question

Hi Spud. You piqued my interest here. My own CCGX on the same screen shows 'remnants', like right now at midnight 0.06V. So I took up a torch and laid it on a panel. Lifted to 0.63V, yeh 10 times more, of course the 'State' is still off. So mine at least shows what you expect. Easy 48/5000.

RJ45 cables muchly have a little push-to-release lever you press down on, then pull. Even the best quality may flex a bit, so don't readily release. Maybe even a small screwdriver to push down on it 'closer in'. And even then... rock/roll/force. :)

Hi John. Thank you for your reply. I was hoping that the EasySolar would be a plug and play but I'm having a few little issues that I can't quite get to grips with. Here are my specs below and I would appreciate any advice that you can offer which may help to get it working.

165Ah AGM Telecom battery bank arranged to 48V (4 x 12V/165Ah in series)

4 x 325W PV Panels (2 in series x 2 in parallel, VMPP at NOC 800W/m2 = 31.7V)

Battery Voltage is currently at 50.1V but I have no input from the PV panels (I have thankfully been able to get the generator working). It's a bit overcast here at 12:30pm but bright enough that I would expect some sort of PV input. Am I cutting it a bit tight on the output voltage of the PV panels which is why the MPPT is not starting up, from the above figures would I need to reconnect 3 in series for a 48V system? From your test with the torch I should be seeing something on the CCGX in relation to PV voltage.

I updated the Firmware on the MPPT via Bluetooth (Didn't raise the MPPT absorption voltage to higher than 57.6V yet as Multi is the SOC monitor, would raising it to 57.7 be enough or what would be enough?). Didn't yet update the MultiPlus firmware as I couldn't remove the CCGX cable, didn't update the CCGX either, no internet connection yet.

When I connected the batteries up first the SOC was reading 100% so I enabled the battery monitor (VEConfigure) and changed current SOC to an arbitrary 60%. The charger then started charging the batteries through the generator to the current 86% SOC.

Better not waffle on too much more but do you see anything there that might be causing the MPPT to remain in the off state?

Your panels in that config should be ok, perhaps not a lot up your sleeve with the Vmp, but should work fine. All I can suggest is go over your pv wiring/polarity. Maybe start at the input wiring at the bottom of your Easy and check V there (multimeter). That V should show on your GX as in your screenshot above, if not maybe an issue. If no V there, then of course an upstream issue.

Updating the Multi firmware yourself isn't recommended, even if you have the required kit. That won't be your problem anyway.

Don't get too excited about SoC, just use V for now to make your decisions. SoC is a calculated figure and needs tuning anyway. Really, ignore it, or set it somewhere to where it won't influence what you want. Or turn it off. Just spotted your mention of a battery monitor, but doesn't change things much, cos still needs tuning.

I really do recommend you give it some net and VRM portal. That will help greatly just seeing the graphs of what's going on.

I'm with JohnC on this one. You don't state the make and model of your panels so I will make some assumptions.

My panels are 350W LG Neon R (close to your panel's power rating) and each have a Vmpp of 35.1V and a Voc of 42.7V. So when wired in series, two panels have a Vmpp of 70.2V and a Voc of 85.4V. You should be seeing voltages of this magnitude at the PV input to your charge controller.

If you are not, something is wrong with the panel wiring.

Pat

The problem was with the PV cables. Sorted now and thank you for the help.