EG4 dead, will a EG4 LL work in parallel once I have it fixed?

[Kyle_E]

My EG4 died, bad cell I assume (only 44 cycles grrrrrrr) doing the email thing for service with Signature Solar. I'm sure they will get me straightened out eventually but time is an issue.

I can get the newer EG4LL local and put that in my system. Once the old EG4 is fixed/replaced will they play nice in parallel with my growatt 3000? Hate to spend that type of money, but if it is going to be a multiple weeks repair deal with shipping both ways, I can't wait for that long.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Given that you're already in dialogue with SS, is there a reason you haven't asked them?

@SignatureSolarJames
@BenFromSignatureSolar

 

[Kyle_E]

Given that you're already in dialogue with SS, is there a reason you haven't asked them?

@SignatureSolarJames
@BenFromSignatureSolar

Was hoping to get a quick and easy answer here from nice knowledgeable people so I would have a game plan moving forward once they get back to me on the "fix".

Given the tech has asked for the same readings a second time I thought not confusing the current support ticket any further might be the best idea. 100% not a complaint can't stress enough how happy I am to call a number and speak to someone I can understand in tech support. Sure they are working on dozens of tickets and calls at the same time and easy to miss something especially dealing with an idiot like me.

 

[BenFromSignatureSolar]

Have you hooked up to the BMS monitoring software and viewed the cell voltages? That should tell you real quick what's going on and if the battery has a bad cell or if it is another issue.

 

[BenFromSignatureSolar]

check this video out

 

[Kyle_E]

Have you hooked up to the BMS monitoring software and viewed the cell voltages? That should tell you real quick what's going on and if the battery has a bad cell or if it is another issue.

Yep, Just waiting for Nicholas to get back to me. Sent him all the "stuff" needed to diagnose the problem. Assume he will get back to me by end of day to let me know what we are going to do for replacement/repair whatever.

For the heck of it I'll post it here. As you can see went from 65% to 0% in an instant. Not under any type of real load. Maybe 200-250 Watts. Battery is stuck in fault state and saying it is a 0%. Wont take charge from growatt, solar or AC input. I don't know much about this kind of thing, but assume this is telling me cell 1 is dead.

 

[BenFromSignatureSolar]

Can you get me your email address so I can pull up your ticket? Dm the address to stay confidential if you'd like

 

[Kyle_E]

Can you get me your email address so I can pull up your ticket? Dm the address to stay confidential if you'd like

glockgoboom@gmail.com

Just literally got an email from Nicholas saying he was having to turn it over to level 2 support and I should be hearing from them shortly.

 

[Bluedog225]

“multiple weeks”. ??????

 

[BenFromSignatureSolar]

My EG4 died, bad cell I assume (only 44 cycles grrrrrrr) doing the email thing for service with Signature Solar. I'm sure they will get me straightened out eventually but time is an issue.

I can get the newer EG4LL local and put that in my system. Once the old EG4 is fixed/replaced will they play nice in parallel with my growatt 3000? Hate to spend that type of money, but if it is going to be a multiple weeks repair deal with shipping both ways, I can't wait for that long.

If you get a replacement LL and it is a different version than the one you put in your system, the firmware will need to be updated in order for them to communicate properly. But they will work just fine together.

 

[DougfromdaUP]

With your average cell voltage so low, you can bet that that SOC of 60% was way off.

When you get your new battery I recommend not discharging it so low that the BMS shuts it off. I think that practice will pay dividends.

 

[Kyle_E]

With your average cell voltage so low, you can bet that that SOC of 60% was way off.

When you get your new battery I recommend not discharging it so low that the BMS shuts it off. I think that practice will pay dividends.

I've been running it for 3 months full time off grid. The numbers are consistent. I don't check the voltages, but the battery percent is consistent from 80% at midnight down to 65% or so at 7-8am every single day. I have minimal load overnight, when fridge is running around 100 Watt load 30min on 30 off give or take and 20 Watt load in the off time.

Maybe the BMS is giving incorrect readings, but its been that way for nearly a year on random boondocking a few days here and there.

 

[DougfromdaUP]

I've had three since last May, and added two more, and have noticed that the bms estimate of SOC can be way off. If you don't get a full charge for a couple of days it will be a poor estimate. Especially if you have light loads. Mine are the 48v 100Ah version, and on those the BMS doesn't keep good track of power if the current is less than 2 amps. So light loads make it really inaccurate.

I really recommend using BMS_test , and watching your batteries as they go through a couple of charge cycles. Then you will have a good idea of how they're performing, and you can see when you should stop drawing them down.

I think you should look into implementing some kind of a voltage trigger to shut your inverter off, and not rely on SOC readings.
Watching the SOC reported by the bms through a few cloudy days will drive home how poor an estimate of reality it is.

Many users recommend a shunt and battery monitor to track it, which is great if you have the extra money.

 

[Kyle_E]

I really recommend using BMS_test

Many users recommend a shunt and battery monitor to track it, which is great if you have the extra money.

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it. I am charging to 90% every night and actually do use the bms test however I don't recall ever looking at anything other than the charge %. Will absolutely change that up once up and running again.

 

[Koldsimer]

Try charging to 100% with a nice long absorb time of a couple hours. Rinse and repeat for several cycles and i bet things will improve. I bet you have a lagging cell or two and the modules are not getting fully charged or top balanced at all. This will likely let individual cells dip into the LVCO range and that's what causing the issue.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Try charging to 100% with a nice long absorb time of a couple hours. Rinse and repeat for several cycles and i bet things will improve. I bet you have a lagging cell or two and the modules are not getting fully charged or top balanced at all. This will likely let individual cells dip into the LVCO range and that's what causing the issue.

+1000. These batteries need to be regularly charged to sufficiently high voltage... and held there... to allow the cells to balance.

 

[Kyle_E]

Try charging to 100% with a nice long absorb time of a couple hours. Rinse and repeat for several cycles and i bet things will improve. I bet you have a lagging cell or two and the modules are not getting fully charged or top balanced at all. This will likely let individual cells dip into the LVCO range and that's what causing the issue.

Will not accept a charge at all. Stays in fault state. I left it hooked up for a day just to see if it would eventually kick over.

I really recommend using BMS_test , and watching your batteries as they go through a couple of charge cycles. Then you will have a good idea of how they're performing, and you can see when you should stop drawing them down.

Been thinking about it. I did have BMS test open when I was charging off of generator every other day to top off (don't have enough solar) . The Shine app is so far behind I would use that to know when I hit 90%.

I remember the pack differential being small like 0.005~ when I would first look, and end of charge it would be 0.002. But I don't recall the individual pack voltages.

Just hope they get back to me tomorrow.