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gwbn avatar image
gwbn asked

Communication protocol BMV 7xx <-> Venus GX <-> Smartsolar

It seems as if i have a problem articulating my problem as even #victronsupport has given up on me..!!!

I have to alternate my venus GX firmware every morning to 'activate' comms between my venus and Mppt

My setup is as follows : Venus GX - V2.40 or 2.42, depending on what ran the previous day, MultiPlus 24/3000/70-50 v 433, BMV-700 v3.10 and SmartSolar Charger MPPT 150/60 v1.47.

The issue occured when i updated my mppt to latest firmware. I have tried all permutations of settings to no avail

In the morning when the mppt starts it loops on an error as can be seen in the videohttps://community.victronenergy.com/storage/attachments/7299-whatsapp-video-2020-01-16-at-085946.mp4

From the attached graphs it can be seen that there is some misalignment between the components

@Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff), hopefully this will tickle your interest again....

MPPT Controllersfirmware updatecommunication protocol
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3 Answers
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) answered ·

Hi @GwbN

on your other topic, 10 days ago I've posted the following, I have not heard of any answers yet:


-does a reboot also help it come up?

-have you tried a different ve.direct cable?

-Any chance there is another mppt nearby you can try to see if that works better?

-Do you have a dealer / distributor nearby? I want them to help you fix this, if a different cable doesn't work, I want them to send another MPPT or Venus to you.

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gwbn avatar image gwbn commented ·

@Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff), thank you for that quick response..!! somehow i missed your earlier communication.. My sincere apologies...!!! to answer you, the following...:

  1. -does a reboot also help it come up? Yes, after reboot, it operates normally
  2. -have you tried a different ve.direct cable? No, it is the same cable that worked before the upgrade, and the same cable that works after the reboot
  3. -Any chance there is another mppt nearby you can try to see if that works better? No, but once again - there were no problems up to the point that i did an upgrade. I believe i might have changed some settings unknowingly when i did the upgrade, causing my problem
  4. -Do you have a dealer / distributor nearby? I want them to help you fix this, if a different cable doesn't work, I want them to send another MPPT or Venus to you. The supplier I use would be SCOSHA Developments in Randburg, South Africa - they are always extremely helpful..
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Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ gwbn commented ·

Hi @GwbN

Please let your supplier help you fix it.

Don't stare blind at the firmware upgrade, it can be anything.

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gwbn avatar image gwbn Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented ·

@Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff). I have engaged with the most capable André Harrison. He immediately engaged with me and identified the problem as I have described it. All now in his hands. Will give feedback soon as I have an update

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JohnC avatar image
JohnC answered ·

Hi @GwbN

Perhaps you haven't described your system fully. In that video it shows 'ESS' as the State of the mppt. (from memory, that terminology was deprecated, and now 'Remote' or suchlike is used with newer firmware). Old video? New one perhaps..

In any case, you'll need to tell us what's actually in charge of the mppt if it's still set up like that.

Nice too if you could show some power on your system, rather than some proportion of ~5W. That's way down there in the +/- measurement accuracy territory.

We just need more info..


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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ commented ·

This also seems like a daybreak thing, where the mppt is just searching for enough power to kick it away.

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gwbn avatar image gwbn JohnC ♦ commented ·

@JohnC - it is exactly that....!!! but once the sun is up, it is stuck in a continuous loop of ESS-Fault...

Have a look at the attached graph - one can see exactly when the reset was done at roundabout 10h00...

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gwbn avatar image gwbn commented ·

@johnC . I am not sure what you are requesting in terms of more info ... :) Give me simple tasks and i can oblige.... ;) The video was taken after the problem started - that would be about two weeks ago - the reason it might show ESS as opposed to anything else might be because it was 'reset to venus firmware version v2.40 the day before... I can certainly capture a new video, though it would only happen this weekend when i am at home during sunrise

In any case, you'll need to tell us what's actually in charge of the mppt if it's still set up like that. Where will I get this info?

There is not much sunlight today so the system is idling, also i have taken the loads off. I have a small battery bank usually only used for back-up but which i set up yesterday to run on the ESS system at 90% SOC

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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ gwbn commented ·

Those graphs help a lot. And you do use ESS. This is the info we needed.

I very much doubt that firmware, or the perceived incompatibility thereof, is your issue. I'd just set all to the latest, and go to work on your ESS settings.

Now I'm not the person to help with that, not my area at all. If someone else can chime in to help, that would be great.. c'mon you ESS experts..


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klim8skeptic avatar image klim8skeptic ♦ gwbn commented ·

1 widget is missing, Mppt state [260].

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gwbn avatar image gwbn klim8skeptic ♦ commented ·

@klim8skeptic - quite right - it actually shows you nicely when the error occurs , as can be seen on this morning's graph - thanks for that.. still does not solve my problem though.....

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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ gwbn commented ·

It also shows 'Equalize' at ~6am on an mppt. And the Fault maybe coincides with the last spell of that. Certainly strangeness, and perhaps a clue.

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gwbn avatar image
gwbn answered ·

Well, i am glad to report back, thanks to Andre Harrison and @Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff)
 that my problem has been solved. Victron exchanged my MPPT with a new one. The one in question being less than two months old... It would be interesting if Victron could give an analysis of what went wrong after testing the unit..


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