question

andybierlair avatar image
andybierlair asked

Lost Grid followed by VE.Bus Error 10: System time synchronisation problem

My entire setup is working just fine - 3x Multiplus II in a 3 phase setup, ESS, Grid connected, Feeding in, etc... When there is not enough solar, it happily drains the battery before pulling from the grid.

As soon as I am loosing grid, the system throws itself into Error #10 and does so in an endless loop, basically shutting down all the AC Outs. When the grid comes back, the entire system is working like clockwork again. And sometimes it also throws VE.Bus Error #3 when loosing grid.

The disconnect is not immediately after loosing grid, but about 1 minute later or so.


The three Multiplus are connected to a CerboGX device. I also noticed that when the Multiplus are not connected to the Cerbo but to my Laptop via MK3-USB for VE.Bus Configuration, they keep inverting when there is no Grid.

All firmwares are the lastest (500 for the Multis, 2.92 for the Cerbo)

I struggle to make sense of this.


Some screenshots:

screenshot-2022-11-23-at-152523.png

screenshot-2022-11-23-at-154155.png

screenshot-2022-11-23-at-152425.pngHappily Inverting

screenshot-2022-11-23-at-153948.png

1 Minute after Grid Loss


Multiplus-IImultiplus ve.bus
screenshot-2022-11-23-at-152523.png (72.4 KiB)
screenshot-2022-11-23-at-153948.png (221.0 KiB)
screenshot-2022-11-23-at-154155.png (76.1 KiB)
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2 Answers
Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@andybierlair

The time sync error is not the issue. In fact it is a normal warning after a three phase system restart.

The issue is the system (or one of the devices in the system is switching off unexpectedly) there can be several reasons for this.

So the grid outage is showing up an issue.

Load too high on one phase for inverter only conditions?

The voltage cut off is too low? I dont know what grid code you have used. So it brown outs first then blackout.

Or the battery bank cannot take the sudden load.

There are a few other reasons but those are usually first offenders.

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andybierlair avatar image andybierlair commented ·
This is a controlled test environment. No brown outs, low loads, sometimes even no load. Grid code is Germany.

But as I mentioned in my updated post, everything is fine if the Multplus are connected via MK3-USB to the Cerbo. It only starts misbehaving when directly connected to the Cerbo's VE.Bus via RJ45 cable.

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ andybierlair commented ·

Do you have smart (can connected) batteries The one difference would then be (between being plugged into the GX and not the laptop) is the DCL from the batteries switching off the system.

The other one is, if you have ESS programmed, it will not be working when it is plugged into the laptop, only when in the GX. So check your program there.

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andybierlair avatar image andybierlair Alexandra ♦ commented ·
The batteries are not communicating with the Victron system. There is a Lynx Shunt that is measuing voltage and incoming/outgoing current and that's about it.


Initially I noticed that when I was looking at the settings in VE.Configure tool while having the Multiplus connected to my PC it would not disconnect the AC Out upon grid failure.

This led me to try and connect them directly to the Cerbo via MK3, and to my surprise it remained stable with all ESS settings still in place.

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andybierlair avatar image
andybierlair answered ·

Some more findings:


- If the Multiplus are daisy chained to the Cerbo's VE.Bus port, all goes dark when the grid goes down.


- If the Multiplus are connected via MK3 (same daisy chain, same RJ45 cables) to the Cerbo's USB port, all is fine. I can take down the grid and everything stays on.


I don't have any other VE.Bus devices in my setup... only those 3 Multiplus.

So I can rule out some defects in one of the Multiplus

Still trying to make sense out of this...

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the-doon avatar image the-doon commented ·
Sounds like that port isn’t happy. Assuming you have tried the other one? You haven’t got a terminator plugged into the second port?
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andybierlair avatar image andybierlair the-doon commented ·
Correct. I tried both ports to no avail. No terminators on VE.Bus.

But if it was an unhappy port, I'd assume it would also do all other kinds of unexpected things. So far I'm only seeing this behviour when switching off mains.

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Related Resources

MultiPlus-II Product page 

MultiPlus-II Manual

Multiplus-II GX Online Manual

MultiPlus-II 230V Datasheet 

VE.Bus Error codes

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic