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Juha Tuomala avatar image
Juha Tuomala asked

MPPT RS 450/100 tracker #1 intermitting production, #2 is fine.

Hi,

I have RS 450/100 and its first tracker has 8 panels facing south in series. When charging, it constantly fals into 0w and straight back into 2-3kW production. Tracker #2 has 6 panels straight up facing east and it doesn't behave like so at any point of day. Here is a video of it from VRM http://tuju.fi/tmp/intermitting.tracker-2023-08-10_14.58.51.mp4

Any idea what might cause it?

Other than that, I like the RS a lot.

Edit: For Victron, my site VRM portal id is: 48e7da86f1a7 and installation 182934

Please add my @tuju handle to replys so that I get notifications of your comments.

mppt rs
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nesswill avatar image nesswill commented ·

@Juha Tuomala

I have x3 RS 450/100 and have seen this too, not as bad as you show in the video but similar, I fixed it by power cycling the RS (turn off at the power switch and back on again the unit had been on for 5 to 6 months not that should be an issue).

One of my RS's is in the range of units that could have the problem (MPPT RS 100A – HQ2216-HQ2236 high failure rate) and I will arrange to have it swap out at some point but for now it's working just fine.

Ironically it was one of the other two that showed the issue your reporting, it has not done it since the power cycle, but this could be something to keep an eye on. @Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) for info.

Something that can cause this behaviour is if you have a load that is jumping around while the MPPT is supping power (during daylight hours) and the MPPT is trying to match/follow that load (but unlikely in your case I think)

Try power cycling if you have not done already and report back, please.

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Juha Tuomala avatar image Juha Tuomala nesswill commented ·

Thanks for your information, I tried that power cycle and it didn't change anything. It also shows these drops at console http://tuju.fi/tmp/intermitting.console.mp4

My unit is part of those to be replaced, but I'm worried what has caused it and could it happen in the new units as well. If there is a some other design issue which could be found before I replace my unit, we could hit two flies at once.

@nesswill for notifications.

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nesswill avatar image
nesswill answered ·

@Juha Tuomala

Have you looked at the MPPT when this is happening, just wondering if it's a sampling issue? (i ask because i notice the current going to the battery does not drop with the MPPT dropping out)

drop.jpg

Have you measured to volts coming from the PV to see if it is the same as the MPPT is reporting?

Can you post the PV Spec's please.

If all this checks out i would arrange to get the MPPT swapped out, who knows maybe it just has a fault, I had a close look at mine over the weekend and what i see happens when the batteries are fully charged (i.e., accepting 1% or less of capacity in current), so i think my MPPT is ok.

Let me know what you decide to do and the outcome.

Cheers Dave.


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Juha Tuomala avatar image Juha Tuomala commented ·

I did notice the same, charging and loads seem to be stable regardless of drops.


Can you post the PV Spec's please.

The problematic string has eight panels in series

If all this checks out i would arrange to get the MPPT swapped out, who knows maybe it just has a fault, I had a close look at mine over the weekend and what i see happens when the batteries are fully charged (i.e., accepting 1% or less of capacity in current), so i think my MPPT is ok.

That measuring crossed my mind as well, Haven't done that yet. Also, swapping the strings between trackers could show does the drops follow.

However, I switched off the Partial shading detection

1692011570735.png

and once I did it, I still saw some drops. Got the feeling that it wasn't the culprit.

But after few days (probably without MPPT restart), today when it's shinging pretty well, I noticed that drops are gone for now at lest. I looks steady at 2600 watts.

So, my conclusion? Not sure. Since I did saw drops after settings change, I'm inclined to belive it was not the cause. If drops come back, I take meter and see if voltage drops as well.


@nesswill

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nesswill avatar image nesswill Juha Tuomala commented ·
Ok see how it goes. Let me know what you do.

If I was you, I would arrange to get the MPPT swapped out when it is best for you.

Good luck.

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