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SCC disappears in VRM

C

cdsolar

caduceus
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Messages
298
Location
Utah, USA
Twice now, since I started my system, the Solar Charge Controller, "PV Charger" in VRM, has 'disappeared' from the VRM screen, then returned shortly thereafter.

The SCC is a Victron 150/35, and is connected to my VenusOS pi by a genuine Victron VE.Direct to USB cable.

The "Device List" in VRM still shows the SCC as seen 3 minutes ago. The SCC returned to the VRM screen a few minutes later.

The SCC is 'off' when this has happened, early morning/no sun yet....

Here is an image...The PV Charger returned to the right side a few minutes later ....

Screenshot_20240331-063957.png
 
It's either the MPPT, the cable or the RPi itself.

Does it the RPi have any power saving feature on the USB port?

What's your logging interval? Last updated 3 minutes ago means VRM hasn't received ANY data from the RPi for 3 minutes. It's either a connectivity issue between the RPi and VRM or an issue with VRM itself.
 
5 minutes is my interval. The other devices never disappear. And in the instance shown, the charger showed up in about 2 minutes.

I have disabled Bluetooth and WiFi on the pi, (and have a PoE hat for network connectivity). I have not modified CPU frequency, LEDs, or other things I could do for reducing power consumption.

I am willing to say this is a bad cable or USB port, but have only seen it twice, so I will continue to watch. I would expect, however, to see that the PV charger was only seen more than my interval ago if it disappears, which is not the case. The Device List shows it was seen less than 5 minutes ago when this happens.
 
sunshine_eggo said:
I use a 1m interval, and when I'm live viewing VRM, I see "realtime" and not "updated x min ago"

Maybe give 1m interval a shot? You're only using a small amount of bandwidth. :)
Click to expand...
If I see it again I'll go to 1 minute. I may also swap USB ports and/or cables.

I may ask the same on the Victron Community.

Note: disabling Bluetooth and WiFi saved me just under a Watt from my mental calculation/eyeballing. 😄
 
Last edited:
I'd first try a different USB port, then a different cable. Have not seen this on my RPi running Venus OS.
 
Ok, I now have a reproducible case.

1. I have 150/35 solar charge controller (SCC).
2. It connects to the pi using a VE.Direct USB cable (genuine, not a self-made one)
3. It is using firmware 1.63

The disappearing SCC happens just after I do a firmware scan in VRM. After it finishes, if I go back to the dashboard, it is not there, but returns within my interval (currently 5 minutes). I have now done this 4 times in a row, one right after the other.

The firmware scan probably interrupts, resets, or otherwise interferes with the VE.Direct protocol...

Perhaps there are other times it disappears, and I am not sure if my original post above was due to a firmware scan....
 
cdsolar said:
Ok, I now have a reproducible case.

1. I have 150/35 solar charge controller (SCC).
2. It connects to the pi using a VE.Direct USB cable (genuine, not a self-made one)
3. It is using firmware 1.63

The disappearing SCC happens just after I do a firmware scan in VRM. After it finishes, if I go back to the dashboard, it is not there, but returns within my interval (currently 5 minutes). I have now done this 4 times in a row, one right after the other.

The firmware scan probably interrupts, resets, or otherwise interferes with the VE.Direct protocol...

Perhaps there are other times it disappears, and I am not sure if my original post above was due to a firmware scan....
Click to expand...
Can anyone confirm whether this happens in their setup with a VE.Direct SCC, either with a pi or true Cerbo?
 
Not for me on my CCGX

Settings -> VRM online portal shows last contact value.

Mine runs every 60 seconds and when I refresh the firmware scan, it immediately resets the the count. My 250/100 never drops off the dashboard.

I tried a 5 minute update interval and observed the same behavior. Once the Firmware scan completed and the devices were listed, the last contact counter reset to 0s. MPPT never dropped.
 
I'm using a Raspberry Pi and Venus OS. I just did a firmware scan and when I switched to dashboard the charge controllers were not there, but they showed up withing a few seconds. Sorry I didn't time everything and I can't say if this is normal behaviour. Doesn't seem to be a serious issue here.

I am typing this during a huge thunderstorm, our grid power is out, I have just over 50% left of my backup battery capacity, and I can hear at least one of my neighbors' backup generator running.
 
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