue. I'm not sure what exactly was the cause but after I updated the built in Multiplus firmware version from v473 to v493, the generator charging started working again.

So the steps were the following:

1. Connect a Windows laptop to the built in multiplus using the VE.Bus port and the MK3 usb adapter.

2. Save the current settings to a file using VE Configure

3. Update the built in multiplus firmware using VictronConnect (settings are reset to default)

4. Upload the saved settings back to the multiplus using VE Configure

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