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cthonicist avatar image
cthonicist asked

Help! My Victron Phoenix Multiplus has gone crazy - Video link attached

Hi all, total noob here, and I have a problem.

I am based in the North of the UK. I have a Narrowboat on an offline mooring, (no shore power) and my Victron Phoenix Multiplus inverter has been happily managing power from my engine alternator, 475 watts of solar panels via their own separate control unit, and occasional shore line hookups, without difficulty for several years. The boats internal systems are 12 volt, and it is also fitted for UK mains voltage via the inverter or shore power. For the past two years I have exclusively used the 12v power only.

On attending the boat with an engineer for the first time this year for its annual service, he confirmed that both engine and batteries (1 starter, five leisure) were all healthy, and the batteries were charging just fine from the engine. All the onboard 12v systems - lights, fridge, tv etc - also appeared to be working just fine.

However, *this* is what the Phoenix Multiplus looked like (30 second clip):

https://youtu.be/eTJ4Z0ZXxmw

Does anyone know:

a) what the lights are telling me?

b) what could have caused this? (everything was working fine when I last left the boat and no one else has had access to it in the interim)

c) How serious is this?

d) What, if anything, I can do to fix it?

I have zero technical knowledge so reading the manual didn’t help, and I still don’t know if this is a ‘oh, just hit a reset button somewhere’ issue or a ‘panic, it’ll burn your boat down’ issue. Also, boat electricians are rarer than rocking horse doodoo round here, so if I need one, and manage to find one , I at least want to have some idea of what the problem might be before they start sorrowfully shaking their head, sucking their teeth, and emptying my wallet...

Tl:dr - I’m pretty desperate for someone who knows what they are talking about to explain what the hell is going on to me in words of one syllable, and suggest what I might usefully need to do next.

All answers gratefully received, either here on or the YouTube comments section.

Thanks!



Phoenix Invertererrorfault
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2 Answers
seb71 avatar image
seb71 answered ·

According to the Victron Toolkit app, that LED pattern indicates "Powerpack failure":


If this message occurs the moment the device is turned on, this indicates a powerpack failure. Contact Victron service in that case.
If this does not occur directly the moment the device is turned on but after a while, then this is a combination of an overload error and VE.Bus Error 17.
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cthonicist avatar image cthonicist commented ·

Hi! Thanks for responding. It does indeed come on as soon as I turn it on, so I will try to find a Victron dealer. In the meantime, do you happen to know what ‘power pack failure’ means? Is it a replaceable component in the Victron?

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wkirby avatar image wkirby ♦♦ cthonicist commented ·

The power pack is the big heatsink block with all the power transistors (power MOSFETs) and associated drivers. This is basically the high current switching section. Alas, it's not user replaceable.
I too am a bit curious as to what could have caused this to fail, it's pretty sturdily built. Condensation is the only thing that springs to my mind.

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cthonicist avatar image cthonicist wkirby ♦♦ commented ·

Thank you. It’s unlikely to be condensation though, the engine room is warm and dry year round.

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Matthias Lange - DE avatar image Matthias Lange - DE ♦ cthonicist commented ·

I don't think you will find someone to repair your Phoenix MultiPlus.

I guess that unit is more than 10 year old and there a no more spare parts available.

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cthonicist avatar image cthonicist Matthias Lange - DE ♦ commented ·

That’s... disappointing. But thanks anyway.

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cthonicist avatar image cthonicist cthonicist commented ·

So: an ancillary question then- if the Phoenix will rise no more, does leaving it switched off have any consequences for the operation of the boat, other than not being able to use the inverter to supply power to the mains sockets aboard? (Which I rarely use anyway). Can I operate the boat safely with it in place but switched off?

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Paul B avatar image
Paul B answered ·

There is a App you can download called victron toolkit this app shows you what the flashing sequence of leds mean, yes it is saying power pack failure as previously mentioned

this could be helpfull for you for future referencing issues



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cthonicist avatar image cthonicist commented ·

Thank you. I’ll download the app. Sounds like this is going to be expensive... :( Still interested to know if I can safely operate the boat with the Victron just switched off for the time being.

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Paul B avatar image Paul B cthonicist commented ·

yes you can

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Related Resources

Phoenix Inverter product page

Phoenix Inverter Smart product page

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic

Faults with Victron equipment are best discussed directly with your dealer - this can be formalised with this support request form.