Solved: Sunsynk Logger

[Jacques86]

Good day. I have a Sunsynk 8.8kW inverter. My solarman wifi dongle died, and I purchased a Sunsynk wifi dongle/logger. The new dongle however does not work at all and no lights come on, on the dongle. Does anyone perhaps have a suggestion? 

My installer recommends I remove the inverter and send it away for testing, but that would be an absolute last resort. 

Edited March 1, 2024 by Jacques86
Issue solved

[Yellow Measure]

If it were me, I would firstly be suspicious as to why the first Solarman dongle died. Did it really die, or is it the serial port on the SS that is dead? If you are sure that the Solarman dongle is dead (only way to test would be on another inverter), then it could be the serial port that caused it to go faulty, so you must proceed with caution. You can buy an LED debugger from Aliexpress, but before you waste money, first try and see of you can get about 5V power from the female port on the inverter, this is usually from the Data Terminal Ready (DTR) and Request to Send (RTS) pins. Easiest to use 9pin male DB9 connector, wire it up and plug it in, put a voltmeter across the wires coming from pins 4 and 7. 

 

If it's dead, then you know that the UART / port is blown and best to send it in. 

 

[Jacques86]

Thank you very much for your reply. I will certainly try above. Another option would probably be to leave the WiFi/RS232 port empty and use an Orange Pi with Solar Assistant via the RS485 port. Would this be an option, or rather not?

 

[Yellow Measure]

I'm not sure on that topic, but quite a few members here are, and they may be along shortly to comment.

The only problem with not having a Solarman or Sunsynk dongle is firmware updates, you will need to update if you need support, and with no way to update it, you get no support. Personally, I'd grit my teeth and buy a 5K Solis S6 to replace it with, then flog the Sunsynk in the classifieds when it comes back from RMA.     

[iiznh]

5 hours ago, Jacques86 said:

The new dongle however does not work at all and no lights come on

Your communications board in the inverter is dead. Get it replaced under warranty

[Jacques86]

Update: Sunsynk have advised that I must power everything off and remove the wifi card and courier it to them. Will advise when I get feedback after they had a look at the card.

[Jacques86]

Update: It turns out the wifi card was broken. Sunsynk sent me a new card which I installed and I am back online again. Much less of a hassle than sending the whole inverter to them.

[GVC]

This is much better than sending in the whole inverter. Did you follow the Sunsynk RMA instructions online or contact them another way?

My 5kW has the same problem after a lightning strike.

[Jacques86]

I sent them an email and had to call when they did not reply. The card is easy to remove, but took me about 30min as I was very careful not to cause damage when I removed the white glue/silicone on the card.

[Yellow Measure]

Just now, Jacques86 said:

I sent them an email and had to call when they did not reply. The card is easy to remove, but took me about 30min as I was very careful not to cause damage when I removed the white glue/silicone on the card.

Pics?

[Jacques86]

2 minutes ago, Yellow Measure said:

Pics?

 

[Yellow Measure]

20 minutes ago, Jacques86 said:

 

Many thanks!

[PAG]

On 2024/02/20 at 2:41 PM, Jacques86 said:

Update: Sunsynk have advised that I must power everything off and remove the wifi card and courier it to them. Will advise when I get feedback after they had a look at the card.

Was this Sunsynk in South Africa?

[Contact1980]

I suspect I have the same issue with a blown wifi card inside the inverter.  This thread really helps, especially the fact that you mentioned that you had to call Sunsynk as emails were unanswered.  Sunsynk will get a call from me tomorrow - I will update on this thread if it was the same issue.

 

[Wesley.Davids]

@Contact1980 Was your issue resolved when you contacted Sunsynk