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kalito avatar image
kalito asked

Easy Solar II GX 48V mppt OFF state Issue

A colleague called me with this problem. It was a very curious issue as checking the MPPT settings on Victron Connect revealed that all was well and the ON switch was toggled ON. There was no reason the MPPT would be OFF state as also shown in VRM.

easysolar-ii-gx.png

The inside of the inverter has a physical SmartSolar 250/70. There is a single cable connected to the remote control port to the GX device. Other comms connection are standard and a VE Direct to the GX device. This got me thinking as to how the Remote Control feature works in this setup of only one cable connected as in the standalone SmartSolar there is a jumper on the Remote Control port to keep the ON state.

So we removed the GX connection cable and put a jumper as is the case in a component setup and lo and behold the SmartSolar started doing its work.

Is this a design flaw? What is the basis of the single Remote control cable to the GX device? I had also noticed a Virtual Switch relay entry which we disabled. Has Victron put in logic to keep this port normally closed via Virtual switch or what? It would seem this has not been properly implemented as another EasySolar had the exact same MPPT off problem.

Since it is not essential to control the MPPT via this remote physical port we have maintained the jumper and disconnected the red cable and all is working OK. Why didnt it work according to the out-of-box design?

MPPT SmartSolarEasySolar All-in-Onemppt state
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2 Answers
Matthias Lange - DE avatar image
Matthias Lange - DE answered ·

That single wire is there to switch off the MPPT with the I-0-II switch of the EasySolar.

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kalito avatar image kalito commented ·
I notice there is a Virtual Switch entry in the Easy Solar. Must be something to do with control for this feature. The challenge being faced is that the SmartSolar is ON but its state is OFF and hence not charging unless L and H are bridged
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Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@Kalito

Not a design flaw, possibly an assembly issue though if it is not working correctly. The red cable used on the remote has to be plugged in a specific way. Probably designed to switch off everything when off. Maybe that is not what you wanted (charging while inverter is off maybe?).

Your 'fix' is actually one of the ways the mppt works (bridging H/L)

The other set ups that are possible on the remote are found in the manual here. The purpose it to allow remote control of the MPPT.

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