EDIT: SOLUTION HERE ->

I recently finish the setup of a minimal off-grid system in the countryside. In a nutshell:

- 1x Growatt SPF 5000 ES (firmware: 040 05 701 - 041 05 701)

- 2x Pylontech US2000C

- 4x 540w solar panel

 

Everything working good (in terms of charging and electricity usage), and now I'm trying to monitor this setup.

* The master Pylontech battery is connected to a Raspberry PI 3 with SolarAssistant and I'm getting the expected data (using a USB <-> RJ45 CAN wire). 👍

* But, the inverter (in theory) should provide data from the USB B port (printer USB type), but it doesn't. 👎

 

I tried with 2 different USB (USB B <-> USB A) wires with:

- Laptop with Windows10 + PVKEEPER 2.0 (the COM port appear, but no data is shown...) (suggestion from SolarAssistant)

- Laptop with Ubuntu + Python ModBus lib. Still getting a communication error (using 9600 baud) (DIYSOLAR thread Github issue)

- SolarAssistant in a Raspberry PI 3. Connection timing out.

 

I'm a bit lost now, given I'm thinking that maybe the USB port is simply broken... I have not other ideas in mind and the USB A port (normal USB port) is not even providing connection (apparently is only for the Growatt WiFi dongle)

 

Any idea? Thank you so much. Best regards  🙏

Edited February 12, 20233 yr by Dæv
add solution

12 hours ago, Dæv said:

* But, the inverter (in theory) should provide data from the USB B port (printer USB type), but it doesn't. 👎

I had similar problem and found out that the supplied brand new USB printer cable was at fault. It worked fine with another spare cable. I understand that you already tried this. You could try with a RS232 to USB adapter cable. I guess that the RS232 cable (JR45) has been supplied.

If nothing works, it could well be a faulty communication board. It's relatively easy to replace. The seller should take care of it in guaranty.

Edited July 11, 20224 yr by Beat

2 hours ago, Beat said:

I had similar problem and found out that the supplied brand new USB printer cable was at fault. It worked fine with another spare cable. I understand that you already tried this. You could try with a RS232 to USB adapter cable. I guess that the RS232 cable (JR45) has been supplied.

If nothing works, it could well be a faulty communication board. It's relatively easy to replace. The seller should take care of it in guaranty.

Thanks for replying

I want to try with a RS232 (RJ45) <-> USB cable. I don't have one from Growatt, but I have one currently used to communicate the Pylontech batteries with a Raspberry PI using the console port from the master battery. I guess this cable is ok for that test (?) I can find other similar adapter cables on Amazon, but for Cisco routers. I'm not sure if they use other pin sort in the RJ45 side.

Will try with this and update. Thanks again.

Nah, nothing working. Clock synced by minutes also. Today testing:

- SolarAssistant using the RS232 <-> USB adapter cable. It was detected automatically, but the communication is timing out.
- Laptop with Ubuntu + the RS232 <-> USB adapter cable. /dev/ttyUSB0 assigned, but `screen` is not connecting. Neither with Python modbus (9600 baus).
- W10 + UART UART 232 ftdi driver (automatically downloaded). PVKEEPER 2.0 keeps trying to communicate. The COM port is apparently there, but nothing is displayed.

So... no luck with the RS232 port (BMS port in the inverter). Same exp as with the USB B port, so I guess the board is burned or corrupted, given fully rebooting the inverter is not solving the issue.

Thanks again for the ideas. Time to call my solar supplier for a board fix/replacement.

Bonjour,

 

J'ai le même problème avec mon GROWATT SPF5000ES.

Les cartes de communication d'origine ne fonctionnent pas.

Les pièces de rechange de GROWATT ne fonctionnent pas.

Les cartes de mon ami (même onduleur) fonctionnent bien.

Cartes de référence SKB710

mes cartes ne communiquent pas avec le wifi-f, ni le canbus vers la batterie.

Il y a 4 USB sur la carte. normalement la led verte clignote sans wifi-f, mais avec mes cartes, del rouge clignotant, ..

 

Avez-vous le même problème et quelle solution pour vous ?

Merci de votre aide.

 

 

 

 

Jérôme.

 

On 2022/07/11 at 10:11 PM, Dæv said:

Nah, nothing working. Clock synced by minutes also. Today testing:

- SolarAssistant using the RS232 <-> USB adapter cable. It was detected automatically, but the communication is timing out.
- Laptop with Ubuntu + the RS232 <-> USB adapter cable. /dev/ttyUSB0 assigned, but `screen` is not connecting. Neither with Python modbus (9600 baus).
- W10 + UART UART 232 ftdi driver (automatically downloaded). PVKEEPER 2.0 keeps trying to communicate. The COM port is apparently there, but nothing is displayed.

So... no luck with the RS232 port (BMS port in the inverter). Same exp as with the USB B port, so I guess the board is burned or corrupted, given fully rebooting the inverter is not solving the issue.

Thanks again for the ideas. Time to call my solar supplier for a board fix/replacement.

Hi! 

 

Did you find a solution to this problem? I have a Growatt 5000ES paired to Solar Assistant and have also started experiencing the issue. The system worked great for a few months and is now faulty. The connection between the inverter and Solar Assistant keeps dropping. I've tried new cables, added ferrite beads, tried different USB ports on my pi, nothing is working. I'm not sure what else to do.

 

Regards

On 2023/01/17 at 1:29 PM, JayMc said:

Hi! 

 

Did you find a solution to this problem? I have a Growatt 5000ES paired to Solar Assistant and have also started experiencing the issue. The system worked great for a few months and is now faulty. The connection between the inverter and Solar Assistant keeps dropping. I've tried new cables, added ferrite beads, tried different USB ports on my pi, nothing is working. I'm not sure what else to do.

 

Regards

Hi 

I have a the Growatt SPF 5000 TL HVM-P and have just started using SolarAssistant ( very happy with SA )

But I am experiencing the exact same thing regarding connection to the inverter - connects then drops...connects than drops -

I have upgraded to a hama double shielded usb2.0 cable and was just about to get Ferrite beads....hmmm so it could be a bigger issue.

My Pi 4B connected via the SA pylontech cable is perfectly happy.

But I need a stable connection to update the settings on the inverter as my wifi dongle is playing up too.

So would also love some assistance

On 2023/01/17 at 12:29 PM, JayMc said:

Hi! 

 

Did you find a solution to this problem? I have a Growatt 5000ES paired to Solar Assistant and have also started experiencing the issue. The system worked great for a few months and is now faulty. The connection between the inverter and Solar Assistant keeps dropping. I've tried new cables, added ferrite beads, tried different USB ports on my pi, nothing is working. I'm not sure what else to do.

 

Regards

Sorry for my late reply.  I have some news:
- My local solar supplier doesn't understand a single word in English, so I had to directly write an email to Growatt.

- I'm based in EU, so I tried sending an email to the support email that appears in the EU website. Somehow they didn't reply. So I checked and in The Netherlands they also have another (amazing and lovely) support team.

- They requested lot of photos + screenshots + a long video with the proof of my issue. After that, they requested 2 new boards to the factory supplier (China). 2 weeks after, I received them (with Fedex, so I had to pay for the custom taxes, but is OK)

- I installed the boards (battery, solar DC input and inverter, all turned off). I just replaced these boards and turned all back on. And... ALL WORKS!!

- The USB connection (normal printer USB cable + RPI3 with SolarAssistant), AND also the BMS connection with my Pylontech US2000C batteries!! (Inverter config 05 - LI // 36 - L52 if you ask).

So... I cannot be happier. The support from The Netherlands office made a great work.

Best regards.

On 2023/01/17 at 12:29 PM, JayMc said:

Hi! 

 

Did you find a solution to this problem? I have a Growatt 5000ES paired to Solar Assistant and have also started experiencing the issue. The system worked great for a few months and is now faulty. The connection between the inverter and Solar Assistant keeps dropping. I've tried new cables, added ferrite beads, tried different USB ports on my pi, nothing is working. I'm not sure what else to do.

 

Regards

 

1 hour ago, WinstonG said:

Hi 

I have a the Growatt SPF 5000 TL HVM-P and have just started using SolarAssistant ( very happy with SA )

But I am experiencing the exact same thing regarding connection to the inverter - connects then drops...connects than drops -

I have upgraded to a hama double shielded usb2.0 cable and was just about to get Ferrite beads....hmmm so it could be a bigger issue.

My Pi 4B connected via the SA pylontech cable is perfectly happy.

But I need a stable connection to update the settings on the inverter as my wifi dongle is playing up too.

So would also love some assistance

Regarding SolarAssistant...

I have SA in a Raspberry PI 3. I got random connectivity issues, so I wrote an email to the SA support. After a hundred of tests, the issue was the raspberry pi power supply. (ALL THIS AFTER THE INVERTER BOARD CHANGE, IS A DIFFERENT ISSUE)
I had a random power supply (5v and 3A), so I bought the original one for my RPI3 (https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/micro-usb-power-supply/) It gives 5.1 volts of output.

Apparently the Raspberry got voltage drops for some reason, so the connectivity was freezing with the USB ports (inverter and battery in 2 different ports).
In your case, I'd buy the same original power supply and try.

Cheers

Edited February 12, 20233 yr by Dæv

1 hour ago, Dæv said:

 

Regarding SolarAssistant...

I have SA in a Raspberry PI 3. I got random connectivity issues, so I wrote an email to the SA support. After a hundred of tests, the issue was the raspberry pi power supply. (ALL THIS AFTER THE INVERTER BOARD CHANGE, IS A DIFFERENT ISSUE)
I had a random power supply (5v and 3A), so I bought the original one for my RPI3 (https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/micro-usb-power-supply/) It gives 5.1 volts of output.

Apparently the Raspberry got voltage drops for some reason, so the connectivity was freezing with the USB ports (inverter and battery in 2 different ports).
In your case, I'd buy the same original power supply and try.

Cheers

Hey!

 

Ye, my problem started in December 2022 when my SA was giving voltage errors. I changed out the power supply and didn't connect the dots in regard to the communication issues that then started. It was only recently when I swapped the power suppliers back to how they were that things returned to normal. I advised SA of the problem I faced and how it was resolved. 

 

Glad you're sorted too! 

 

J

You must use USB A but it's a RS232 port (D+ and D- to TX and RX) using a max232 like to convert to TTL..

Hey Guys, I have the same issues. Plus in the USB-B cable and it works for an hour or two then disconnects... I have to restart the Inverter to get it back up and running?
I have changed everything but the USB Communications board on the inverter.... Who can help me in SA?