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emmakrieg avatar image
emmakrieg asked

Help with Victron set up. Incorrect SOC?

PmHello, we are having a LOT of trouble with out set up. We have 2 x 175 watt solar panels and a 200ah battery but seem to be getting to just 58% and we lose the voltage. We have synchronised 100% at 14.4V. Was installed by a Victron dealer but they are unable to solve the issues.

Is our battery faulty or has it been incorrectly installed? Only been using for 2 weeks.

BMV Battery Monitor
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4 Answers
Matthias Lange - DE avatar image
Matthias Lange - DE answered ·

@emmakrieg

As already mentioned the wire from the battery to the busbar is wrong and this is causing the incorrect SOC at the BMV because only a part of the current is going through the shunt.

There are a few other mistakes in the wiring (unnecessary components, missing components/wires). I attached your diagram with some improvements.

You should shut down the system ASAP(!) to stop discharging the battery even more (currently the battery is not protected against deep discharging!)

Like the system is wired currently the BMS is useless!
(only the chraging via the Orion/alternator is BMS protected)

If you connect the (+) of the IP22 charger (and the MPPT) to the "alternator/starter bat." post of the BMS you can charge the Battery with BMS protection (currently the charging via the MPPT or the IP22 charger is not BMS protected!)


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emmakrieg avatar image emmakrieg commented ·

Thank you so much! Will pass on to our installer. In your opinion, with how the system has been running with current wiring for the past 2 weeks - could any damage have occurred to the battery or any other components?

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Justin Cook avatar image
Justin Cook answered ·

@emmakrieg, please post a system diagram (even a rough one will do) showing your BMS, how the solar controller and battery monitor are connected to the system, and any other system loads/charge sources.

Judging by how out of balance your battery cells are, it looks like (to start) A. you should make sure to update the battery FW to the latest (1.19, I believe) and B. you should check the operation of the BMS.

It is also an oft-overlooked step (though it's right there in the battery manual) to fully charge the battery at a low rate of .2C or less, prior to installation in the system. This can be a long process, so it's possible that your installer has neglected to perform this step in spite of how critical it is.

Your SOC percentage is roughly accurate based on the consumed Ah shown relative to the capacity of the battery... but if the battery was only 50% full (because your installer failed to charge it first) when the BMV was set to 100%, this would explain some of the behavior you're seeing... but if that very basic step was missed by your installer, it calls into question the entirety of the installation as a whole, thus my request that you post a system diagram and, for that matter, as many photos of the installation itself as possible so that we can see if there were any other steps possibly missed.

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emmakrieg avatar image emmakrieg commented ·

New diagram

Thanks for your assistance. I have attached the current diagram, some changes have been made since installation but the diagram is current. SOC was set to 100% 2 days ago at 14.4V after we had charged it fill from shore power.

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trip-tracks avatar image
trip-tracks answered ·

Wow! I would seriously consider getting a professional to redo this install.

Your diagram shows the negative busbar connected to the shunt and also to the negative post on the battery. There should only be one wire on the negative of the battery and that should go to the "battery" side of the shunt.

You said in your post that this was installed by a Victron dealer. The quality of the work is very poor and poses a huge fire risk. The wiring is a mess, and I cannot see one fuse (other than a breaker on the solar regulator output) on the wires connected to the battery. Also, the size of the cabling to the inverter looks like it is inadequate. It should beat least 70mm2 for a 2000W inverter. Do you know what size it is?

With this install, I doubt the battery has been prepped properly prior to install as too many shortcuts have been taken with everything else.

Please get a professional to sort this out properly for you.

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emmakrieg avatar image emmakrieg commented ·

Thank you for your help. I will pass on to our installer and see what they say. We did hire professionals, nothing was done by us except the 12v wiring throughout the van to appliances. Perhaps we need to consult new installers now.

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Paul B avatar image
Paul B answered ·

On your BMV check that the relay under settings the LOW SOC RELAY setting should be turned OFF with a Lithium install, its default setting is 50% (which is for lead acid batteries) This affects the Time to go reading,also make sure that under the battery setting that the battery capacity is set to 200 A/H

also it maybe helpful if you could send some screen shots of all the settings in the BMV

the peukert exponent should be 1.05

charge voltage should be 14.00v (this resets the SOC to 100% when the battery reach's 14v)

the other comments re the shunt setup is also VERY important

Matthias comments are very valid


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emmakrieg avatar image emmakrieg commented ·

Thank you. I changed the relay setting. See screenshots attached of BMV settings
Thank you. I changed the relay setting.

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