Adri Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 hello ! I installed a brand new RCT / Axpert 1000VA/24V charge controller/inverter about 3 months ago at my home in Durbanville. It ran fine until 2 weeks ago. The charge side works perfectly. The inverter starts perfectly, 232Vac output, but after about 5 sec an internal relay shuts down for 1 sec and then attempts to run again, cycling forever. It's clear to me that internal protection circuit (e.g. temp, over- or under-volts, over-current, etc) is defective. (Out of warranty - originally bought new but from RECTRON.) I have no info other than obvious install/operate leaflet. Can anyone help ? Thanks, Adri ============================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Well... the obvious thing to check first is your battery voltage. Maybe the battery voltage drops out, and then as soon as the inverter disconnects the voltage picks up again, the inverter restarts, repeat ad infinitum. About a year down the line... you bought a small inverter so would it be presumptuous to assume cost was an issue... so you probably also bought batteries of that same caliber... so dead batteries might well be a good guess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adri Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 Thanks Plonkster, but batteries are fine ( 2 x 4S x Trojan T-105). The problem is definitely inside the unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaco De Jongh Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 35 minutes ago, Adri said: I installed a BRAND NEW RCT / Axpert 1000VA/24V charge controller/inverter about 3 months ago at my home in Durbanville. 35 minutes ago, Adri said: (Out of warranty - originally bought new but from RECTRON.) Sorry i am trying to understand this part. Out of warranty only 3 months after installation? 38 minutes ago, Adri said: The inverter starts perfectly, 232Vac output, but after about 5 sec an internal relay shuts down for 1 sec and then attempts to run again, cycling forever. What kind of loads are connected to the Unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Just now, Adri said: 2 x 4S x Trojan T-105 Fair enough... those are not bad I assume also no possible overload? Your options would be to have it repaired or to replace it. There are some guys here who know the 5KVA 48V models well (and who can tell you what commonly fails and how to repair it), but from what I have deduced over the years, the 3KVA and smaller models are quite different, so it is unlikely that anyone here will be able to help in the same way. A good electronic technician might be able to find it easily, but I am half inclined to tell you to buy something descent so this doesn't happen again next year. 2 minutes ago, Jaco de Jongh said: Sorry i am trying to understand this part. Out of warranty only 3 months after installation? He said it was originally bought from RECTRON, so I assume it's an old inverter that was never used until 3 months ago. Good point... I completely missed that and simply assumed it must be about a year down the line (as that is generally how long those things are guaranteed for). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adri Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) I was unclear about warranty : the unit was originally bought by another business but remained new and unused until I bought it October 2018. I would like to make contact with folk who do such repairs. I am electronics technician (for 40 years) with some experience in PV but still could not find the fault in the unit. (No load connected.) And thanks for the suggestions so far! Edited February 8, 2019 by Adri added "No load connected" ___ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulomb Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 This service manual is pretty good, even though almost 6 years old now. https://powerforum.co.za/files/file/30-axpert-mks-1-3kva-service-manual-20130611pdf/ With your experience, you may well be able to fix this one. ___ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adri Posted February 10, 2019 Author Share Posted February 10, 2019 hi Coulomb, Thanks for the service manual. It does help but I need more...! (Haven't we heard that before?) More clarification to perhaps help me. No load connected - only neon indicator and DMM. The inverter starts up with proper output. After 5 sec it shuts off - I can hear relay dropping out. No fault indication on LCD. After about 1 sec it comes back on for a split-second before shutting down again and repeats this forever until switch off and it tries to start again. It seems to me that there's some extra protection built in somewhere that only detects the 'fault' after start-up delay. So where is this? (In the uP or using opamps tied to the uP?) And what is the 'fault' condition it senses? Any ideas or suggestions or info appreciated. (I am happy the share all I try/test/results.) Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Adri said: No load connected - only neon indicator and DMM. The inverter starts up with proper output. After 5 sec it shuts off - I can hear relay dropping out. No fault indication on LCD. After about 1 sec it comes back on for a split-second before shutting down again and repeats this forever until switch off and it tries to start again. It is not perhaps in power saving mode? It literally energises the line only in short blips and if there is a load there... it remains on. Load has to be above some threshold, so small loads (such as low-wattage lamps) tends to pulse on and off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Louw Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 I think Plonkster that you hit the nail on the head . This is what happens if I switch my inverter to power saving mode , only supply power when there is a proper load . I dit not like all the switching on and off and set 04 to SdS default . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 It's a pretty common feature. The very first inverter we had on the farm (now I'm talking 1987) had a similar feature, it didn't pulse, but it somehow detected impedance on the line and switched on only if there was a load. Small loads (below 30W) would make it switch on and off. Appliances with an electronic switch (like the new AEG Freezer my dad bought at the time, which had an electronic thermostat) didn't work properly, they needed a permanent power supply in order to operate. I later noticed the same feature on Nelson Adam's inverters (who remembers him?), and even Victron's inverters have AES (on the higher end inverters) and ECO-mode (on the lower end). AES might even have powered that freezer with the eletronic panel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adri Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 Thanks so much, guys. You were right. I had set it in "power saving mode". Worst of all is that I didn't read the manual properly or I would have found the "fault" on my own. LESSON LEARNED : Read the %$#@!ing manual five times ! Thanks again for the help and good wishes. Ari. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 38 minutes ago, Adri said: Worst of all AAah no, I think the worst moment of this was when a Victron fan had to point it out... Chris Louw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adri Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 Hahaha...! I have 2 VICTRON 12V 350VA inverters. I tied one in for TV/decoder or fridge while the AXPERT was "faulty" - a very good substitute. (We had 150 min. blackouts from Sun.10 Feb ... Thu.14 Feb.) We are family of 2 + dogs so the offer of the AXPERT was a good one because I already had enough PV and batteries to reconfigure for 24V. I received my Mooshi last week and plan using it to monitor the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adri Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 First test with Mooshimeter on my system : shows charging at about 2A (uncalibrated yet) with 25V on the battery terminals. First problem : range - when my fon is 10m from Mooshi it drops out. Could that be the Mooshi's batteries? Will test today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adri Posted February 21, 2019 Author Share Posted February 21, 2019 20190221 After battling a bit I managed to invert the 2 fans. Why 'they' decided to arrange the fans in reverse is beyond me, i.e. sucking warm air DOWN and out instead of pushing cold air UP and into the heat (heatsinks) area is beyond me. Why would they do this? It doesn't make sense to me. Apart from anything else its no good for the fans! Does anyone have an explanation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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