July 15, 20232 yr As mentioned elsewhere, this was my previous inverter that had suffered a failed cell on 1 of 2 gel batteries. Whilst trying to diagnose the problem, I bought a USB/Serial adapter and connected it up to a Raspberry Pi. For some reason the USB/Serial adapter failed (partially melted) and blew a fuse in the display board (F3). You know how small those SMD fuses are, and my attempted repair got the display working briefly before it went off again... Is it possible to source a replacement board from somewhere? The board has marking 16-501025-03G along the top. [related to my other thread: I was thinking if I can get this inverter back up and running, then I could test my panel generation capacity using this inverter (and maybe run the firmware update)]
July 16, 20232 yr Whoever sold you your inverter should be able to sell you a complete removable display. If it helps, the Axpert King 1 (NOT the high PV voltage King II) uses the exact same display. The display firmware checks for King or VM III and changes its behaviour accordingly. There are some strange things happening with earth loops that end up melting the small power supply transformers in displays and serial boards. In theory, it should never happen as the transformers completely isolate the comms connectors from the rest of the inverter, so I'm at a loss as to why this happens. Sometimes people plug ethernet cables or the like into the comms RJ-45. and that can kill the display's power supply through overload. That doesn't seem to be the case this time. As long as you used the adapter cable (RJ-45 to D9) that came with the inverter. the pin with power on it isn't even connected to anything. Edited July 16, 20232 yr by Coulomb
July 16, 20232 yr Author It was the included cable, hence I bought the adapter, since my attempt interfacing with the BT/BLE was giving garbled results. The inverter was bought as a kit from the nearest national DIY center, the same place that claimed the returned battery had been misused... Not sure how that is possible using their recommended inverter... I'd even set params to limit discharge levels to try and make the batteries last 6 years instead of 4-5... Funny they stopped selling that battery brand the same month. Anyway long story short, they wont be helping with the inverter. F3 looks seems to be 1A, and is very close to the 'PC' RJ45/RS232 port. I notice back-to-back on the board there is a voltage regulator '7805acd2t' and mouser lists that also as 1A. There seems to be a different fuse 'F1' on one of the pins. Which I would have expected to blow first if it was a raspberry pi issue? or you think maybe that voltage regulator could have failed? It is very close to the inverter RJ45 port, so could be related to power Into the board, not out... just guessing... I dont see anything on the board that looks like a transformer. Great tip about the 'King I' thanks. I did wonder about seeing if the display from my new Axpert 11k would work, since it looks identical, apart from the WiFi vs BT change, but I decided that one dead inverter is enough this year.
July 17, 20232 yr 17 hours ago, whitehexagon said: It was the included cable, Mysterious why it blew then. 17 hours ago, whitehexagon said: F3 looks seems to be 1A, and is very close to the 'PC' RJ45/RS232 port. ... I dont see anything on the board that looks like a transformer. I have not traced the schematic of a removable display, and I'm not aware of any. It's just occurred to me that the transformer must be on the "comms board" internal to the inverter. It's in the bottom right of this photo inside a King 1: What little I know about the fuses is in this post 17 hours ago, whitehexagon said: I did wonder about seeing if the display from my new Axpert 11k would work, since it looks identical, apart from the WiFi vs BT change, but I decided that one dead inverter is enough this year. Yes, they all look the same, but there are several distinct and incompatible versions. Each version generally handles two major families: King and VM III, MAX and ?, and so on. Voltronic don't seem inclined to document which is compatible with which.
July 17, 20232 yr Author yes you are right of course the transformer is on a smaller board tacked onto the lower black cover panel for the main connection points. It looks identical to your picture Transformer has markings '41-070658-01G RC 2117' but I dont find anything online. 5 pins one side, 4 the other. My little volt meter has a continuity? tester, and I dont see a short from one side to the other. And a least a couple pins on each side beep as though the windings/coils are intact.
July 17, 20232 yr 3 hours ago, whitehexagon said: Transformer has markings '41-070658-01G RC 2117' but I dont find anything online. You won't; these are custom unfortunately. There are a few posts about owners heroically rewinding their transformers, but it's definitely not for everyone. Usually if the transformer is damaged, it's obviously browned and/or melted.
July 20, 20232 yr Author hmm looks intact to my untrained eye. I have a 5V 1A transformer kicking around... any chance to power the board independent of the inverter? it looks like all 8 pins of the RJ45 are connected from the transformer board; white,orange,white, blue,white,green,brown,brown. Not sure it will help, but sourcing a replacement isnt going to be easy either.
July 21, 20232 yr On 2023/07/21 at 12:49 AM, whitehexagon said: I have a 5V 1A transformer kicking around... any chance to power the board independent of the inverter? If you mean a DC plugpack / brick / wall wart, then no, I would not. However, you could rectify the incoming 12 V and apply that to an isolating ±12 V power supply, rated at at least one watt, preferably 2 or 3. Use a decent capacitor near to the isolating converter's input. Use a fast recovery diode, half wave only. Something like this: https://au.mouser.com/ProductDetail/MEAN-WELL/DPAN02A-12?qs=sGAEpiMZZMv0DJfhVcWlK0%2BNBIYn4O1XHqZgIMsruQVWP0ySzpAEHw%3D%3D .
July 24, 20232 yr Author Regarding the replacement VMIII display, after my experience with something as simple as update firmware, I think I am going to wait until I can source a replacement board, but I appreciate all your help getting to this point. I think overall I just install another 3 x 500W panels to compensate for the heat loss on the existing 2.7kW installation. Good catch on that btw, because today cloudy again, and again hitting 2.5kW-2.7kW between clouds.
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