Multiplus 2000/12/80 Compact Problem

[raharley]

Hi all

I wonder if anyone could help me with a small problem I've got regarding a Victron inverter/charger combi.

The unit has been working fine for the past two months and has been left plugged into shore power, with just a few onboard lights to power. I was under the impression the unit would keep the battery topped up during this time. However, now when I disconnect the shore power I'm getting the overload LED lit up on the control panel. The inverter switches off and won't function at all running from the battery.

I have checked the battery voltage - 11.9V and the capacity monitor reads 80% so I can't understand the problem. The inverter was working perfectly running from the battery before this extended 2 months of shore power. Any ideas?

Cheers guys

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboardthe CF raharley.

An open circuit voltage of 11.8 - 11.9V is essentially a “dead” battery.
Others, with specific experience, may offer advice about Victron equipment.

[s/v Jedi]

The inverter should work fine on 11.9V. I think it'll shut down with low-voltage alarm at 11.0 or even lower. Overload means that the AC loads are more than the capacity of the inverter. You don't happen to have another battery charger that is turned on?

Also, does the charger in the Victron still work okay?

cheers,
Nick.

[James S]

From CharlieJ using JamesS account
The outward sign is that your low voltage cutout is set too high. You can reprogram the unit using the dip switches (a job I would wish on nobody!) or you can use a computer and the Victron VE Interface Mk2b MultiPlus / 800VA - 5kVA - Victron Energy. I reccomend that you buy the USB/RS232 adapter from Victron also as it works and many of these adapters do not.

You will also have to download the free configuration program from the Victron site:
Software - Victron Energy (you probably will need the version with the Datfile). Once loaded on your computer, you can launch the program and work with it by using the Fake File that is included. I have found that dropping the low voltage cutout to 11.0 VDC works on a boat that is being looked after. The red LED will start blinking when the voltage drops to the low voltage cutout plus 0.5 VDC.

Hope this helps-
CharlieJ
JTB Marine Corp.

"The devil is in the details...but so is salvation."

[Stillraining]

Sounds like you hired the right guy James.....whatever he said..

[James S]

Boy you got that right Scott....and the work is going very well.

[raharley]

Thanks for the useful replies - I wasn't sure if it was a bit of a specialist piece and whether anyone would know too much but this is obviously the right forum!

There's no other battery chargers involved. I can't really tell if the battery charger is working - on shore power I'm getting a 'bulk' led on the remote panel but the inverter sounds like it's doing no work whatsoever, just passing the power straight through. Obviously when I disconnect the shore power it should trip over to the battery but it overloads straight away.

I'm going to charge the battery up overnight using a different charger and see if the inverter will turn on in the morning. If not, might be a case of getting my head round the VEC configure stuff though I was hoping this thing would work out of the box.

Cheers all

[raharley]

Well I've charged the battery up - it's now reading 13V and I'm getting the same problem with the inverter, overload straight away in the 'on' position but working fine in the 'charger only' position. I'm guessing now there must be some kind of issue with a fuse in the inverter itself.

[s/v Jedi]

Make sure that the inverter AC output is not fed back to it's AC input.

You should draw a diagram of what equipment you have installed and the connections between it. To me, it sounds like a problem in the way it's all (inter)connected.

But, if this has been working fine all the time, you might have a fault in the multi-plus unit. I still think that a low DC voltage would give you a low-voltage error, not an overload error. Look up the error-codes in the multiplus manual; there's combinations of lights, flashing, etc.

cheers,
Nick.