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Fault Code 61? - EG4 6500 EX

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Konvett

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Oct 7, 2022
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I recently had water get on two of my four EG4 48V LiFePo batteries. They both showed the Alarm icon, but the other two in my bank that didn't get wet were fine. I took the two batteries that got wet out of the bank, disassembled the top and face plate, and let them dry thoroughly in the sun. I turned each of them back on (disconnected from the bank or from one another) after drying for about 3-4 hours and the Alarm lights were gone.

I have now reconnected my entire battery bank to the two inverters. However, since my inverters and solar array were on during the time the other two were drying out, I now have the first two batteries at 100% and the two that were drying out are at about 30% (somewhere around there). When I connect everything back up, none of the batteries show an Alarm light, but the inverter that the BMS is connected to is now showing error code 61. Any ideas on what this means or what I can do to correct it? I've attached a picture of my configuration.
 

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Konvett said:
I recently had water get on two of my four EG4 48V LiFePo batteries. They both showed the Alarm icon, but the other two in my bank that didn't get wet were fine. I took the two batteries that got wet out of the bank, disassembled the top and face plate, and let them dry thoroughly in the sun. I turned each of them back on (disconnected from the bank or from one another) after drying for about 3-4 hours and the Alarm lights were gone.

I have now reconnected my entire battery bank to the two inverters. However, since my inverters and solar array were on during the time the other two were drying out, I now have the first two batteries at 100% and the two that were drying out are at about 30% (somewhere around there). When I connect everything back up, none of the batteries show an Alarm light, but the inverter that the BMS is connected to is now showing error code 61. Any ideas on what this means or what I can do to correct it? I've attached a picture of my configuration.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear about this common error -61 issue. Nice looking setup.

I am not convinced the alarm was indicating wetness. My LifePower4 show an alarm when the SOC is below about 25-30%. It is best to charge all the batteries to the same voltage before charging different voltage levels in parallel.

Code 61 is a known EG4 comms error. It typically occurs when the Ethernet plug is backwards between the Inverter and master battery. To clear it, change Ethernet cable direction and bring up the master battery first. If in EG4 mode 5 and code 61 hits in 2 mins of power on, how to USE and then back to EG4. I have given up on EG4 mode and have all EG4 inverters set to USE and set the following for optimum life and solar production:

Option 12 (back to util) 47V
Opt 13 (back to Batt) 48V
26 (bulk V) 56
27 (float V) 54.5

Hope this helps.

Jay
 
JCSchwarb said:
Sorry to hear about this common error -61 issue. Nice looking setup.

I am not convinced the alarm was indicating wetness. My LifePower4 show an alarm when the SOC is below about 25-30%. It is best to charge all the batteries to the same voltage before charging different voltage levels in parallel.

Code 61 is a known EG4 comms error. It typically occurs when the Ethernet plug is backwards between the Inverter and master battery. To clear it, change Ethernet cable direction and bring up the master battery first. If in EG4 mode 5 and code 61 hits in 2 mins of power on, how to USE and then back to EG4. I have given up on EG4 mode and have all EG4 inverters set to USE and set the following for optimum life and solar production:

Option 12 (back to util) 47V
Opt 13 (back to Batt) 48V
26 (bulk V) 56
27 (float V) 54.5

Hope this helps.

Jay
Click to expand...
This issue happened because of a rainy day where all four batteries were low (no sun all day) and the grid had kicked on to charge the batteries. Only the two batteries that were hit by rain had the alarm code and it only cleared once I dried them out (didn't charge them at all).

Anyway, code 61 seems to be gone now. However, I have a new issue:
I am getting 'F11' on the 2P2 inverter, which the manual says is "PV over voltage." I've completely disconnected the PV arrays from both inverters and it's still showing that code. It won't put any power out to the AC output.

I've tried isolating the battery bank to the two batteries that didn't alarm out as well as only the two that did. F11 is the fault code that persists. Any ideas?
 
JCSchwarb said:
Please describe your PV input total V and I and no. strings
Click to expand...
I have two arrays, each going into a separate inverter. One array has 8 panels (360V) going into the first inverter. One array has 10 panels (450V) going into the second inverter. Inverter 2 is the one giving the F11 error.

It's worth noting that the panel and battery configuration has not changed since I setup this system (in October) and it's been working perfectly fine until this issue with the water.
 
Last edited:
After further research I put both inverters in SIG mode. The first inverter works fine and provides 120v to my panel. The second inverter continues to display the F11 error. After putting the second inverter into SIG mode the alarm started sounding and I turned it off via programming option 18, alarms stopped and I was able to review other settings. I later powered down both inverters and turned them back on. The alarm began sounding on the second inverter again and programming option 18 had reverted. I'm wondering if the second inverter may just need a factory reset, is that possible? I don't see a programming option for that in the manual.
 
Konvett said:
After further research I put both inverters in SIG mode. The first inverter works fine and provides 120v to my panel. The second inverter continues to display the F11 error. After putting the second inverter into SIG mode the alarm started sounding and I turned it off via programming option 18, alarms stopped and I was able to review other settings. I later powered down both inverters and turned them back on. The alarm began sounding on the second inverter again and programming option 18 had reverted. I'm wondering if the second inverter may just need a factory reset, is that possible? I don't see a programming option for that in the manual.
Click to expand...
Have you tried plugging your PV into the PV2 slot? Try that. Each MPPT is isolated according to the vendor.
 
I tried that tonight. I also tried no PV inputs whatsoever. The F11 issue persists.
 
To check firmware version, on the main screen push the up button until U1 appears. The two numbers below are the version.

I also have the F11 fault on one of my EG4 6500ex. It will not go away and has stopped all charging/output. I even tried upgrading to the latest 79.61 firmware, as SS said would fix the issue (it did not fix the F11). I was running for 7 months prior to this. I don’t think PV input is the issue since I have not changed anything since starting the system. Any suggestions?
 
Matt solar said:
To check firmware version, on the main screen push the up button until U1 appears. The two numbers below are the version.

I also have the F11 fault on one of my EG4 6500ex. It will not go away and has stopped all charging/output. I even tried upgrading to the latest 79.61 firmware, as SS said would fix the issue (it did not fix the F11). I was running for 7 months prior to this. I don’t think PV input is the issue since I have not changed anything since starting the system. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
I just pestered them about getting my inverters replaced (it's been down for two weeks) and they finally got back to me saying that the 79.61 firmware would fix the issue. I tried flashing it (I used both the .exe files to do it, 'ArenaINVReflashTool.exe' and 'Remote Panel_ReflashTool.exe') and it's still showing F11.

I'm curious what steps you took to update the firmware?

I'm currently going back and forth via email with one of the tech support reps who is helping me flash it. Still waiting to hear back if I've done it properly. I am now on 79.61 though, as shown by the U1 display.
 

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Konvett said:
I just pestered them about getting my inverters replaced (it's been down for two weeks) and they finally got back to me saying that the 79.61 firmware would fix the issue. I tried flashing it (I used both the .exe files to do it, 'ArenaINVReflashTool.exe' and 'Remote Panel_ReflashTool.exe') and it's still showing F11.

I'm curious what steps you took to update the firmware?

I'm currently going back and forth via email with one of the tech support reps who is helping me flash it. Still waiting to hear back if I've done it properly. I am now on 79.61 though, as shown by the U1 display.
Click to expand...
I did the same steps you posted. I also am at the 79.61 version with the F11 still present. It’s basically a brick right now. I’m going on the second week of waiting for a response on from SS T2 tech. Seems the T1 tech I have been emailing can’t do anything more.
 
We should continue this discussion in this thread as it is where a lot of advice on a fix is being given:

diysolarforum.com

Fault Code F11? - EG4 6500EX

I've recently started getting Fault Code F11 on one of my two EG4 6500EX inverters. Two of my four batteries had to be removed from the battery bank because they got wet. I let them dry for hours, after which their alarm lights were cleared. While I was drying these two batteries (which we're...
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com
 
And if you disconnect all PV and restart the inverter, do you still get the error?
 
Konvett said:
I was using EG4 but I'm using USE now, per the instructions from the other thread.
Click to expand...
I didn’t want to mess with flashing the firmware, so relegated to USE. I have not read any arguments why EG4 mode is so widely sought as the proper default. I would rather tweak the settings and have more control than some factory deciding what is best. I couldn’t care less about their SOC calculations.
 
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