MPP Solar LV2424 code 04

Recently i did some testing on my battery bank to confirm AH capacity, i have an LV2424 and 4 100AH renogy gel batteries, 2Sx2P, i set it to a maximum D.O.D of 24v, it wont let me set any voltage over 24v, i want it to be 24.6 but it wont let me, any way, i tested it with 300w average continuos load, and i checked from time to time to confirm the voltage, after an hour, the voltage was 25.1v, but the it shows code 04, in the manual says it means low battery, but i dont think is low, extra info i turn on the pump for a moment to see how the voltage drops, after this is when code 04 appeared, my theory is that voltage went down and then up again, i could not see at the moment because the pump and the inverter are in different places. My pump takes the inverter to 1.5kw on peak after that goes to 1kw continuos load for a minute and then it turns off, do you think there is some wrong with my bank? The batteries havent really be cycled even once, they brand new

You have a couple of places you need to set the cutoff voltage - Setting 19 (low DC cutoff) and 21 - Battery stop discharging when grid is available. 21 assumes your connected to Grid for ac charging and supplemental power. If yes then set these both to the same setting (or as close as possible) I've found that as you approach the DC cutoff number say 1/2 a volt or maybe a little more it will begin flashing 04 telling you that you're close to cutoff. Note that it will cutoff based on the battery voltage the inverter sees while under load. In other words you're seeing the voltage dip due to the load, the inverter is seeing your voltage approaching your cutoff voltage and flashing 04. When the load stops the fault code stops. That said I think your bank is fine

Thanks for the info, thats what i thought, i believe mpp manuals are not clear about their menus, the test was done without grid power to simulate a real power outage

Agreed - Manuals are not clear at all!

How do you clear the warning codes on the unit when one triggers?

If you don't have the software, then you'll need to map this to setting numbers. But, it can help make it more clear when you see this screen:



I personally haven't run the batteries down, yet. I have AC in and try to keep a decent level in case grid goes down. So, I keep the battery recharge voltage when utility is available setting much higher then the battery out-of-voltage setting.

For me, it is about ensuring PV doesn't get wasted while minimizing DoD. Whether PV goes to batteries or load, I don't care, as long as batteries have a high SoC at the end of the day.

Venezuela Solar said:

Recently i did some testing on my battery bank to confirm AH capacity, i have an LV2424 and 4 100AH renogy gel batteries, 2Sx2P, i set it to a maximum D.O.D of 24v, it wont let me set any voltage over 24v, i want it to be 24.6 but it wont let me, any way,

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I'm struggling to understand why you would want to set a low voltage cut-off above 24V. A battery voltage of 24V would indicate a state of charge of around 50-60%, why would you want your inverter to cut-off above this?

Venezuela Solar said:

Extra info i turn on the pump for a moment to see how the voltage drops, after this is when code 04 appeared, my theory is that voltage went down and then up again, i could not see at the moment because the pump and the inverter are in different places. My pump takes the inverter to 1.5kw on peak after that goes to 1kw continuos load for a minute and then it turns off,

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What kind of pump, submersable, 2wire, 3wire? If you are looking at the inverter's display and noting 1500W at startup, what I would suggest is that the display is not fast enough to record the true starting wattage. With my wellpump, I found that using a regular amp meter, it read 17amps at startup and 10amps running. The number 17 was just a blink of an eye moment before settling down to 10. When I bought a more sophisticated meter DESIGNED for measuring starting current, the number was 37-38amps, or about 4X the running current.

What I think is happening here is that at startup, your pump is actually pulling 4000W at startup and then settles down to 1000W once running. Assuming the battery was at 25V at startup, it needs to supply 160amps for about 1 second. 160 amps out of a 200AH battery bank is a lot. What is the total output of your solar array? At what times does the pump turn on? I think a real-world test of this is starting the pump at noon, when the batteries are fully charged, and the array is at maximum output. If the pump starts without an error code, then I think that demonstrates that the problem is voltage drop because the battery can't handle the demand.

MichaelK said:

What kind of pump, submersable, 2wire, 3wire? If you are looking at the inverter's display and noting 1500W at startup, what I would suggest is that the display is not fast enough to record the true starting wattage. With my wellpump, I found that using a regular amp meter, it read 17amps at startup and 10amps running. The number 17 was just a blink of an eye moment before settling down to 10. When I bought a more sophisticated meter DESIGNED for measuring starting current, the number was 37-38amps, or about 4X the running current.

What I think is happening here is that at startup, your pump is actually pulling 4000W at startup and then settles down to 1000W once running. Assuming the battery was at 25V at startup, it needs to supply 160amps for about 1 second. 160 amps out of a 200AH battery bank is a lot. What is the total output of your solar array? At what times does the pump turn on? I think a real-world test of this is starting the pump at noon, when the batteries are fully charged, and the array is at maximum output. If the pump starts without an error code, then I think that demonstrates that the problem is voltage drop because the battery can't handle the demand.

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The maximum wattage i have got from the arrangement is 1200w, the arrangement is 1340w, also i havent test it to the maximum except that one time of the pump and i dint have solar panels at that moment, i think you are right about the high demand this pump is centrifugal pump i think, it is not sumergible, its the other kind

tictag said:

I'm struggling to understand why you would want to set a low voltage cut-off above 24V. A battery voltage of 24V would indicate a state of charge of around 50-60%, why would you want your inverter to cut-off above this?

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I have been using a 12v table, im not sure is right, it says that 12.3 is about 50%, thats my target

Venezuela Solar said:

I have been using a 12v table, im not sure is right, it says that 12.3 is about 50%, thats my target

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I've actually had a similar experience with my own pump. I set my 48V system to 47.5V with a similar train of thought, and I found that starting my pump also give a low voltage warning. It was annoying more than a real problem. I set the voltage warning back to the default and have forgotten about it.

MichaelK said:

I've actually had a similar experience with my own pump. I set my 48V system to 47.5V with a similar train of thought, and I found that starting my pump also give a low voltage warning. It was annoying more than a real problem. I set the voltage warning back to the default and have forgotten about it.

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Yeah it doesnt really change anything, it is just there showing and i turned off the beeping sound but i kind of hate that code there blinking

I have set my cut =off to 23.8, and even when the battery gets below that, it stays connected !!
Inverter keeps running. What mode does it have to be in for the cut-off to work?

I have my cutoff at 22.6V on my LV2424 with a 2S2P bank of Lion Energy LiFePO4s. I had it cut off successfully without having to reset the BMS on the batteries despite two of my batteries being lower than the other two at that point, at their lowest point based on the built-in LED meter gauge... blinking. I used that opportunity to bottom balance while disconnected from the LV2424. So with them balanced, 22.6V is an even safer cuttoff.

I learned that the unique LED meter in the Lions is a great feature as it appeared to have nothing to do with voltage, but a true capacity measure. I wouldn't of been able to bottom balance with just a voltage meter without going through the full balancing in parallel requiring reconfiguring my batteries. But, cuz the meter reflected capacity, I didn't have to change anything on the bank. I just charged the individual batteries with my 12V AC charger until the meters were all at the same level.

erik.calco said:

I have my cutoff at 22.6V on my LV2424 with a 2S2P bank of Lion Energy LiFePO4s. I had it cut off successfully without having to reset the BMS on the batteries despite two of my batteries being lower than the other two at that point, at their lowest point based on the built-in LED meter gauge... blinking. I used that opportunity to bottom balance while disconnected from the LV2424. So with them balanced, 22.6V is an even safer cuttoff.

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What mode is the inverter in? Grid tie, Load-Battery-Utilty, etc.
Thanks John

Johnb7 said:

What mode is the inverter in? Grid tie, Load-Battery-Utilty, etc.
Thanks John

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I presume you mean output source priority:



I must of had it on Solar-Battery-Utility that day because this is the setting that can drain your battery at night or on rainy days quickly. But I normally have it on Solar-Utility-Battery, which is where it is now. But, I actually change that periodically. This morning, with the battery bank full, and knowing we were getting a full day of sun, I put it on Solar-Battery-Utility for about 90 minutes before 10am, when production kicks up, to use up some of the battery. Then I switched it back to Solar-Utility-Battery.

I'm conditionally changing settings to maximize PV usage while maintaining a high SoC. It's not fun doing this manually. But, I plan to create software that talks to the LV2424 and will use the logic I use to automate changing these setting changes based on criteria.

The Solar power priority setting you referenced just impacts what it is doing with PV and has no impact at night. I did toggle that one today too. Had it on Load-Battery most of the day, then switched it to Battery-Load around 3:30pm so the battery could get full again.

The next two days are forecast to be low production due to rain. But, you will use the battery to run the inverter even if you are using utility for loads. It's very low, but adds up over days. My discharge will toggle between 0 and 1 amp during this time. For now I have it trickle charging 2A for 1 hour at night. But, I'll keep an eye on it. I can increase it if I see voltage get lower.

This is all stuff I plan to automate. I want to get where I achieve my goals while being completely hands off. Until I write software, it appears as though you need to toggle these setting if you want to (a) maximize PV utilization and (b) minimize AC charging. If you don't care about those things, you can set it and forget it.

OK, Great. I am also doing the same. With it on Solar-Util-Battery, the Shore power puts a charge on the battery when it gets low. You said your does the cut-off. Does the inverter turn OFF or just do an AC bypass? I just purchased the Outback Flex60 and hooked it up like Bill P. did on his video. One major advantage I found (being a ham operator) is that the RF noise I was getting on my HF rig is now GONE !!! The LV2424 puts out quite a broad spectrum of noise when converting Solar to DC. The Outback is Quiet !! I also write software and wanted to get the serial commands for the unit. Might need to use Wireshark. Let me know if you get closer to working on that. 73's John

Johnb7 said:

OK, Great. I am also doing the same. With it on Solar-Util-Battery, the Shore power puts a charge on the battery when it gets low. You said your does the cut-off. Does the inverter turn OFF or just do an AC bypass? I just purchased the Outback Flex60 and hooked it up like Bill P. did on his video. One major advantage I found (being a ham operator) is that the RF noise I was getting on my HF rig is now GONE !!! The LV2424 puts out quite a broad spectrum of noise when converting Solar to DC. The Outback is Quiet !! I also write software and wanted to get the serial commands for the unit. Might need to use Wireshark. Let me know if you get closer to working on that. 73's John

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Unfortunately, it turned the inverter off, so I woke up with my lights off, internet down, etc,...

I presume this is because the inverter needs battery power to run. I can't remember the exact state of the system, whether LED display was on or what. But, it definitely quit outputting via AC OUT despite utility being available.

But IDK if this could be prevented with different settings. Here is when I posted that morning:


In my case, I use the Reliance Transfer Switch panel. So, as soon as I woke up I just switched that load onto normal grid w/o the inverter. I needed to do that anyway because I also discovered I needed to bottom balance my bank with my 12V AC charger. So, I had to leave my bank offline from the inverter for the rest of the day while I did that.

If your settings are correct when the batteries reach DC cutoff voltage it should cut over to grid. The only time I've had that not happen was when I had one of my batteries hit a BMS low voltage cutoff killing the whole pack and making the inverters think there was no battery attached. That condition shutoff the inverters without a bypass to grid power. Setting 01 is set to SBU and 10 is set to CSO. Setting 5 is set to LBU I tried BLU but it seems to immediately cut over to grid covering the loads while the solar charges the battery. Everything seems to work as desired. However in my case I'm looking to run down the batteries in the evening and recharge with grid if necessary. Then in the AM solar picks up both loads and charging. I recognize Erik and I have different use cases

On a side note I'm seeing pretty high idle consumption. Using a battery meter I'm seeing 3-4 amps continuous coming from the batteries. (Two inverters) via the shunt. This is compared to say a combined 12-15 watts in the inverters display. 3-4amps? Isn't that like 80 watts?!

Mac6792 said:

If your settings are correct when the batteries reach DC cutoff voltage it should cut over to grid. The only time I've had that not happen was when I had one of my batteries hit a BMS low voltage cutoff killing the whole pack and making the inverters think there was no battery attached. That condition shutoff the inverters without a bypass to grid power. Setting 01 is set to SBU and 10 is set to CSO. Setting 5 is set to LBU I tried BLU but it seems to immediately cut over to grid covering the loads while the solar charges the battery. Everything seems to work as desired. However in my case I'm looking to run down the batteries in the evening and recharge with grid if necessary. Then in the AM solar picks up both loads and charging. I recognize Erik and I have different use cases

On a side note I'm seeing pretty high idle consumption. Using a battery meter I'm seeing 3-4 amps continuous coming from the batteries. (Two inverters) via the shunt. This is compared to say a combined 12-15 watts in the inverters display. 3-4amps? Isn't that like 80 watts?!

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You are right about the idle consumption, its about 50w for each inverter, i have one lv2424 and with the shunt i realise that the idle consumption of the inverter is not shown, the consumption you se in the screen i really dont know what it is, but it is those 5 to 12w plus the load you see in the shunt