I would like to publicly thank Pete Thompson at Morningstar for resolving my issue in the absolute best way possible.
TL,DR; Morningstar Technical Support has the ability to do what they need to do to solve your issues, including replacing your ancient hardware! Thank you, Pete!
The background: I have two old Tristar TS-45 PWM charge controllers (one is a backup for the primary, and normally sits in its box). I am switching this installation from lead acid to LFP, so I needed to be able to program custom control settings into the controllers.
Without going into a long story, the backup unit was in service for a short time several years ago (I switched them so I could take the primary home to clean it and test it when I changed the batteries). For whatever reason, at some point the backup died with a "Voltage Sense" fault after only a short time in service. I put the primary back in service, where it continued to do its duty until this month.
With the backup unit at home (it still tries to function, but I can't trust it due to the hardware fault), I wanted to make sure of the procedure to load custom software before I tried at the off grid location. I was able to update the firmware OK, but the unit would not take custom programming. I decided that it was because of the "Voltage Sense" error, and trundled off to the lake to upload the primary unit and install the battery. When I got there, I found that I could not upload firmware or custom programming, so I installed the battery and removed the primary controller to bring home for further study.
After a few long days of research and trying lots of ways to load the controller, I decided to contact Morningstar for help. Pete replied and asked for the serial numbers of both units. He told me that the older unit would not take a firmware upload due to the way they had originally programmed it. Once he was convinced that the backup unit was dead due to the "Voltage Sense" fault (and not a different fault that would flash the same code), he decided to send me two new units. This is amazing customer service!
My primary TS-45 had 113,496 hours on the job, and had been through two sets of deep cycle batteries. That is just under 13 years of service. The backup was only in service for a short period, and I really don't know what happened to it to make it fault. Both units were long out of warranty. The fact that Pete replaced either one is amazing to me, but he decided to get me fully back in service by replacing both!
The bottom line: Always remember to be very kind and courteous to customer service / technical support people that try to help you. They generally always have the ability to brush you off if you are rude or mean to them, but sometimes you will find that they have the ability to do what they think is right to get you back in service. Pete Thompson at Morningstar is my personal hero for getting me back online at significant cost to the company. Thank you again, Pete!
TL,DR; Morningstar Technical Support has the ability to do what they need to do to solve your issues, including replacing your ancient hardware! Thank you, Pete!
The background: I have two old Tristar TS-45 PWM charge controllers (one is a backup for the primary, and normally sits in its box). I am switching this installation from lead acid to LFP, so I needed to be able to program custom control settings into the controllers.
Without going into a long story, the backup unit was in service for a short time several years ago (I switched them so I could take the primary home to clean it and test it when I changed the batteries). For whatever reason, at some point the backup died with a "Voltage Sense" fault after only a short time in service. I put the primary back in service, where it continued to do its duty until this month.
With the backup unit at home (it still tries to function, but I can't trust it due to the hardware fault), I wanted to make sure of the procedure to load custom software before I tried at the off grid location. I was able to update the firmware OK, but the unit would not take custom programming. I decided that it was because of the "Voltage Sense" error, and trundled off to the lake to upload the primary unit and install the battery. When I got there, I found that I could not upload firmware or custom programming, so I installed the battery and removed the primary controller to bring home for further study.
After a few long days of research and trying lots of ways to load the controller, I decided to contact Morningstar for help. Pete replied and asked for the serial numbers of both units. He told me that the older unit would not take a firmware upload due to the way they had originally programmed it. Once he was convinced that the backup unit was dead due to the "Voltage Sense" fault (and not a different fault that would flash the same code), he decided to send me two new units. This is amazing customer service!
My primary TS-45 had 113,496 hours on the job, and had been through two sets of deep cycle batteries. That is just under 13 years of service. The backup was only in service for a short period, and I really don't know what happened to it to make it fault. Both units were long out of warranty. The fact that Pete replaced either one is amazing to me, but he decided to get me fully back in service by replacing both!
The bottom line: Always remember to be very kind and courteous to customer service / technical support people that try to help you. They generally always have the ability to brush you off if you are rude or mean to them, but sometimes you will find that they have the ability to do what they think is right to get you back in service. Pete Thompson at Morningstar is my personal hero for getting me back online at significant cost to the company. Thank you again, Pete!
