question

Johannes Hodne avatar image
Johannes Hodne asked

Firmware 1.56 issue - load output stopped working

Hello.

I have a smartsolar mppt 100/20. After I updated to 1.56 the load output stopped working. Tried always on, but no response.

Is there a way to downgrade the firmware?

Best regards Johannes

VictronConnectfirmware update
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6 Answers
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) answered ·

Hi @Johannes Hodne ,

I've asked a developer:

We need more info, there is no other complain so far.

What does 'stopped working' mean? is it always off? did you try / measure without anything connected?

You could try older firmware on https://professional.victronenergy.com/accounts/login/?next=/ .

There are also plenty of other things to check, like if the streetlight is on, if he sees the load state going to ON on the VC main page, etc

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Johannes Hodne avatar image
Johannes Hodne answered ·

Hello,

Streetlight is off.

I have tried turning load output on without a load and with a low load connected (lightbulb) but load output stayed off and no measured voltage. The status display on the victron connect app state load output OFF all the time.

But if i give the load output a "jumpstart" (a momentary connection from the battery), the load output went on. And stated on in the victron connect app, showing current and power. Then I can turn load off from the app but not on again.

Could it be the output short circuit protection that's failing?

I couldn't find any older firmware than v1.56 on the link you gave me.

Sorry for my poor english

Best regards Johannes

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li-tech avatar image
li-tech answered ·

I have just had the exact same issue with a SmartSolar 100/20 but had already upgraded the new controllers to BT2.25 & v1.56.

Yesterday the controller wanted to upgrade from v1.56 to latest and afterwards the Load Turned Off and tried any setting on Load Output but still shows as Off with a 75% fully charged 12V battery and two 200W solar panels. 0V on Load Output.

Was working fine before the update as downloaded history etc.

The controller was still showing the solar panels charging.

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jlewallen avatar image
jlewallen answered ·

Did anybody ever find a solution to this problem? I'm suddenly experiencing this on two units in the field, very far removed from civilization and it's very frustrating. I am quickly losing confidence in this product.

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jlewallen avatar image
jlewallen answered ·

For future reference this problem is definitely related to using a DC/DC converter on the load of an MPPT controller. It would be helpful if Victron would specifically reference this issue in their documentation near the existing inrush current warnings associated with the load output, as I feel it's incredible common to combine their two offerings in this way and many may not associate DC/DC converters with this kind of behavior.

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kiwibrew avatar image
kiwibrew answered ·

I experienced this issue last week when I updated a solar controller at a very remote site. 100/20 set to 48V, Two 450W panels, eight 12V 100Ah batteries in two strings of four each. The load output has one device, a Netonix DC Ethernet switch that's been consuming around 0.55A over the past couple of years. Once I updated the 100/20 to the latest version of the software, the loadoutput shut off completely. We had to rewire the site very quickly to get it going again. Absolute nightmare.

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