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jaydata avatar image
jaydata asked

Not getting any power in RV

Hi,

I have a multiple Lithium set-up with the MultiPlus 12/3000 and am unable to get any power to my RV, even when plugged into shore. I'm hoping someone can help me isolate where the problem is.

Full disclosure: I did lend it to a friend who plugged into 50 amp by mistake, but I did have power in the RV after that. I have been unable to get power after storing the RV for about a week (solar panels were covered by roof) and I am assuming the batteries got too low.


See links below (first one is a few second video, the others are photos).


The Color Control is not getting any power and the Battery Monitor display is flashing in a strange way.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KCoDzramybag5kdK9


MPPT 100 50 Charge controller float light is on and battery terminals measure 13.5 V

Battery Protect display next to it has no power

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Lr99kW9soZK7qR186

Cyrix Li ct battery combiner has slow blue flash every 10 seconds

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TcC52H4P9cVpsiHq9

Display on battery protect is off

https://photos.app.goo.gl/og7zQSS42nprk47c6

VE BUS BMS red led is on

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bjyeyzifKZxufu8k7

Voltage across battery connector cables inside Multiplus measures 6V.

I did notice that the VE.Bus BMS Mains detector had come out of its case and circuit board was exposed.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vmma32QwtGmiqvVQ6

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jason

Battery Protect
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3 Answers
michelg avatar image
michelg answered ·

Hi JayData ! It seems that somewhere there is a cut in your setup. I don't get the 50A problem, is it related to sucking them from the battery / batteries ? Or from the Multiplus AC side ?

I will suggest to check individually each battery. then look for ALL the fuses in the setup, if any has blown out or not.

"Voltage across battery connector cables inside Multiplus measures 6V. " Yoiu don't mention which type / model of batteries you are using, if they have their own BMS.

Try also recharging them individually, as something might have automatically disconnected in order to protect them from a low voltage situation.

Michel

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jaydata avatar image
jaydata answered ·

Hi MIchel,

I mentioned that the RV was plugged into 50 amp plug because I am new to this and didn't know if doing that on a 30amp RV would cause damage.

There are 4 Victron Energy LiFePO4 12.8V/160Ah batteries. They each measure about 6 volts. I am pulling them out one by one and charging them as you suggested.

Thanks,

Jason

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jaydata avatar image jaydata commented ·

I was able to charge all the batteries and now the system is back up. Thanks for your help.

Can I modify my system so that if my batteries are dead, I can connect to shore power and I am able to charge my batteries and get power to my RV? Right now, nothing works if the batteries are dead and the only way to get power to the RV is external battery charger.

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Kevin Windrem avatar image Kevin Windrem jaydata commented ·

I suspect you normally control the Multi from the Color Control. If the latter doesn't power up then it can't turn the Multi on. There is a switch on the front of the Multi that can turn it on and off without the Color Control that may be of help. I don't recall off the top of my head of the VE.Bus cable needs to be disconnected to make this work so if the switch doesn't work, disconnect the VE.Bus cable to the Color Control and try again.

I would make sure there's a battery disconnect switch to power down loads in our RV when it's in long-term storage. This would include the Color Control and the BMV, but also things like the CO detector.

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jaywolfe avatar image
jaywolfe answered ·

I think the mains detector should mean you can use shore power to restart the multplus charging.

Check the multiplus manual for specific details of how it works in conjunction with the ve bus bus.


I would suggest you look at replacing the mains detector for a start.

But please dont rely on the e bus bus bus as there is still a small battery drain even after it shuts down.

And those batteries will be scrap if they are allowed to fully discharge. Look after them !

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