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bogdanionescu avatar image
bogdanionescu asked

MultiPlus is no longer charging the batteries from my generator?

Why is the charger is not charging from the generator? It worked twice but after that didn't.

MultiPlus Quattro Inverter Chargerbattery chargingGenerator
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7 Answers
wkirby avatar image
wkirby answered ·

OK, so the generator is connected to the MultiPlus right? When you say it's not working, what happens - any LED errors?
Maybe your configuration is not quite right. Did you try using "Weak AC" in VE.Configure?

Secondly, but importantly, your battery cables are too small. You really need to use good cables - same like the one that is connecting your two batteries together. Also you should connect the MPPT to the battery terminals - not to the Multiplus like that.

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markus avatar image markus ♦♦ commented ·

...and, as they are not shown on the pictures, consider adding some fuses. Small rodents could bite the cables and make a short circuit.

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bogdanionescu avatar image bogdanionescu commented ·

Hi again and thank you for your help. I'm new in this.

So the problem is like this, we moved in a new off grid house and we try the system and wr bought a new generator with AVR. It charged the batteries throught the Multiplus only two times and after that nothing. This is the problem, I tried again and again and nothing.

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markus avatar image markus ♦♦ bogdanionescu commented ·

Hi, it is really interesting, how did you discover that your batteries are not getting charged?

Just in the "charging" LED is not lit? Or did you do further diagnostics with an interface cable and VEconfigure PC software?

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wkirby avatar image
wkirby answered ·

Umm, can you elaborate a little bit?
From the title it seems like you connected a MPPT directly to a generator? Is that correct?

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bogdanionescu avatar image bogdanionescu commented ·

No directly, i have Multiplus Quad Charger/Inverter

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bogdanionescu avatar image
bogdanionescu answered ·

No, I have the MPPT charger controler conected to the Multiplus charger/inverter and from there I connected the generator.

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bogdanionescu avatar image
bogdanionescu answered ·

@WKirby this is how I did it.


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JohnC avatar image
JohnC answered ·

Hi. I've experienced this many times before I sorted it. The Multi is very particular about the ac-in it will accept. A *feature* I'm sure, but a pain when you experience it on a cold winter's night.

The Multi will 'click' a bit as it rejects it, and may well retry. I haven't watched for that, nor what the led's do. There is published info, like: https://www.victronenergy.com/live/multiplus_faq

Also, our esteemed contributor Guy, blogged this: https://www.victronenergy.com/blog/2017/11/27/the-trouble-with-generators/

And for some light bedtime reading, this too: https://www.victronenergy.com/generatortest (click on Generator Test Report and unpack it). Gennies differ markedly.

But it's fixable. I use a GX box and VEConfigure as in the 1st link, and I do recommend a GX wholeheartedly to do that. Also to set a limit on the ac input, which is useful to set a point where both your genny & batts will be happy (ie. not overloaded).

My Yamaha AVR is a bad offender, and I need to use "Accept Dirty Power" for it's acceptance. Yet a cheapy Chinee inverter type is ok? That "ADP" seems to come with an 'inbuilt' ac limit, but for me it's about right, so no issue.

Yeh, your wiring could use a little attention, also look at isolators/fusing. :)

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Peter Polz avatar image
Peter Polz answered ·

Simple switch of UPS feature. Normaly this should solve your problem. You can do that with dipswitch ds3 => set to "off" to deactivate or you can uncheck "UPS" with mk3 dongel in "Grid" section


And please immediately change you DC Cables and attach correct Fuses!! it's really thrilling me

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Rick avatar image Rick commented ·

Are you talking about one of the dipswitches behind the front panel in the multiplus?

I've gone through all the colour control settings, and there's nothing I can see to make the multiplus less fussy about ac power coming in from my generator.

It doesn't even try and sync now. I can see the ac volts and Hz of the generator, but amps an watts are zero. "Disconnected"

Then when I hook up a sine wave inverter to a bunch of car batteries with perfect 240v and 50Hz output, there's not even a flicker.

I've lowered the max ac amps, tried earthing the generator, even plugging in a power smoothing device in the generator's 2nd plug.

We are sitting in candle light, with an expensive system sitting idle.


Is there some kind of reset to get it to look st my ac input again?

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bogdanionescu avatar image
bogdanionescu answered ·

Hi everybody! Today it was a sunny day and in the evening I tried again the generators and...guess what, it worked. So? What is the problem?

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markus avatar image markus ♦♦ commented ·

maybe the batteries state of charge was so low, that you exceeded your generators capacity because of the high charging current. Today your batteries got charged...

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