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awies avatar image
awies asked

MPPT RS 450/100 bricked?

I am failing to updae the firmware on the MPPT both through VRM and Bluetooth - I fear it is bricked.

Any suggestiuns to fix the problem are welcome - details below....


The MPPT shows "update active" at its display within less than one second after powering up.

1675503891254.png


It can be accessed via Bluetooth and the cerbo gx. When I try to update the firmare it starts to do so, but fails at a certain point. Current firmware version is 1.05.

Update trials via VRM: The MPPT was connected via the VE.can bus to the Cerbo GX (tried with VE.direct as well - same behavior). The procedure works nicely up to 75% then it stops

1675503474906.pngand quits with an error message - 1675503448507.png


retrial results in such a message at the VRM (waiting for some task to be finished):

1675504044237.png


firmware updatemppt rs
1675503448507.png (62.5 KiB)
1675503474906.png (68.1 KiB)
1675503891254.png (1.6 MiB)
1675504044237.png (79.8 KiB)
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7 Answers
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

Hi @awies,

The first and nearly always solution to firmware update issues is to try the bluetooth method with a different mobile device, preferably a recent Apple iPhone (as they have the least variation).

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awies avatar image
awies answered ·

Thank you Guy,

I tried a few more times with an ipad and an iphone. No change in behavior.

Here is the service report out of VictronConnect - right after the failed

Update with the iPad.

VictronConnect_report.log

Can it help? How can I decode the log file?


victronconnect-report.log (1.3 MiB)
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awies avatar image
awies answered ·

An update - making some progress.

After removing the connector for the sensors and I/O I could perform the firmware update immediately. The connector has a wire connecting REMOTE_L with REMOTE_H perhaps this is doing something?

The MPPT seams to be operational now.

I am getting the INFO that remote H/L is open - what does this mean for me?

Interestingly if I attach the connector, the MPPT powers-up in "updater active" mode (irst picture in this thread.

Any suggestions? Can I use the MPPT without this connector attached?

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Thiemo van Engelen (Victron Energy staff) avatar image
Thiemo van Engelen (Victron Energy staff) answered ·

Hi @awies

It sounds like there is a hardware problem with your MPPT RS. Could you perhaps perform the following test to be sure: Disconnect the MPPT from the batteries but keep the PV connected. When there is sunshine and a thus a decent PV voltage, the MPPT should power on. When it stays off there is a hardware failure that would explain the update behavior.

Kind regards,

Thiemo van Engelen

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awies avatar image
awies answered ·

Hello Thiemo,

thank you for supporting.

I performed the exercise you described (no battery connected - just the PV string) this morning. - We had some sunshine already. The PV delivered 240V and the MPPT turned on immediately after connecting it to the PV.

Unfortunately, it again goes to the "updater active" mode.

It does not matter if the Remote_H Remote_L inputs are shorted.

I tried both the PV1 and then the PV2 input - same behavior.

Is there a way to get this "updater active" mode disabled by a PC based tool?

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·

@awies

Return for a warranty.

Remote h/l being open means it wont charge. (Referring to you answer to Thiemo.)

You could try victron connect from PC with a usb to ve direct cable to have direct comms with it.

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awies avatar image
awies answered ·

There seems to be no more ideas on how to fix this.

So I will return the unit.

Thankx to everyone for helping

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juan-gerber avatar image
juan-gerber answered ·

Hi everything. I had the same problem. When on VRM the RS was stuck in a firmware update cycle. So just refresh and then restart firmware update again.

Solved the problem!

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