September 8, 20232 yr HI everyone. I have a strange issue which I am experiencing on a new installation. I have had a recent firmware update and this has not resolved the issue. The ticket I posted is below and wonder if anyone else has had issues with Sol-Ark / Sunsynk / Deye time clocks, the issue is worse if set to manual. I am amazed there is no way of using solar assistant or similar to set an alternative time source so i can set a local clock or similar and change the interval of update, e.g not through the sunsynk app to change region servers. I have tested the local network and everything else syncs to time servers without issue, this is going to make the product unusable in the winter when scheduling is required to charge from grid :(. Sadly they are not fast to respond so thought I would ask if anyone had any ideas I have not tried or considered. My Sunsynk support ticket. Hi. I have opened this issue several times and then closed it thinking it was resolved however yet again this morning the sync of the time clock is out by 40 minutes ahead. e.g. it is 08.40 here and the inverter time is 09.07am and the gap will grow as the day moves on. Since the last firmware update the time sync has not worked with the NTP server. Setting it from one server to another in the app occasionally sets the correct time sync for the UK but then the time drifts often by hours during the day. IT IS NOT SYNCING THE TIME FROM THE NTP SERVER! To test and by changing the time zone through the app to another region works for a while and the same fault occurs. In summery: Sync to NTP time server is not working as intended this will cause and issue with scheduling. As well as extensive electrical experience and qualification I am also qualified in IT and do not believe this is a LAN or WAN issue and is specific to this machine or the time servers being used. The fault is not with the network, other devices sync with other NTP servers without issue the connect esp dongle is not being blocked. At present this product is not fit for purpose until the time issue is resolved as setting the time manually as if off grid also causes the time clock to wander by hours during the day. Sunsynk - Suggestions and resolution please.
September 8, 20232 yr From the note you are using the Sunsynk app - i do not have that so can't comment. What you could do is until sync on the inverter time settings and set it manually - it should then hold the time On the older solarman dongles you had to change the time zone of the dongle so that you don't get time drift / get assigned a GMT+1 with daylight savings timezone
September 8, 20232 yr Author 8 minutes ago, mzezman said: From the note you are using the Sunsynk app - i do not have that so can't comment. What you could do is until sync on the inverter time settings and set it manually - it should then hold the time On the older solarman dongles you had to change the time zone of the dongle so that you don't get time drift / get assigned a GMT+1 with daylight savings timezone Many thanks, I have tried the manual setting, sadly it is worse, I note your comment on the dongle, I have found for those interested it is an ESP device often used for home assistant and automation.
September 8, 20232 yr 5 hours ago, Mcskippster said: Many thanks, I have tried the manual setting, sadly it is worse, I note your comment on the dongle, I have found for those interested it is an ESP device often used for home assistant and automation. Damn sorry man, then it definitely needs SS to support you. I had a similar issue with Solarman dongle and putting it on manual fixed it
September 9, 20232 yr Author Todays Update. Last night i changed a few settings on the network to be specific I set a static IP for the data logger. The time sync seemed to be fixed, well at least I thought so. This morning the clock had again advanced by over an hour. Rather stupidly I had canceled the long standing support ticket that had no response, this morning I decided to try and diagnose the issue further. After powering off and removing the sunsynk data logger connect module I thought I would see if the unit although I did not expect a result get the time from the Solar Assistant, to clarify for anyone else it does not seem to do so which is a shame. However while testing I tried setting the inverter to manual as suggested but without the data logger attached and time sync although no means of communication disabled, lmao, the time advanced as if by magic by approximately 30 seconds for every minute in real time, so minutes rapidly become hours, as mentioned not much good for scheduled cheap rate charge or load shedding. So in summery there are two issues with my inverter, the first being no ability to post and retain the ntp server data on the unit as it gets over ridden by the unit defaults irrelevant of sync setting e.g on or off. The second being even in a mode where no direct connection exists e.g.no time sync possible and set to manual the unit advances time as if a time travel machine :). I have put another ticket in and also noted the units time clock and probably the latest firmware is faulty, ( The problem was not observed on the previous firmware Lets hope someone actually actions the ticket otherwise its sadly a complaint to the trade wholesaler and escalation as faulty.
September 9, 20232 yr Author Some success. This should have made no difference however I note the following and hope this may help someone else. We run a Unifi security gateway pro and switches, the inverter is connected through a Unifi access point and poe switch, the solar assistant ras pi runs through a Unifi switch lite. It seems that the default ntp servers listed in this post may require changing to others chosen by you, such as your broadband provider or the global ntp pool, it seems in simple terms the switches then update the time on each normally used for logs. My conclusion if the time stays set correctly and it has so far that the wifi sunsynk connect dongle an ESP device ether references this local time sync data or more likely the switches were blocking the device time sync to the Deye / sunsynk servers. The documentation simply does not cover this issue and I wonder how many others could have this issue if running Ubiquiti equipment for there network. What remains faulty is the inability to keep an accurate time if not connected to the network, I guess if off grid it simply doesnt matter as one doesnt need the advanced time schedule on the product for cheap rate ect or would buy a different product. If no further update this has fixed the time sync issue. Edited September 14, 20232 yr by Mcskippster
September 10, 20232 yr Author Well that was short lived and the elinter sunsynk logger fell asleep and the time was a mess again. Ticket raised with sunsynk but as many have found not much hope there. The logger is as mentioned an ESP chip, for reference it's also very insecure implimentation although at least the data as others have can be captured. So I thought and again to possibly help others, what else can I do. As I observed using the monitoring on my security gateway that there was no traffic on the sunsynk logger device I concluded let's wake it up. Lots of ways one could do this but I had an asus wifi acess point so setup a ping to the loggers IP. Amazing I think it's fixed the piece of junk logger that's required for scheduling fingers crossed and after all of that a low tech solution.
September 11, 20232 yr Author And the saga continues. The ping schedule kept the inverter on time all night and then it drifted. No response to my tickets so I called the local support center and got through, no I must add I am an installer and had not contacted support before by telephone as we are used to resolving issues ourselves and this is a new service for us and prefer ticket systems and emails so there is always a data trail. Credit where due the tech checked everything, found nothing wrong, did say there was a logger firmware update, applied it and again so far the times working. So also worth note its worth checking that there is not a logger update as this is not done when the firmware update for the inverter is done. I wait in hope and ive added the two different firmware versions of the Sunsynk data logger Wi-Fi dongle below Old New version firmware This is the data logger user manual, this is for the rj45 version, mine is not the rj45 version! Sunsynk_Data Logger_UserManual_v6_English.pdf Edited September 11, 20232 yr by Mcskippster Layout + ref file
September 12, 20232 yr Author No resolution today. For anyone interested here is a video of the units display pretending to be a time machine if hours were seconds I would be dead Anyone seen this before. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jbnowygyPPPol0c3vWJ74IBD7KsZvGCc/view?usp=sharing Looking at if I can send scheduled time resets through home assistant and node red as I need to try and make this work for the winter while I argue for a fix or new unit. Edited September 14, 20232 yr by Mcskippster
September 14, 20232 yr Author No resolution or response from Sunsynk UK today. For anyone interested here is a video of the units display pretending to be a time machine if hours were seconds I would be dead Anyone seen this before. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jbnowygyPPPol0c3vWJ74IBD7KsZvGCc/view?usp=sharing Looking at if I can send scheduled time resets through home assistant and node red as I need to try and make this work for the winter while I argue for a fix or new unit.
November 7, 20232 yr I have the same issue thanks for raising it here for others to see. Getting no resolution from Sunsynk, been going on for a month. They reset firmware and data loggers and tried everything still nothing. Have you had any luck?
February 4, 20242 yr Any progress on this issue? I’m seeing the same behaviour on our recently installed Sunsynk 8kW inverter, with the timer shifting random amounts, typically half an hour but several hours if I turn Sync off. Sunsynk really need to fix this!
February 5, 20242 yr Author On 2024/02/04 at 9:39 AM, Dale Logan said: Any progress on this issue? I’m seeing the same behaviour on our recently installed Sunsynk 8kW inverter, with the timer shifting random amounts, typically half an hour but several hours if I turn Sync off. Sunsynk really need to fix this! Hi sorry to hear that. As detailed above in a thread somewhere sorryi had replied to to ohers, the devil is in the detail they Sunsynk and specifically the UK branch were dreadful. Summery. In the end I threatened legal action via my wholesaler and with there help the unit was exchanged. This issue cannot be resolved by firmware update it is hardware fault and the inverter required exchange. This was verified by the factory. I also note the faulty one was an early production version and some suppliers may still have these insist on a current production model. The customer service made me decide not to market or sell Sunsynk products. However I should add this is due to the after sales customer service as the product when working is exceptionally good and worth resolving. My final observation is to note some if the connections for cam may be slightly different as it was on my own replacement. I now through solar assistant and mqqt have weather forecasting and grid charging automated and am overall pleased. Ask for a replacement or sadly take legal action. I hope this helps. Edited February 5, 20242 yr by Mcskippster Additional info
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