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greenorchid avatar image
greenorchid asked

VE Direct connection not working BMV 712 to Cerbo GX

I have a BMV 712 that is working but not communicating with Cerbo via VE Direct. Battery readings appear on BMV control head readout, and everything looks good when connecting to the BMV using VictronConnect app via Bluetooth. I am trying to connect it to my Cerbo GX using VE direct cable and it does not appear on the device list on the Cerbo.

The boat is new to me, system was installed by former owner. In photos from last year it appeared to be working - could see DC reading on Cerbo touch screen in photo. It’s as if it lost contact. It had lost contact with the Solar Controller 100/30 as well, but I got it to reconnect to that with a firmware update. i tried the same with the BMV but it didn’t work.

For the BMV, I am using the standard 6 ft VE Direct cable and to rule out the cable as the problem, I bought a new 3 ft cable and got the same result. I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting, upgraded firmware, and tried moving the cable away from the VHF to avoid interference.

It sounds as simple as the VE Direct port on the BMV being faulty, but I have had trouble with some of the VE Direct ports on the Cerbo as well. The MPPT controller is connected to the Cerbo via VE Direct cable, but the Cerbo only sees it if plugged into the first VE Direct port. Tried the BMV in the same (first) port and it doesn’t show up, which suggests it’s something in the BMV. I hate to replace it since it seems to be working based on readout on the VC app.

What should I try next?

Is it normal to have the VE Direct connection only work in the first port? Do you have to connect them in order or have the first one filled before using the second?

cerbo gxBMV Battery MonitorVE.Direct
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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·
@GreenOrchid

No that is not normal behaviour at all.

And you can plug in ve directs however you like usually. There is no particular order.

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ Alexandra ♦ commented ·
Did you reboot the cerbo at all during all of the testing?
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greenorchid avatar image greenorchid Alexandra ♦ commented ·

Ok, good to know I’m not missing something obvious.

Is it safe to use the system as is without the BMV talking to the Cerbo? The BMV is sending data to the MPPT charger via VE Smart Networking. The Multiplus is sending data to the Cerbo via VE Bus. And I can read the output from the BMV on the little monitor screen.

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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ greenorchid commented ·
@GreenOrchid

You won't break anything, if that's what you mean. But it begs the question - Were you using the Smart networking when attempting with the wires? If so, then that's probably the cause of your wire issues. Two networks is one too many.

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ JohnC ♦ commented ·
I should have asked about smart networking that would have been an obvious one.

The cerbo becomes the new information exchange centre and component coordinator (a better one actually as now you have DVCC)

The smart network should be disabled.


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greenorchid avatar image greenorchid JohnC ♦ commented ·
I wondered about that. I tried disconnecting both the BMV and the MPPT from the VE Smart Network, disconnected the wires, rebooted the Cerbo, reconnected the wires, rebooted again, nothing, even in the VE Direct port that I know works. Anything else I could reset or refresh to try to get it to connect to the Cerbo?
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greenorchid avatar image greenorchid JohnC ♦ commented ·
I wondered about that possibility. I tried turning off the VE Smart Networking on both the MPPT and BMV (the only two using it), then disconnected the wires, rebooted the Cerbo, connected the VE Direct to the port on the Cerbo that I know works, rebooted again, nothing. Is there anything else I can do to try to reset the connection?
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1 Answer
Paul B avatar image
Paul B answered ·

sounds like the ve direct port has been damaged, I have seen this before when a boat has had a EMP strike and this then damage's the ve direct ports that are connected at the time.

there is no fix for the issue.

you could take it to a victron dealer and if its under 5 years old then victron MAY replace it for you

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