Hi everyone,

i have 2x 5kva inverters (working independently) and both inverters were installed on the same day am told however, a fault code popped up from no where and the two units stopped working with fault code 90 on the display which i believe is not in the manual book. both inverters were directly sourced from china and  i do understand that fault 90 is related to the inverter firmware. any ideas on which firmware would work on this unit? its got 8X200Ah gel batteries and 12X 250w solar panels hooked to it. am unable to upload the actual specs because am not on site and will only be able to get specs later in the day.

 

thanks

On 2019/04/04 at 10:09 PM, Clement said:

both inverters were directly sourced from china

Error 90 (fault code 90) results from a mismatch between what is in the bootloader and what is in the rest of the firmware. I believe it was designed to catch out clones who copy the firmware but not the bootloader.

You might be able to update to factory firmware version 72.70, which doesn't have the error 90 check, or patched firmware version 72.70c or 73.00e. But first check which model yours are a clone of, or you could brick the inverter. See Can I update my firmware, and to what? and Do I own a clone? . Not all models can be update in this manner.

Unfortunately, some clones aren't able to be updated at all. If that's the case, you need to get a new control board (it plugs in to the main board) for each machine from your supplier, with new firmware that solves this problem. I assume that most clone manufacturers will have sorted this out by now. Don't bother attempting to source control boards from a legitimate importer; they will ask for a serial number, and specifically won't help anyone with a clone.

It's an ugly war between the original manufacturer (Voltronic Power), and the clone makers, and unfortunately people like you are getting caught in the crossfire.

[ Edit: 72.70e → 72.70c; there is no 72.70e. Sigh. ]

Edited April 28, 20197 yr by Coulomb

18 hours ago, Coulomb said:

Error 90 (fault code 90) results from a mismatch between what is in the bootloader and what is in the rest of the firmware. I believe it was designed to catch out clones who copy the firmware but not the bootloader.

You might be able to update to factory firmware version 72.70, which doesn't have the error 90 check, or patched firmware version 72.70e or 73.00e. But first check which model yours are a clone of, or you could brick the inverter. See Can I update my firmware, and to what? and Do I own a clone? . Not all models can be update in this manner.

Unfortunately, some clones aren't able to be updated at all. If that's the case, you need to get a new control board (it plugs in to the main board) for each machine from your supplier, with new firmware that solves this problem. I assume that most clone manufacturers will have sorted this out by now. Don't bother attempting to source control boards from a legitimate importer; they will ask for a serial number, and specifically won't help anyone with a clone.

It's an ugly war between the original manufacturer (Voltronic Power), and the clone makers, and unfortunately people like you are getting caught in the crossfire.

thanks alot for that feedback, i contacted the supplier and they said we can only change the control board. the model is Inverter 5kva-48-PAR

I hope that you get more than 60 days of runtime out of these control boards.

Hi Coulomb,

I have had my Mecer Inverter for 5 years and only now I receive a 90 Error code this after updating the firmware two months ago? Surely this cant be? How do I fix this?

 

Sorry, 

Also would like to add from a link shared by Coulomb, my Inverter is legit as well, Mecer would have picked it up as my firmware update came from them. 

9 hours ago, Kawaman said:

I have had my Mecer Inverter for 5 years and only now I receive a 90 Error code this after updating the firmware two months ago?

This can happen if you update to firmware version 73.00 or later, on a machine that came with firmware version 72.XX (XX ≥ 40). The older machines don't have special code in the bootstrap loader that the newer 73.00 firmware is looking for. The firmware has a timer which causes the error to pop up only after a fixed period of time, 1440 hours of operation (60 days). I believe that this is to catch the clone makers, who test their machine for a few weeks, ship it to customers, and then have problems after the illegal copies have shipped. Of course, when this affects legitimate machines such as yours, it backfires on Voltronic Power. Unfortunately, it's easy for the suppliers to forget the conditions under which this can happen.

One solution is to update to the equivalent patched firmware if available, e.g. 73.00e if you are running factory 73.00 now. Be sure to get the correct firmware version for your machine; see Can I update my firmware, and if so to what? If you want to stay with factory firmware supplied by Mecer, then you'll have to downgrade to firmware version 72.90, or whatever the latest version in the 72.XX series is. They'll have to supply that, or you could update to factory firmware version 72.70 using the files here and renaming dsp_original_72.70.hex to dsp.hex. NOTE: I've been assuming that you have a PF0.8 machine (5 kVA but 4 kW) that came with firmware version 72.XX; there are some other cases where you can get caught out with error 90 (fault code 90), but these are rare.

Hi Coulomb,

Thank you for your very informative info. The version update on my Inverter is MKS5K74.40p. I am waiting for Mecer to respond but it has been almost 2hrs now, from what I understand it is possible to flash the Inverter to 73.00e? Without an issue 

@Coulomb OK I flashed the Inverter using 73.00e. The 90 error has disappeared 😁 Watchpower does not show the Equalization Setting anymore, is that serious? I do have 2 Battery balancers for my 8 batteries.  The issue I have now, Utility symbol Input is flashing 5 times with the buzzer going off, AC Input shows 230v??  The Solar symbol is incomplete just an outlined square?? No power going back to the house as it should shown in the picture below? Should I have rather flashed the Inverter using 72.70? Am I able to do so?

Mecer came back to me and sent all my info to Taiwan, they mentioned that they will replace the Board if need be. In the interim, Mecer told me to go ahead and Flash 73.00e I have nothing to lose.

Now I sit with more errors 😣      

     

 

OK,

Re-flashed to 72.70 I have the Solar Panel symbol back but the Utility symbol still flashing 5 times with the buzzer going off with no power to the house from the Inverter, only Utility powering the house. When taking the photo the Utility Symbol was flashing, not seen in the pic had to mute the buzzer.

 

5 hours ago, Kawaman said:

The version update on my Inverter is MKS5K74.40p.

Oh. That's for a PF1 58.4 V max model. Do you remember what firmware version it came with?

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from what I understand it is possible to flash the Inverter to 73.00e? Without an issue 

I'm really confused about the 74.XX firmwares. Updating to 73.00e will at least limit your output to 4 kW (i.e. it will become a PF0.8 machine).

@Coulomb I have no clue at all, Mecer is waiting a reply from Voltronic Taiwan. Not sure what to do. 

2 hours ago, Kawaman said:

I flashed the Inverter using 73.00e. The 90 error has disappeared 😁 

OK, that's something.

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Watchpower does not show the Equalization Setting anymore, is that serious?

If you don't need those settings, then that's no loss of itself. It just means you've gone back to older firmware than you had.

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The issue I have now, Utility symbol Input is flashing 5 times with the buzzer going off, AC Input shows 230v?? 

Is 230 V an impossible value for your grid voltage? If the buzzer is going off, there is presumably an error code in the middle of the LC display, though your photo doesn't show it. Is there one, if so what is the code?

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The Solar symbol is incomplete just an outlined square??

That's a patched firmware feature. The solar icon becomes a crude "bar graph" showing the number of kW of PV power, rounded to the nearest half kW. So that's normal, if you're not using solar power, or less than 500 W of solar power.

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No power going back to the house as it should shown in the picture below?

OK, that's bad. I've not heard of that. It seems to be an incompatibility between firmware and hardware.

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Should I have rather flashed the Inverter using 72.70? Am I able to do so?

Flashing to 72.70 should be possible, but won't solve your problems.

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Mecer came back to me and sent all my info to Taiwan, they mentioned that they will replace the Board if need be.

Yes, it seems that would solve your problem. You need an updated bootstrap loader, and the easiest way to do that is to get a new control board. I hope that Mecer have them in stock, as they can take a long time to come from Voltronic Power. Hopefully they know what firmware you had, or can work it out from your bar-code sticker.

 

      

1 hour ago, Kawaman said:

Re-flashed to 72.70 I have the Solar Panel symbol back

That's because it's no longer patched firmware.

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but the Utility symbol still flashing 5 times with the buzzer going off with no power to the house from the Inverter, only Utility powering the house.

You say utility is powering your house... but the inverter doesn't show that (no bypass arrows). Do you have some changeover relay that makes the utility run the house when the inverter output is not present? (I have this myself, and find it very handy.) Otherwise, I don't understand your comment.

Also, the exactly 230 V at the AC input is strange. Do you have weird wiring? What exactly is the AC input connected to?

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When taking the photo the Utility Symbol was flashing, not seen in the pic 

Yes, it's just visible as a kind of ghost. The camera must have captured the image just as the icon was in its "off" phase. The flashing icon indicates that the firmware doesn't like the AC input. Obviously 230 V is fine, unless it's seeing its own output somehow.

I wonder if this is some sort of issue to do with the neutral to earth relay contact. But my understanding is that this is purely a hardware thing; there doesn't seem to be firmware changes needed to support this.

This must be so frustrating. You've done nothing wrong, and now the machine you've paid good money for is acting up. I hope it gets sorted soon.

Perhaps if you posted a picture of your bar-code sticker, I might notice something.

@Coulomb OK Mecer came back to me and asked that I flash again the firmware they sent me 74.40p, it will go 60 days again but should work. Sadly, I'm back to where I was with all my settings including Equalization BUT the Flashing Utility is still there with no power to the house only Utility Powering the house. Solar Panels charging the batteries.

@Coulomb OK will send you my sticker

6 minutes ago, Kawaman said:

Mecer came back to me and asked that I flash again the firmware they sent me 74.40p, it will go 60 days again but should work.

My reading of the firmware says you won't get another 60 days. Once that counter in EEPROM goes to zero, it will always give you fault code 90.

But you may as well try it, because they told you to, and you have nothing to lose at this stage.

Aaah well. As soon as Mecer receives the fix for me, I will gladly share it with you and who ever has this issue it's what the Forum is all about.

Thanks for replying Coulomb

13 minutes ago, Kawaman said:

[ Bar-code sticker image]

Oh. That's a bog standard PF0.8 machine. In fact, I have two just like it.

So: Patched firmware version 73.00e should have fixed your problems, other than not having the equalisation settings. Any firmware in the range 72.40 to 72.90 or 73.00, patched or not, should work with that hardware.

What I now think has happened is that you just need to reset all the settings to defaults after a firmware update. If you still have 72.70 in there, try resetting all settings to default values from WatchPower (even if you usually don't use WatchPower for monitoring).

If that works, you should be able to update to 73.00e if you want to; it's unlikely that you'll need to reset the settings to defaults again after that.

If you actually need the equalisation settings, then I believe you'll need a new control board, preferably with 74.40 already flashed onto it. But hopefully, one of the older firmwares will keep you going until then.

@Coulomb I actually followed the Flashing SOP when at the end of Flashing, it tells you to restore to defaults then reintroduce the settings for the batteries. All the flash versions I performed I followed the SOP. Now stuck with version 74.40p this time no "90 error" but a flashing Utility symbol, this is what I got with the other versions. I will try again. I only use WatchPower.

Shall I restore defaults first then install 72.20? 73.00e cut off my Solar symbol to just a square

9 hours ago, Kawaman said:

I actually followed the Flashing SOP when at the end of Flashing, it tells you to restore to defaults then reintroduce the settings for the batteries.

Ah. So much for that theory then.

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Now stuck with version 74.40p this time no "90 error" ...

I'm quite surprised at that. I thought you'd still have the error 90.

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but a flashing Utility symbol, this is what I got with the other versions.

So all this firmware updating has caused even the 74.40 to stop working? And before the fault code 90 it was working fine? That is strange.

I have a crazy idea; if I get time I'll look into it.

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I will try again.

I don't know what you would repeat... just reflashing to 74.40 again? I can't see that doing any good.

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Shall I restore defaults first then install 72.20? 73.00e cut off my Solar symbol to just a square

I've explained about the PV icon here. (Search for "feature".)

Hold off on restoring to other firmwares for the moment. Restoring settings to defaults before the re-flash won't achieve anything; the bootstrap loader doesn't read EEPROM values (settings).

1 hour ago, Coulomb said:

I have a crazy idea; if I get time I'll look into it.

Sadly, that idea didn't turn out. I don't know why your AC input icon is flashing, or why older firmwares didn't behave.

Good Morning Coulomb,

I have switched off the Inverter and Solar Panels, when the sun comes up I will switch on again to give the batteries a tickle for an hour or so. I am back at work today and actually achieved nothing to fix the Inverter issue yesterday. So, at 8am this morning I will phone Mecer for any news received concerning my dilemma. A chap I'm dealing with at Mecer Craig, is mentioning that my Control Board, in all likelihood will need to be replaced, Firmware changing has not helped but allow the Utility input to show 230v with no Output at all and the flashing 90 has turned to a flashing Utility Symbol. 😩

My fear is the cost of this Control Board? To be fair, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Inverter until I purchased the new Deltec Batteries and being told to update the Firmware from Mecer to 74.40p. I don't think Mecer or anybody else would have guessed "In 60 days time" I'll sit with a bricked Inverter. 😫 Now, Mecer is waiting for Voltronic Taiwan for a solution, seriously hope at their expense.