Hello everyone, I have a Tescom VM 5K 450VDC solar MPPT inverter which for no reason started showing error 32 and became unusable. I know that this is a lack of communication between the inverter and the display, and to fix it, the firmware of the inverter must be updated. The display is solid with software U2: 0261 and works (I tried it on another inverter). Please help me from where to download software for my inverter.

4 hours ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

I have a Tescom VM 5K 450VDC solar MPPT inverter

It's presumably an Axpert VM III, or clone thereof. I've never heard of the brand Tescom, but that doesn't mean that it is or isn't genuine.

4 hours ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

I know that this is a lack of communication between the inverter and the display,

Yes.

Quote

and to fix it, the firmware of the inverter must be updated.

Not necessarily. Also, without the display talking to the inverter, you'd need a special cable to bypass the display, I believe (98% sure). The inverter is powering the display, so that's something. In fact, I can't see why the main firmware suddenly stops talking to the display. So I'm suspecting a hardware fault, possibly in the serial lines to the processor. Because you've shown that the display is working, it has to be something in the inverter, or the cable between the inverter and display. If the display had enough serial comms to be able to perform a main firmware update, then it could send ordinary commands, so you would not have the warning code 32.

* Try swapping the cable between the inverter and display with a known good one. You can even use a straight through ethernet cable.

* Does the inverter work (power loads) despite the warning 32? You might be able to live with that situation, though you could not change settings, monitor activity, reflash firmware, etc.

* Failing that, you will have to get the inverter repaired, or attempt to repair it yourself. There is a small comms board inside the inverter (nothing like the comms boards in the models before removable displays), and it's known that the opto couplers do fail in those. So if you're handy with electronics, you could attempt to test and/or replace them. I'm not aware of a schematic trace for the comms boards, but they're pretty simple. There is also a second RJ-45 socket effectively in parallel with the first, so you could try plugging the display cable into that socket. Be aware that the pinout on the internal cable between the inverter and the display is NOT the same as the RS-232 or RS-485 ports intended for the user.

I think the inverter is not working with loads right now. I tried with another straight rg45 cable but again error 32. as far as I understand I need ArenaINVReflashTool and .inv file for 5kv I can't find the same software.

Can someone explain what is the difference between AxperKINGReflash and ArenaINVReflashToo and what determines if the inverter is an axpert 2 or 3 if it is a king or ...

4 hours ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

as far as I understand I need ArenaINVReflashTool and .inv file for 5kv I can't find the same software.

It's certainly tricky finding the correct firmware update file for a given inverter.

The Arena reflash tool is only for models with the '28066 chip. Your inverter's name has "VM" in it, strongly suggesting that it's an Axpert VM II or III or IV. It can't be a II because it has the removable display; it can't be a IV because it doesn't have the round colour display and round LED ring. All Axpert VM models (so far) use the '28062 DSP chip. These DSPs seem to need the UPSReflashTool. The correct reflash tool will come with the right firmware update file, so once you find that update file, you are all set.

Do you know what version of main (U1) firmware came with your inverter? That's the safest way to tell what it is, and what firmware it can be updated to.

To be sure that your model is a VM, check the paper manual that would have come with it (or that can be downloaded from the reseller's website); if it doesn't mention paralleling, then it's a VM model. 

Axpert Kings have double conversion, so they have a few uncommon settings, e.g. setting 10 (from memory) for "operation logic". 

unfortunately I don't know which version the original firmware was, but I think it should be possible to tell from the serial number which version of the firmware is compatible. can anyone help?

I disassembled the inverter and found a mini usb on the control board with the processor. does anyone know what it is for and if it is possible to install the firmware directly through it

10 hours ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

I think it should be possible to tell from the serial number which version of the firmware is compatible.

You would think so, but it's not the case. 

There is usually a sticker on the DSP chip (the largest one near the middle). It doesn't seem to be there now.

Hard to tell from this angle, but I only see one row of L-C-L. Is there only one voltage regulator? Can you read the DSP part number?

Also hard to see from this angle: is the gap between 16-pin in-line headers (that plug into the mother board) nearly non-existent? That usually indicates a VM III control board.

Is the removable display at the left of the inverter? That's another VM III indication.

I don't know what the mini-USB port does, if anything.

Edited December 31, 20222 yr by Coulomb

10 hours ago, Coulomb said:

You would think so, but it's not the case. 

There is usually a sticker on the DSP chip (the largest one near the middle). It doesn't seem to be there now.

Hard to tell from this angle, but I only see one row of L-C-L. Is there only one voltage regulator? Can you read the DSP part number?

Also hard to see from this angle: is the gap between 16-pin in-line headers (that plug into the mother board) nearly non-existent? That usually indicates a VM III control board.

Is the removable display at the left of the inverter? That's another VM III indication.

I don't know what the mini-USB port does, if anything.

Coulomb, thank you for your answers so far and since I see you are quite knowledgeable I want to ask you a few things.

Yes - the display is on the left side - this is a sign that it is VM 3 and I need firmware for VM 3 - right?

I want to know if there was a sticker on the factory DSP chip with the firmware number that was flashed on the particular inverter?

And one more important thing - if everything works normally with one inverter, how do I choose the correct firmware for updating??? because I see there are many options and it is easy to make a mistake and the inverter stops working.
If I want to update my other inverter how to select the right firmware ???

1 hour ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

Yes - the display is on the left side - this is a sign that it is VM 3 and I need firmware for VM 3 - right?

Yes. Not definitive, but a good indication.

1 hour ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

I want to know if there was a sticker on the factory DSP chip with the firmware number that was flashed on the particular inverter?

I don't know about DSP chips, but on display chips, you get the unencoded firmware version on the sticker. I haven't seen recent DSP stickers to know. The old ones had codes like 123-01G, where 123 wasn't related to the firmware version, and 01G looks like Axpert numbering for version 01. Not that helpful, I know. Sorry.

1 hour ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

And one more important thing - if everything works normally with one inverter, how do I choose the correct firmware for updating???

Do you mean if you have two inverters that you'd like to parallel? It's a nightmare; there is no simple formula. I can try and help with individual cases.

10 minutes ago, Coulomb said:

Yes. Not definitive, but a good indication.

I don't know about DSP chips, but on display chips, you get the unencoded firmware version on the sticker. I haven't seen recent DSP stickers to know. The old ones had codes like 123-01G, where 123 wasn't related to the firmware version, and 01G looks like Axpert numbering for version 01. Not that helpful, I know. Sorry.

Do you mean if you have two inverters that you'd like to parallel? It's a nightmare; there is no simple formula. I can try and help with individual cases.

no they won't be in parallel. they are on separate houses. I just want to update the firmware but I'm afraid that something will go wrong and damage the inverter. I want to know by what criteria to look for an update? if i know for example what u1 is on the inverter how do i know if there is an improved firmware available - update

13 hours ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

if i know for example what u1 is on the inverter how do i know if there is an improved firmware available

Since 2015 (the start of the clone wars), there are no longer web sites (apart from a few discovered here and there, and they are far from complete) with the latest firmware versions and descriptions of what is different in them (release notes).

Usually, higher minor version numbers means later firmware, but not aways. In particular, the 9x.xx series of "experimental" firmwares are all over the place, and you can't easily tell what production firmware it's derived from. For that sort of thing, you need someone like myself that can read the firmwares, but there are so many variants these days that I can't keep up.

There even duplicate and a few triplicate numbers for sometimes different and incompatible firmwares.

Updating to the non-9x.xx firmware with the same major version number and highest minor version number is pretty safe at present, as long as you don't fall foul of the duplicated version numbers.

I wish it was simpler.

7 hours ago, Coulomb said:

Since 2015 (the start of the clone wars), there are no longer web sites (apart from a few discovered here and there, and they are far from complete) with the latest firmware versions and descriptions of what is different in them (release notes).

Usually, higher minor version numbers means later firmware, but not aways. In particular, the 9x.xx series of "experimental" firmwares are all over the place, and you can't easily tell what production firmware it's derived from. For that sort of thing, you need someone like myself that can read the firmwares, but there are so many variants these days that I can't keep up.

There even duplicate and a few triplicate numbers for sometimes different and incompatible firmwares.

Updating to the non-9x.xx firmware with the same major version number and highest minor version number is pretty safe at present, as long as you don't fall foul of the duplicated version numbers.

I wish it was simpler.

Happy New Year Coulomb.
I understood the logic you have when choosing a firmware version for updating the inverter. Does this also apply to the display firmware update? and if you can give me direction from which site i can download firmware. Thanks in advance

1 hour ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

Does this also apply to the display firmware update?

Yes, except that display firmware can more easily be bricked, and there is the issue of 1xx.xx versus xx.xx firmware version numbers.

1 hour ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

and if you can give me direction from which site i can download firmware.

There isn't a central location. Basically, the best place is this very forum, in the download (files) section. See the teal band at the top of each page. I have a pretty good collection, so if you're after one that doesn't seem to be uploaded already, post here and I'll usually respond.

Again, I wish it was easier.

On 2023/01/01 at 2:47 PM, Coulomb said:

Yes, except that display firmware can more easily be bricked, and there is the issue of 1xx.xx versus xx.xx firmware version numbers.

There isn't a central location. Basically, the best place is this very forum, in the download (files) section. See the teal band at the top of each page. I have a pretty good collection, so if you're after one that doesn't seem to be uploaded already, post here and I'll usually respond.

Again, I wish it was easier.

firmware 41.17 But I can't find firmware with this number. Can anyone help?

6 hours ago, greenenergyvratsa said:

firmware 41.17 But I can't find firmware with this number.

41.17 is also the latest that I have for VM III, two years old now. It's right here on this forum:

 

Edited January 3, 20232 yr by Coulomb

19 hours ago, Coulomb said:

41.17 is also the latest that I have for VM III, two years old now. It's right here on this forum:

 

no success again. and error 32 is still present. Could it be a hardware problem?

i know the removable display can be attached to a programmer and the firmware can be read and rewritten without the display being physically attached to the inverter. With the control board, how can this happen? so I can find out if it is damaged or the rest of the inverter.

 

 

Edited January 3, 20232 yr by greenenergyvratsa

On 2023/01/04 at 7:01 AM, greenenergyvratsa said:

With the control board, how can this happen?

There are inexpensive C2800 (DSP) JTAG devices out there that can do a similar thing (different from the ones you need for the display, though). Unfortunately, you can't do much unless you have the 128-bit password. and we don't.

Consider building a special cable so that you can bypass the display, in case the problem is at the display end. DO NOT plug the RJ-45 that you normally plug into the RS-232 port directly into the socket that the display normally plugs into; they pinouts are completely different. Details here. Try sending commands, or using a monitoring program like Watchpower. If that works, then the problem is in your display.

A common source of comms problems are the opto isolators, inside the display, and on the board that the display plug into.

[ Edit: Added "C2800 (DSP)" ]

Edited January 6, 20232 yr by Coulomb

On 2023/01/04 at 3:31 AM, Coulomb said:

There are inexpensive JTAG devices out there that can do a similar thing (different from the ones you need for the display, though). Unfortunately, you can't do much unless you have the 128-bit password. and we don't.

Consider building a special cable so that you can bypass the display, in case the problem is at the display end. DO NOT plug the RJ-45 that you normally plug into the RS-232 port directly into the socket that the display normally plugs into; they pinouts are completely different. Details here. Try sending commands, or using a monitoring program like Watchpower. If that works, then the problem is in your display.

A common source of comms problems are the opto isolators, inside the display, and on the board that the display plug into.

JTAG or GD32 which would you recommend for display

4 hours ago, GES said:

JTAG or GD32

The GD32 device would be a JTAG device. Just make sure it supports the brand of display chip that you have.

But most users won't have a use for such a device. What are you trying to do?

19 hours ago, Coulomb said:

The GD32 device would be a JTAG device. Just make sure it supports the brand of display chip that you have.

But most users won't have a use for such a device. What are you trying to do?

a question 1:

which is the best option for display flash??? I see that at least two types of processors are used embedded in the displays?

 

 

a question 2:

I find 3 variants of flash tool. How do I know which inverter should be flashed DSP with which tool ?

1. King/VM III,

2. MKS III ,

3. MAX, 

4. MKS IV, 

5. VM IV

Edited January 6, 20232 yr by GES

13 hours ago, GES said:

which is the best option for display flash??? I see that at least two types of processors are used embedded in the displays?

I don't understand the question. If you mean which reflash tool to use, see below.

13 hours ago, GES said:

I find 3 variants of flash tool. How do I know which inverter should be flashed DSP with which tool ?

You should always use the reflash tool that comes in the firmware update file (a zip/7z/rar file). In the rare case that you get a hex file by itself (say a patched firmware from Georg, or one extracted via JTAG), then you use the reflash tool that comes with some other firmware update file that is compatible for your inverter.

But then the question reduces to: which firmware update file(s) is(are) suitable for my inverter? This is a difficult question, with all the various incompatibilities.

For the displays, factory firmware with major version number ≥ 100 (e.g. 123.45) is for the newer GigaDevice display chip; factory firmware with major version number < 100 (e.g. 23.45) is for the older ST Microsystems display chip. Some of the displays try to tell you that they have a 1 in front of the 4 digits displayed after "U2" with a column of dots; see this image for an example. It's important to use the firmware targeted to the correct device, as otherwise an awkward semi-bricking can result (difficult but not impossible to fix).

In all cases, it seems safe to match major version numbers, except if the major version number is in the 90s (e.g. 90.24, 94.08). In this case, they may be for the older '2809 DSP chip, or for the newer '28066 chip. As far as I know, all Axpert VM models use the '28062 chip, which has half the flash memory of the other DSP chips.

Note that there are occasional overlaps in major version numbers (e.g. 72.xx could mean three different models, 74.xx, 75.xx, and 54.xx also overlap model groups). There are even cases of complete firmware version numbers overlapping, both for the same model, and at times for completely different models.

I wish it was easier.

Edit: the reason for the many different reflash tools is that they all start the protocol with a different command; this is the way that they prevent (most instances of ) bricking. For example, the King specific reflash tool sends a reflash command with the string "KING" in it (from memory).

Edited January 7, 20232 yr by Coulomb

17 hours ago, Coulomb said:

I don't understand the question. If you mean which reflash tool to use, see below.

You should always use the reflash tool that comes in the firmware update file (a zip/7z/rar file). In the rare case that you get a hex file by itself (say a patched firmware from Georg, or one extracted via JTAG), then you use the reflash tool that comes with some other firmware update file that is compatible for your inverter.

But then the question reduces to: which firmware update file(s) is(are) suitable for my inverter? This is a difficult question, with all the various incompatibilities.

For the displays, factory firmware with major version number ≥ 100 (e.g. 123.45) is for the newer GigaDevice display chip; factory firmware with major version number < 100 (e.g. 23.45) is for the older ST Microsystems display chip. Some of the displays try to tell you that they have a 1 in front of the 4 digits displayed after "U2" with a column of dots; see this image for an example. It's important to use the firmware targeted to the correct device, as otherwise an awkward semi-bricking can result (difficult but not impossible to fix).

In all cases, it seems safe to match major version numbers, except if the major version number is in the 90s (e.g. 90.24, 94.08). In this case, they may be for the older '2809 DSP chip, or for the newer '28066 chip. As far as I know, all Axpert VM models use the '28062 chip, which has half the flash memory of the other DSP chips.

Note that there are occasional overlaps in major version numbers (e.g. 72.xx could mean three different models, 74.xx, 75.xx, and 54.xx also overlap model groups). There are even cases of complete firmware version numbers overlapping, both for the same model, and at times for completely different models.

I wish it was easier.

Edit: the reason for the many different reflash tools is that they all start the protocol with a different command; this is the way that they prevent (most instances of ) bricking. For example, the King specific reflash tool sends a reflash command with the string "KING" in it (from memory).

it turned out that the problem was in the display. i was able to flash new firmware on the display. now the inverter works normally, but there is no monitoring (not visible in watchpower) what could be the reason.