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jeffk asked

Victron Phoenix Charger Ghost Temperature Sensing

I'm curious how my Victron charger senses temperature without any temperature sensors in the VE Network. In our Airstream trailer I replaced the stock WFCO charger with a Victron Smart Phoenix 50A configured for our lithium batteries. I also have installed a Victron Shunt and two 100|30 Smart MPPT controllers, but no battery sense or external temperature sensors.

We have the trailer plugged in and I disconnected the batteries since with our bargain-basement lithium batteries I don't entirely trust the BMS to prevent cold temperature charging. This frosty morning (2C) the inside lights didn't come on and the battery switch light is out. I switched on the batteries and the lights were working but checking the charger it had a message that it wasn't charging because the temperature was too low (<5C).

A light went on in my head and I figured out the charger wasn't powering anything because of the low temperature cutoff. However, I don't have any temperature sensors attached to the shunt or the solar controllers; the charger was correct and shut down, but I don't know how it sensed temperature. (There is an option to enable the low temperature cutoff which I now have disabled.) Do any of the devices in my network sense temperature without an external sensor?

Phoenix Smart Charger ip43
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mkuiken answered ·

Hi @jeffk,

Can you check if the Bluetooth Interface firmware of the SmartShunt has been updated to v2.46?

There's a fix in v2.46 specifically for this issue so please let us know in case you're already on v2.46. If not running on v2.46, please update first.

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jeffk avatar image jeffk commented ·

Hi! I can't find the Bluetooth version. The SmartShunt is at version 4.14 and all the other devices are up to date. What issue does this version resolve specifically?

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mkuiken avatar image mkuiken jeffk commented ·

When connected to your SmartShunt via Bluetooth, go to the Product Info page where you can also see the SmartShunt firmware v4.14. Then, if you scroll down you'll see that there's another product "SmartShunt Bluetooth Interface". Its firmware needs to be v2.46.

Assuming you're using the latest VictronConnect, you'll get the option to update the firmware in case it's not v2.46 yet.

There's a fix in v2.46 for occasional erroneous battery temperature broadcasts on VE.Smart networking, causing chargers on the same network which are configured for low temperature cutoff to stop charging. These erroneous temperature broadcasts can occur even when no temperature sensor is configured.


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