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EPEVER MPPT not working right, HELP!

I think the solar voltage “head room” needs to be several (like 5v) higher than the charge voltage. It’s possible that your SCC is waiting for higher voltage that it needs. Is there an input voltage range in the spec?

Is there a way to increase the voltage of your array by putting panels in series or something?
Sorry I have not read the entire thread, just the last 6 or 8 posts...(mia culpa)
I noticed the time it did charge the volts went up to the low 20s. That said Currently the sun is perfect and it’s still 13.8. And when I covered the panels and disconnect and reconnect the battery then uncover the panels they hit like 16 volts and drop back to 14.

What do you mean by input voltage? I currently have the boost reconnect set to 13.2 but the battery is now at 12.9 and it still won’t kick the boost back on. The panels and my solar charge controller have been working great for 3 years of daily use now so I don’t think my panels wiring set up is the problem. Thank you for the reply. I am wondering if somehow my solar charge controller and the battery bms are working against each other
 
What do you mean by input voltage
The SCC input voltage range. If you are charging at 13-14v, I would expect the SCC needs 16v+ to start trying to charge. Your Epever manual should specify what the input voltage range is.

I noticed the time it did charge the volts went up to the low 20s.
By “the volts” are you saying the array voltage was 20v?
This is certainly enough head room for the SCC to start charging so I am not surprised it worked. 13.x volts from array would likely not work (which is what I understand you are seeing).
 
The SCC input voltage range. If you are charging at 13-14v, I would expect the SCC needs 16v+ to start trying to charge. Your Epever manual should specify what the input voltage range is.


By “the volts” are you saying the array voltage was 20v?
This is certainly enough head room for the SCC to start charging so I am not surprised it worked. 13.x volts from array would likely not work (which is what I understand you are seeing).
It looks like the Battery input voltage range is between 8v-32v.

By “the volts” I mean the reading in this photo on the left side. I noticed today with sunlight and no clouds or fog the units did not change. Now with the fog that just rolled in half an hour ago the reading for that is not changing at all and still shows the same reading as when the sun was out and shining.
 

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No, SOLAR input. What is that range?
I can’t find it in the manual I must be blind looked multiple times. I have had my current solar system up and functioning for 3 years now and have never had these problems. Especially with full sunlight, the mt50 reading 14v and 0 amps is not Normal. The system won’t even trigger the boost reconnect when the battery goes under the value required to trigger the charge, even in full blast of the sun at high noon When the panels should be happiest.
 
Wondering if it is a Firmware issue. What firmware version are, those that are having a problem, running?
 
Wondering if it is a Firmware issue. What firmware version are, those that are having a problem, running?

well I got a new solar charge controller and set it up and no luck still the same problem so I guess it’s the panels gotta check those.
 
New here so please be gentle. I am having the same issue with volts but no amps. I put a Micrometer on the panels and was getting 21.5v @ 10.7a for my 2 100W panels. Seems high honestly. I have the Tracer 3210AN. At that time I was showing 21v on the controller with 0.0a. I checked on the BMS for my Lifepo4 12v 4s setup and the battery was showing that it was in overvoltage protection mode and not charging. The Tracer was set to default SEL battery. I did disconnect everything and let it set for a few minutes then reconnected. Everything came back up with the controller showing volts and amps and the battery charging then as soon as the BMS kicked off overvoltage protection again, the controller went back to showing 21v and 0.0a.

Decided to let it (and me) rest overnight so this morning when I checked on it, the overvoltage error on the BMS was cleared and the battery was back to charging and the contoller showing 18v @ 1.2a (very cloudy and early).

I don't have any illusions that the problem is resolved yet, but I am thinking the issue related to my battery setup/ BMS.

Dave
 
I am thinking the issue related to my battery setup/ BMS.
Yes agree. The sealed battery settings are a boost charge of 14.4 volts and a default boost time of 2 hours.
Reduce the boost voltages to a lower value, 14.2 volts or less and the boost duration to zero or 15 minutes.
If the BMS keeps stopping charge the most likely issue is the cells being not balanced. Keep lowering the boost volts until the problem is resolved.
Float at 13.4v or lower and boost reconnect lower than float.

I put a Micrometer on the panels and was getting 21.5v @ 10.7a for my 2 100W panels
if those are the actual measured values , OC volts and SC amps, for two 100 watt panels in parallel then that is what is expected.

Mike
 
Yes agree. The sealed battery settings are a boost charge of 14.4 volts and a default boost time of 2 hours.
Reduce the boost voltages to a lower value, 14.2 volts or less and the boost duration to zero or 15 minutes.
If the BMS keeps stopping charge the most likely issue is the cells being not balanced. Keep lowering the boost volts until the problem is resolved.
Float at 13.4v or lower and boost reconnect lower than float.


if those are the actual measured values , OC volts and SC amps, for two 100 watt panels in parallel then that is what is expected.

Mike
Thanks Mike for the confirmation on the OC volts and SC amps.

I will need to figure out how to adjust the setting on the controller as the UI is not great. I do think balancing is an issue on my battery as I have one cell showing lower voltage than the other 3.

Dave
 
Just to close out my issue of charging voltage good, but amps going to zero. After Epever confirmed it was an issue with the controller, the Amazon seller I purchased it from agreed to replace it under warranty. I had to pay shipping both ways, but I complained to Amazon about that and Amazon agreed to give me a $50 gift card to make up for it. The replacement came quickly, brand new in the box.

I have now upgraded my home to a much larger system, and so have not tested the replacement controller. I think I will use it in an out building or trailer some day. So I can't confirm the replacement works (yet), but thought I'd share the warranty replacement part of the story. It took a lot of back and forth and photos and videos before Epever agreed the unit was faulty, but overall it pretty decent customer service.
 
I just thought I'd share this here because I was having the same problem as the original post, and figured it out, or at least got it working. I was using an Epever Tracer 4210 (40A) with two 300W panels in series, 12V system. It worked fine this way for about a month, then I started only seeing 80V, and 0.0A on the PV side, and it wasn't charging the batteries. If I restarted or factory reset the controller it would work for a few minutes, then go back to ~80V and 0.0A.

The 4210 specs say maximum charge power is 520W (so I was exceeding that), but max PV array power 720W, which I was under. And it worked fine for a month. The manual says something about the controller cutting the power even if you put more than 520W into it, so I thought I was fine, but apparently it decided it didn't like it anymore. I'm just glad I didn't damage it.

I removed one panel, so now only have 300W going into the controller, and everything is working great again. Not sure if there are some settings one can tweak to make it run with a second 300W panel in series (which the manual says should work), but I'm good with just the single panel, as this is a temporary system and will get me by.
Hi, i have a Ep ever 1206 an, totally different model, but i had the same issues, found out a few strange things, with ep ever, they are very sensitive.
one thing is that in your models manual, it should state a diagram with panels and max voltage (see image 1), this is basically the setup you need to configure, i made the mistake to join my panels of 22VOC in series, therefor going over the 40V , as you can see from image 1, then it cuts, over volts protection, It will to the same with the wattage, so in my case 145 Watt, i connected two panels of 90watt/4 amps/22VOC in parallel and the issue was solved.
Another thing I noticed, is that the settings for the battery are also set very sensitive, i have a 12 volt battery pack made of 18650's and i used the site below to setup the battery parameters for the EP ever, i did have to tweak the float charging value and the boast reconnect, if not it would throttle down in amps, with boost you get that max MPPT in amps.
Battery setup settings: https://www.brynux.com/configure-epever-tracer-lithium

I hope this helps
 

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So I stumbled across this thread as I have a Tracer 4215BN less than a year old that started exhibiting the same problems as the OP... after following through all of this (as I am a novice still), I've verified voltage input, battery charge status, all connections, reset multiple times, disconnected... and still nothing. I dug up an email for Epever and sent a query, and they responded in less than 24 hours! We'll see where it gets me. In the meantime, I'll get another CC, but more than likely a different brand. My system is not critical - it powers my external lighting and workshop needs. While perhaps a tired thread - any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated. FWIW, I've learned all my solar "skills" via Youtube.
Thanks
Marc
 
Could you please explain your reset procedure?

All lights on my charge controller are out. The remote display is blank/off. The battery seems dead, but I have it on a wall charger as I write this.

I'll let it charge overnight for now. I thought it was the cloudy weather that caused this, but now I see the lights out state of the controller, I think differently.

I have cycled the main breaker, and the block fuse looked good.
 
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