July 1, 20233 yr Hello Everyone I'm looking for some help on how ro set up and test the communication between two Averge batteries. I was reading the manual and saw the set up from my installer didn't match the instructions but now I suspect I've broken something that probably didn't need to be fixed. My batteries have a significantly different state of charge as you can see from the SOC lights. Is there anything else I should look out for? The batteries are connected to an 8kVA Deye inverter if it's of any importance. I appreciate it! Battery 1 Battery 2 The Manual
July 2, 20233 yr It looks like your dip settings are upside down... on the master battery, set dip 1 UP and 3,4,5 DOWN and on the slave set the dip 2 UP and 1,3,4 DOWN. Turn both batteries off, change the dips, then switch on the master first and then the slave if it doesn't turn on automatically. That should sort out the addressing so they can talk to each other.
July 2, 20233 yr 13 hours ago, name said: I'm looking for some help on how ro set up and test the communication between two Averge batteries. Concerning the difference of SOC read my post in the other "Averge" thread. I don't know what the packs would talk to each other. The RS485 connections enable the monitoring tool to read each pack individually while only being connected to one pack. The RS485 protocol is sort of a data bus that allows every connected item to address each other, similar to USB.
July 2, 20233 yr Author 3 hours ago, jumper said: It looks like your dip settings are upside down... on the master battery, set dip 1 UP and 3,4,5 DOWN and on the slave set the dip 2 UP and 1,3,4 DOWN. Turn both batteries off, change the dips, then switch on the master first and then the slave if it doesn't turn on automatically. That should sort out the addressing so they can talk to each other. Thanks for the input. I appreciate. I've given this a go but I don't know how to check if the batteries are communicating with each other. Do you know test/check this?
July 2, 20233 yr Author 48 minutes ago, Beat said: Concerning the difference of SOC read my post in the other "Averge" thread. I don't know what the packs would talk to each other. The RS485 connections enable the monitoring tool to read each pack individually while only being connected to one pack. The RS485 protocol is sort of a data bus that allows every connected item to address each other, similar to USB. Are you referring to this post? Have you had any luck figuring the difference out?
July 3, 20233 yr 19 hours ago, name said: I've given this a go but I don't know how to check if the batteries are communicating with each other. Do you know test/check this? The Deye should have a battery screen where you can see the total capacity of the batteries, it should read 200Ah if it is seeing both. The other way would be to set up a RS485 to USB cable to the master battery and see if you can read it with Pbmstools, @Beat has a specific version he got from Averge, so maybe you can ask them for the correct software for your battery.
July 3, 20233 yr Author 58 minutes ago, jumper said: The Deye should have a battery screen where you can see the total capacity of the batteries, it should read 200Ah if it is seeing both. Thank you, I'll check this when I get home later. It has always shown as 200Ah so I'm not sure if the inverter is set up correctly 🤦♂️ This is what is reported by Solar Assistant. The battery capacity is editable I'm learning my lesson for not doing my homework and ending up with a fly-by-night installer 😔
July 3, 20233 yr 5 hours ago, name said: Thank you, I'll check this when I get home later. It has always shown as 200Ah so I'm not sure if the inverter is set up correctly 🤦♂️ This is what is reported by Solar Assistant. The battery capacity is editable I'm learning my lesson for not doing my homework and ending up with a fly-by-night installer 😔 Ah, if you have SA, then it is likely communicating correctly with the inverter. If you can find the battery screen on the inverter and see if it also reports 200Ah, then you can be sure. My next area to look at would be the wiring, but it looks like you have the pos from one battery and the neg from another which is correct, the next issue might be the length of the cables if they are different. The only other suggestion I would have, if you are up for it, would be to switch the batteries around and make battery 2 the master and battery 1 the slave, by changing the cables (power cables too) and dip switches and run it like that for a while to see if it evens the batteries out.
July 3, 20233 yr Author 4 hours ago, jumper said: If you can find the battery screen on the inverter and see if it also reports 200Ah, then you can be sure. It looks like this is the problem. The Li-BMS shows zero values for everything. I wish there was a test or clear sign that everything's connected and functioning as expected in both the Battery Information
July 3, 20233 yr Use PBMSTools to check what is going on in the battery packs. You might be able to see difference in parameters settings. To check parameter settings you would need to connect to each pack via the RS232 port. Else check that the cables to your busbars are of similar length and that the lugs are properly crimped and tightened equally to the battery terminals. Also, if your one battery might constantly go into a Over Current Protection state if the inrush current from the charged battery is too high, therefore cutting off the charge circuit, and not charging.... while the other one does. Maybe fully charge the one, then the other one,using the inverter, then try to connect them in parallel again.
July 3, 20233 yr Author 29 minutes ago, gimme_power said: Use PBMSTools to check what is going on in the battery packs. You might be able to see difference in parameters settings. To check parameter settings you would need to connect to each pack via the RS232 port. Else check that the cables to your busbars are of similar length and that the lugs are properly crimped and tightened equally to the battery terminals. Also, if your one battery might constantly go into a Over Current Protection state if the inrush current from the charged battery is too high, therefore cutting off the charge circuit, and not charging.... while the other one does. Maybe fully charge the one, then the other one,using the inverter, then try to connect them in parallel again. I appreciate the input. Thank you. I've got a few things to consider and rule out any problems with the setup. @jumper's input has opened a few options for me to consider. I saw your open heart surgery posts. Good luck! One thing I couldn't figure out is how to turn the battery off. Can you share how, please. Do you just turn off the breaker and wait?
July 3, 20233 yr Turn off the breaker, then press and hold the reset button for about 3-5 seconds till it enters its shutdown routine. I found that if you have an RS232 cable connected to a PC it will starup immediately thereafter again, it might happen also if you have other live communication cables connected. Just check that if it starts up immediately again. Edited July 3, 20233 yr by gimme_power
July 3, 20233 yr This post was recognized by Energy-Jason! gimme_power was awarded the badge 'Helpful' and 15 points. Also I see your solar assistant is set to Canbus protocol 0, but you have no can bus cable connected on the master battery. So not sure if anything is communicating battery pack info back to your inverter
July 4, 20233 yr Author 8 hours ago, gimme_power said: Also I see your solar assistant is set to Canbus protocol 0, but you have no can bus cable connected on the master battery. So not sure if anything is communicating battery pack info back to your inverter This is so obvious in hindsight. Thank you! I just assumed the RJ45 cable was the right one. I need to go through the packaging to see if I have the cables. If I don't, what do you call this cable? Can you suggest a decent place to by from in Joburg or online? Thanks again for your input and time!
July 4, 20233 yr 1 hour ago, name said: This is so obvious in hindsight. Thank you! I just assumed the RJ45 cable was the right one. Well spotted there by @gimme_power, you might only need to change this in SA to RS485 and it should work if it is plugged in to the RS485 port on the inverter and the cable pinouts are correct. I think there might be a setting on the inverter for RS485 instead of CAN battery comms too.
July 4, 20233 yr Author 22 minutes ago, jumper said: I think there might be a setting on the inverter for RS485 instead of CAN battery comms too. Cool. I'll check this out later. I found the cables with the packaging so I can connect the CAN if I don't come right with the inverter settings. Let's hope this gets me one step closer. Appreciate the input.
July 5, 20233 yr Author @gimme_power, can I buy you a beer? Connecting the CAN port made a world of difference. The BMS did some funky things with the SOCs and charging when I connected the batteries but it seems to have balanced itself out. The two batteries have the same SOC, and the inverter reads the batteries' data rather than guesstimates it. @jumper, thank you for your input on this too. I couldn't change the inverter's BMS protocol because SA is using the RS485 port.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.