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  1. J

    Need help with A/C Neutral and Ground w/Growatt inverter...

    Hi, As the original poster to this thread, I can say that I've been very happy with the Growatt inverter. It's been running now for about 8 months 24x7. Every day, it's used for charging a PHEV (plug-in hybrid car) and keeping a garage refrigerator and a stand-alone freezer running. In power...
  2. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    That's what makes projects like this fun... learnings things! So moral of the story... ground the batteries (and cabinet) to the same ground as the inverter! Just like the instructions say to do! :rolleyes: So what are your battery dip switch settings? Mine are: Battery 1 (Master) - D D...
  3. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Thanks very much for double checking the cables!! I know it was probably a hassle but much appreciated! At first (the other day) I was thinking in terms of Ethernet and it would of been a problem. But I was overlooking the fact that they talk in RS485 which is indeed a two wire transmission...
  4. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Hi... Could you confirm that you found your battery to battery cables to be pin-to-pin with none crossed. Thanks!
  5. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Good job testing all your cables. I know what you mean about needing a magnifying glass. Previously I tried just testing with my multi-meter but the meter's test leads were to thick to make contact with the little pins in the connectors. Anyway, with five batteries I only needed four of the...
  6. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Ya, I hear ya! But that's where a tester comes in. It can check for split-pairs. That's odd that your short cables (supplied with batteries?) don't show pins 1 and 2 crossed. All mine do. Of course, on the tester even that seems intermittent. Sometimes they are crossed and other times not...
  7. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    I figured testing the cables was a VERY big long shot but I pulled all the short battery to battery cables off (not being used in US2 mode anyway) and dug out an RJ45 tester I had. And sure enough, out of five cables showing only pins 1 & 2 crossed, ONE cable also showed pins 4 & 5 crossed...
  8. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    I notice in the battery manual it says it uses pins 7 and 8 for data on it's communication port. RG45B spec. says that pins 7 and 8 are Bi-Directional Transmit + and -. So that's fine. I pulled all the battery to battery cables (the little ones supplied with batteries). I tested all four on...
  9. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Thanks for all your help in trying to figure out this mystery! I'll continue to post here any new things tried and results. In the mean time, I'll switch back to US2 settings.
  10. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Also, does your guy have the same two Growatt inverters and using the same settings on both?
  11. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    I changed setting 14 to OSO, turned the inverter off, waited and then back on. I did not power cycle the batteries though. Sadly, nothing changed. Your guy is getting the same capped solar power with Li setting??? If so, he should contact Ethan Rogers at Signature Solar and let him know...
  12. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    No, I hadn't tried OSO. I'll go do that right now...
  13. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Smart? Don't know about that. But prior to retiring I was a software engineer so pretty use to debugging things. I did switch setting 14 to CSO. Well... I did the test (swapping which battery was master, changed all dip switches accordingly and changed battery type back to Li). And guess...
  14. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Here is my thinking on setting 14 (I could very easily be wrong!)... first the manual says that the setting is only used when in "line" (utility), standby, or fault mode. It says when in "battery mode" only solar is used. So with setting 1 at "SbU" does setting 14 even matter UNLESS the...
  15. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    I believe the 12K inverter draws 150W when ON and no other load. Over 12 hours that's 1.8kWh. Anyway, I've read here that it's common for the SoC to be stuck at 100% since without BMS communications, the inverter won't know what the SoC is. So maybe that's to be expected with the US2...
  16. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    No problem with overwhelming. I really appreciate the help! I like to learn things and then enjoy helping others as well. This mornings energy chart shows (see attached) the solar kicking in around 6:30am and the inverter probably using it to top off the battery. Then started a heavy load at...
  17. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Thanks for your continued thoughts on this very confusing problem! Let me describe to the best of my understanding. Prior to changing the battery type to US2, I would check the value of setting #2 (Max Charging Current) via the web Dashboard. I could never set this setting because in Li mode...
  18. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Some progress... After trying everything S.S. could suggest (including updating firmware, etc.) they advised that I switch to US2 (at least as a test). So I switched it to US2 with the following settings #2 = 150A, #11 = 40A, #12 = 46V, #13=54V, #19=57V, #20=56V, #21=44V. Immediately my...
  19. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Oh also... earlier when you said your firmware version was 511.3, did you mean 511.03? I assume probably just a typo but wanted to double check that I'm using the same exact one. Also, I just discovered that you can see the firmware version in the on-line Dashboard by hovering over the little...
  20. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Oh... the inverter is hooked to the mains for grid power for when batteries are low. But I have that breaker off right now. Want to get the solar side of things working before adding in that factor.
  21. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Thanks! I'll do that. Then wait until tomorrow to see if any change.
  22. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Thanks for checking your version! The only difference is you power cycled the inverter and I just went on testing after the firmware was updated. So I'll try that. Once batteries are turned off, do I need to bleed the inverter cap. to REALLY shut it down? Then turn everything back on? Or...
  23. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Thanks, I'll try powering down everything again post firmware update. You never know. The firmware file name for mine was: TMS320F28035_GW511.03_202107121519.bin Know idea what the actual version number is in all that!
  24. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    When you say "power down" after updating firmware do you mean you just turned the inverter to OFF with it's switch? I know when off it's still kinda alive just not producing A/C. Or do you mean you literally powered down the batteries and let the inverter completely shut down?
  25. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    S.S. said I should be able to use Li battery type. Had me try some different battery dip switch settings. Didn't change anything. So got a firmware update and did that. Again, didn't change anything. After firmware update, I just left everything on. Do you need to power down batteries and...
  26. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Ok, thanks for the info. Good to know. Now just waiting to hear from S.S. to know which direction to go... update firmware or switch to USE battery type.
  27. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    I agree it would be nice to stay at Li setting. A S.S. how to video even says to use that setting. If updating the firmware is suggested, is it hard? Or is it like updating a Windows BIOS... you take a chance of bricking your system if something goes wrong! This has to be very common...
  28. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    I'll pass on what S.S. says. Here is today's solar power draw when charging a car. As you can see, the load is higher than the solar. And the solar power looks very controlled. Each time it stepped up it ran flat like it ran into a controlled limit. No natural variations, etc. as the day...
  29. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    Thanks for your reply! You're pretty much confirming what I thought was going on. I'm also wondering if for some reason the inverter thinks I only have ONE battery (not the FIVE that I have) and it is properly keeping the Max Charge Current at 50A (which is reasonable for a single battery)...
  30. J

    Growatt Maximum Charge Current setting...

    I fired up my new DIY solar system which uses the Growatt 12kW Inverter + Five EG4 48V batteries + 16 440W panels (7kW maximum). Yesterday the solar power draw appeared to be being capped (full sun day). Thanks to my previous post here, I checked the inverter's Max Charge Current and I saw...
  31. J

    Is this normal solar output?

    Yup, already sent an email to Signature Solar to clarify these settings. Here is where the manual says it's not available with Li battery type. Funny, they say its default value is 80A but mine was set to 50A somehow. Also it makes reference to a "solar charging current" but I can't that...
  32. J

    Is this normal solar output?

    Yup, bought it from Signature Solar. I've already shot an email off to them. Hopefully will get a quick reply. At least I know what the issue obviously is. Just need now to clarify the proper inverter settings for my battery array so that the Max Charge Current setting becomes available...
  33. J

    Is this normal solar output?

    Ok, I got it! Sorry for not being totally familiar with these settings. Tried increasing the Max Charge Current but it won't let me. Reading in the manual I guess this option is not available if Li is selected as battery type. So I can change this to USE (User-Defined) to change the Max...
  34. J

    Is this normal solar output?

    Ok, I checked and I only see a max charge current and a max A/C charge current. I don't see a max PV charge current. The Max Charge Current is set to 50A (allowed is 0->180A). The Max A/C charge current is 30A (allowed is 0->30A). Right now I have the A/C feeding the inverter off. Would the...
  35. J

    Is this normal solar output?

    New to solar and just fired up my new DIY solar system that consists of a Growatt 12,000W inverter, 16 440W panels arranged in two arrays PV1 and PV2 going to the inverter (each array is 2 parallel sets of 4 panels in series). Also using 5 EG4 batteries. This morning the system started...
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