Hi guys 

Iv been reading through a couple of posts and everyone seems very helpful. Please could someone help me with a problem I’m having. I have an Axpert 5kva inverter with two banks of 4 x 200ah batteries @ 48v.

From what iv read the axpert has terrible battery monitoring features so I took the advice and purchased a victron bmv 712. On first connecting there was a firmware update that started and couldn’t finish. Went to 10% then 6% then 50 % then failed. Now the unit just says ft200. I have tried all the trouble shooting options of removing and installing victron connect, unpairing unit. Unplugging for 10 min then trying again. Even tried on my iPad and my Samsung got the same issue. How the hell can we get this thing working 🙈🙈🙈

 

On 2019/07/19 at 8:08 PM, Thomas said:

Hi guys 

Hi Thomas. Welcome here. Sorry to read about your trouble. Who did you buy this from, Maybe first try to return it, explaining to the supplier exactly what happened. Victrons backup is normally very good, and they should sort you out quickly. ( I thought it might be bricked) 

 

EDIT:  Wait, hang on first, I might be wrong, seems like you cant brick a Victron  product this easily. Please read 9.2 and 9.3 in this document.

victronconnect_manual.pdf

After reading this I guess using a USB to VEDirect Cable to update the unit might work, after that you should be able to connect again using the first device. 

@plonkster, some insight please?

 

 

My 712 is trying to update its firmware and failing all the time which is irritating. It still works but you cant access via victron connect as it tries to update again.

On 2019/07/19 at 8:08 PM, Thomas said:

Now the unit just says ft200

That means it's in the bootloader. So some background. These devices all have a two-stage software design. In fact, almost all computers work like this (some, like PCs, have more than two stages). The bootloader is normally a small bit of programming that only does two things: It loads the main program and starts it, or it updates the main program. The bootloader itself is (almost) never overwritten. This makes it very difficuly to brick it, because you never overwrite the bit of code that you need to re-flash it.

If the main program is corrupted or not there, the device will remain in the bootloader and allow you to flash it again. This is where you are.

I've seen this behaviour before, this difficulty to update. Try using a different mobile. I've had endless problems with a Galaxy S4 mini (running Cyanogenmod), but a much older Galaxy II Note worked perfectly. So did my old Huawei P10-lite, but with LG phones I've only had problems (even on non-Victron stuff).

You could also try using VictronConnect on a Windows PC with the VE.Direct cable, as Jaco suggested.

Edited July 21, 20196 yr by plonkster

14 hours ago, plonkster said:

You could also try using VictronConnect on a Windows PC with the VE.Direct cable ...

Personally I think every Victron site should have a VE.direct to USB cable for just in case.

58 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Victron site

Well... this is an Axpert site 🙂 Which is also why I kinda skipped over it the first time...

4 minutes ago, plonkster said:

Well... this is an Axpert site 🙂 Which is also why I kinda skipped over it the first time...

Even more so then don't you think. 🙂 

Just now, The Terrible Triplett said:

Even more so then don't you think. 🙂 

I kinda assumed that all Axperties running BMVs will do so with ICC and therefore by definition have the cable already... 😛

 

1 minute ago, plonkster said:

I kinda assumed that all Axperties running BMVs will do so with ICC and therefore by definition have the cable already... 😛

That is also true.

I kinda assumed the non-USB cable may be bought as it is a few rands cheaper, therein the " ... to USB", not knowing how ICC connects.

And we know what assume means ... 🙂 

Point is, everyone who buys a Victron product that has a port should have a "...  to USB" cable, generally speaking, in case of Emergency.
Even I have had to use mine when I "froze" a MPPT.

15 hours ago, plonkster said:

two-stage software design. In fact, almost all computers work like this (some, like PCs, have more than two stages

So allow me to go a bit OT here. Ignore if not of interest. The first time I really saw bootloader magic was with something called OS/2. Some of the old people in the room might remember that, it was once the better OS, but usually these things win or lose based on which company has the better marketing team.

OS/2 had an interesting concept. When booting, the first stage loader (which has to fit into 446 bytes, cause it has to fit in the first sector of the disk along with the partition table) loads just enough capability to access the disk. At this point it is still in real mode. Then it loads a mini-IFS (installable file system). This gives it access to the file system. You can theoretically boot OS/2 off any type of file system by just swapping the mini-IFS. The mini-IFS has just enough functionality to load the kernel of the OS. Once the kernel kicks off, it kicks the CPU into protected mode and only then does it truly get off the ground. This then loads a full IFS, and there you go.

This model was later copied by other OSes, the now de-facto loader for Linux (grub) uses pretty much the same model, and I believe some BSDs had it too. Even windows NT kinda finally grew a bootloader, but of course it never supported anything but FAT and NTFS.

The Raspberry Pi is another interesting beast. This thing actually has a GPU and an ARM CPU. When you turn it on, the GPU is running and the CPU is off. The first stage of the loader is in charge of loading a second stage, activating the ARM core... and then continuing.

Almost all modern stuff works this way now. Even the Axpert inverter has a bootloader on its chip, so does the BMV, the solar chargers, even the Multiplus. It's just how you do it... back to the 70s.

🙂

Edited July 22, 20196 yr by plonkster

Thanks guys much appreciated, iv tried a s10 and an iPhone and an iPad. Maybe an issue with new Bluetooth protocols I’ll try use an older phone maybe. To be honest I think I’m should just order the cable.

ill keep you guys updated 

 

thanks

 

1 minute ago, Thomas said:

I’m should just order the cable.

Just a thought. Borrow one from a Pf member near you, or take the BMV to them if it is easy to remove.

Just now it is not the problem and you are R400 bucks out of pocket.

5 minutes ago, Thomas said:

Thanks guys much appreciated, iv tried a s10 and an iPhone and an iPad. Maybe an issue with new Bluetooth protocols I’ll try use an older phone maybe. To be honest I think I’m should just order the cable.

I recall seeing similar reports on the Victon forums. It is worth making sure that one does not have any other Bluetooth devices nearby (e.g. smart watch, portable speakers etc.) when doing the firmware updates over Bluetooth.

I'm still struggling with this. I keep going in circles. The BMV is still working, the software is stuck in the update, fail, update, fail loop, with no way out it seems. Maybe I must uninstall everything, reset the BMV and try from scratch.

Edited July 23, 20196 yr by DeepBass9