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ourrose asked

Quattro and Fuse/Circuit Breaker replacement

How Change Fuse/Circuit Breaker in Quattro 3kw on AC1-Out?

Question: I have a 220v boat with 3kW Quattro. I recently experience a power surge from my shore power and now I can’t get shore power on my boat.

The manual seems to suggest that when one has an overload situation and Charger is not working, one should replace fuses/circuit breaker from AC1-Out or AC2-Out. However, the manual does NOT specify how to change them or how to locate them ( which fuse is for AC1-Out and which is for AC2-Out.

Background: My shore power comes in via AC1-In and my Genset comes in via AC2-In. I know that manual stipulates Genset should be on AC1-In and AC2-In is for shore power. The previous owner installed Quattro and it works so I didn’t change it. We had no problem with Quattro until now.

After the power surge, the inverting function of Quattro still works and Genset charging via AC2-In also works. However, the shore power does NOT.

Our actions: We disconnect the AC1-In wires (ie live neutral and earth) and did voltage test and we saw 240V so we are confident that current flow from the dock to Quattro. However, once we connect the 3 wires back to AC1-In, no shore power.

We even move the 3 wires in AC1-In (Shore Power) to AC2-In Connection and still no shore power.

We also move 3 wires in AC2-In (Genset) to AC1-In as stipulated in manual. We were surprised to find when we did this, Genset also CANNOT charge.

Once we moved Genset wires to AC2-In connection then Genset can charge the battery and produce 240 AC for the boat.

Based on above, can you confirm that:


1) Is changing fuse/circuit breaker on AC1-Out is the right remedy?

2). If so what is the procedure to locate and change the fuses? What are the proper fuse size? 250 ah? (3000watt/12V).

MultiPlus Quattro Inverter Chargerfuses
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1 Answer
Kevin Windrem avatar image
Kevin Windrem answered ·

The fact that shore power does not work on AC 2 In but the genset does suggests a problem with shore power. I'd check shore power against the Quatro's input voltage and frequency range.

The fact that the genset works on AC 2 In but not AC 1 In suggests an internal problem with the AC 1 input within the Quatro. Whatever surge you mentioned may have caused internal damage to the Quatro.

Yes, there could be two problems simultaneously.

I'd recommend checking the Quatro programming just to make sure your shore and genset power aren't being rejected. For this you need an MK3 USB adapter and VictronConnect or VE.Configure software for Mac or Windows.

Because your boat could see both 60 and 50 Hz power, make sure the "Accept wide input frequency range" is enabled. Of course, you need to verify any AC motors can accept both 50 and 60 Hz in this case.

Also check the AC low and high disconnect and connect voltages to make sure they will accept shore power you may encounter. Again, make sure your boat's electronics can accept this range also.

I don't think there are any internal fuses or circuit breakers. The manual specifies these to be added externally.

Because a boat can see a wide range of shore voltages, you might consider a power monitor that can disconnect shore power rapidly when it detects out of range input conditions before damage to the Quatro and other boat electronics can occur. You might also need to install an autotransformer to adjust incoming shore power voltages to be acceptable (e.g., 240 vs 230 volts).

Regarding shore vs genset on AC 1 In:

AC 1 In has priority over AC 2 In. Choose your sources based on that priority.

Victron documentation suggests AC 2 In for shore and AC 1 In for generator in order to give priority to the generator. Victron explains that in some cases the shore/grid power is "weak" and that the generator then needs to be given priority. However, it's also been explained by Victron staff here that if you have strong grid power, it in fact can be given priority over the generator by using AC 1 In for shore as your boat was originally wired. All the generator start/stop logic works properly in this case (start the generator on loss of shore power...).


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