EPever MPPT Charge Controller Stuck On "Promote"

[efish]

Hi, I have a Epever Tracer BP Charge Controller that I am using to charge my newish 24v LiFEPo4 battery bank.

Previously, the same controller and panel array were used to charge a 12v AGM bank for years without issue. I connect to the charge controller via the bluetooth module and the current EPever Pair android app.

I have gone through the various posts on this forum setting out the lithium battery settings for to be used with the EPever charge controllers.

However, no matter what charge settings I input, it seems that the charge mode is shown to be as "Promote" and the charge current is held under 0.1v. In a recent example, my solar array voltage is at 77.09V, the battery voltage is at 26.59V and the charge current is only 0.07A. This was after the battery had been used where the voltage dropped to 24.23v under load. I think my boost voltage at that instance was 28.6v.

Initially, I thought the lithium batteries were just super efficient and the batteries were getting recharged in the time between they got used and when I checked such that by the time I checked, they were already being float charged. However, that went out the window when after about a month, the batteries showed a low voltage and had to be manually recharged with a wall charger. After being recharged, the batteries appeared to be ok and would still hold a charge and support a load.

I have tried swapping out the charge controller (I have a spare) but to no avail. What is the EPever "Promote" mode? Do I have a setting issue, an issue with my solar array or does the charge controller just not support 24v batteries despite its claimed capabilities?

Thank you so much for helping!

 

[rodrick]

You may have to get a mt50 remote for the unit to program user spec for your battery other methods like blue tooth some times won’t work the mt50 is the best way to program those units

 

[littleharbor2]

Is there any chance your controller thinks you're still a 12 volt system?

 

[efish]

Thanks for the suggestions rodrick and littleharbour2.

I had manually configured all the settings with the EPever Pair App. Also checked and rechecked all connectors and wiring.

Eventually, I contacted EPever directly on issue as well. Even after I had provided them the spec sheet for my batteries and followed their suggested manual settings, the same issues persisted and the charge current never exceeded 0.07A despite the panels showing good voltage.

Finally, I bit the bullet and tried charge controller from a different manufacturer this morning. Instantly, everything worked as it should and the panels were delivering charge again.

I am sorry to say it, but it looks like the TracerBP charge controller just cannot deal with a 24v lithium battery setup. To confirm this, I connected a spare TracerBP charge controller I had to the setup this morning and experienced similar issues. I haven't tried it with a 12v lithium battery setup so I cannot comment if that would work.

I had been a big fan of the Tracer BP charge controller when I was running AGMs but this experience has changed that - at the very least, the factory should have been upfront and just said that it is not capable of working with a 24v Lithium battery.

Hope this helps anyone who happens down this path...

 

[Any name you wish]

What is the exact model number of the charge controller? Some of the BP cannot take the 77V input.