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Powerurus Battery not charging from solar panel

MargoW

New Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2023
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4
Location
Texas
My battery does not seem to be charging from the solar panel. When I plug the camper in, the onboard battery monitor shows me charging the battery to 100%. But when I disconnect from shore power, the available power shows a steady decline, even on sunny days. I’ve tested this over several days with no load put on the battery, and I’m now down to 69% capacity according to both the RoyPow and Epoch apps. The Epoch app shows a Fault “Full CHG Prot” but IDK what that means and can’t find any documentation on it.

The Victron app shows the panel putting out 7-8W, 32-35V and .2A. These are taken on a sunny day with the panel clean, in full sun around noon. The Victron shows the battery in “float” state, even though the battery is only at 70%.

Can anyone suggest where the problem might be or how I might test for it? I’m a newbie at this, but I do have a multimeter :)

Battery: Powerurus 100 AH LiPo
Solar: 210W, 32V, 6.56A
Victron SmartSolar controller, 75/15

The Victron battery settings are: Battery voltage: 12V, charger enabled, max charge current 15A, Absorption voltage 14.6V, Float voltage 13.5V, Equalization voltage 14.4V

The 4 battery cells are balanced (3.322v, 3.323v,3.325,3.324)
IMG_3955.PNG

IMG_3954.PNG
 
The Epoch app shows a Fault “Full CHG Prot”

Your battery isn’t charging because it’s in protection mode. If you look closer, you’ll see the Charge MOS is turned “off”.

What charge controller are you using and what are it’s charging settings?
 
Your battery isn’t charging because it’s in protection mode. If you look closer, you’ll see the Charge MOS is turned “off”.

What charge controller are you using and what are it’s charging settings?
Victron SmartSolar controller, 75/15

The Victron battery settings are: Battery voltage: 12V, charger enabled, max charge current 15A, Absorption voltage 14.6V, Float voltage 13.5V, Equalization voltage 14.4V
 
Victron SmartSolar controller, 75/15

The Victron battery settings are: Battery voltage: 12V, charger enabled, max charge current 15A, Absorption voltage 14.6V, Float voltage 13.5V, Equalization voltage 14.4V
Try fully discharging until the BMS cuts out, then see if that will trip the charging MOSFET to turn on.

But better yet, contact Powerurus, they’ve been very helpful to me.
 
Try fully discharging until the BMS cuts out, then see if that will trip the charging MOSFET to turn on.

But better yet, contact Powerurus, they’ve been very helpful to me.
Weirdly, the ChargeMOS is not always OFF. Rarely it has shown as ON, but I can't correlate that to any action on my part.

I don't have a phone number for Powerurus, so just communicating with email. They've been pretty slow in their responses. Also working with the camper mfg, since they installed everything up to the battery, but they don't know why it's not charging and have decided to blame it on the onboard BMS.
 
Your charge voltage is too high and causing BMS protection, that's causing full charge protect error and turning off the charge path.

Change the Victron charger to lithium default mode , user select ( expert mode) absorbtion 14.2 volts, float 13.5 volts, equilisation disabled, temperature compensation didabifled, absorbtion duration 30 minutes, adaptive absorbtion disabled. If the battery charges successfully with these settings and the charge MOS stays on , keep these settings as working values.

The apps giving you SOC depend on certain voltages being achieved in the battery , either high volts setting the 100% or low volts setting 0%. The battery will need cycling several times for a more correct SOC reading.
When charging from solar if the voltage exceeds 14.0 volts with some current still flowing into the battery, ( the BMS charge MOS being ON), then consider the battery full, ( greater than 98%).

If when charging with the revised charge voltage suggested, you still encounter the charge MOS switching to OFF , the charge voltage , absorbtion volts, will need lowering, down to 13.8 volts if necessary, whilst in this lowered voltage condition increase the absorbtion duration to 6 hours. This will give the battery more time to balance the cells.

You haven't given details of your shore power charger or the device that indicates SOC when on shore power, these details will be useful.
The decline you see in charge state suggests the reading is voltage based. This is to be expected, once charge voltage is removed, the battery volts will drop and settle to a resting voltage, this will be in the range 13.4 volts +/- 0.05 ( no load or charge).

What you are seeing is a battery where the cells are slightly out of balance, this is common . What happens with a high charge volts of 14.6, is that each cell (if they are exactly the same), would reach 3.65 all at the same time. This is unlikely, well before 14.6 is reached, one cell will exceed the protection level, ( 3.65) and the BMS will shut down the charge path.
It's not a serious issue and unfortuantly battery manufactures/suppliers continue the recomend 14.6 volts as a charge value. This causes confusion and worry to users.

Mike
 
Your charge voltage is too high and causing BMS protection, that's causing full charge protect error and turning off the charge path.

Change the Victron charger to lithium default mode , user select ( expert mode) absorbtion 14.2 volts, float 13.5 volts, equilisation disabled, temperature compensation didabifled, absorbtion duration 30 minutes, adaptive absorbtion disabled. If the battery charges successfully with these settings and the charge MOS stays on , keep these settings as working values.

The apps giving you SOC depend on certain voltages being achieved in the battery , either high volts setting the 100% or low volts setting 0%. The battery will need cycling several times for a more correct SOC reading.
When charging from solar if the voltage exceeds 14.0 volts with some current still flowing into the battery, ( the BMS charge MOS being ON), then consider the battery full, ( greater than 98%).

If when charging with the revised charge voltage suggested, you still encounter the charge MOS switching to OFF , the charge voltage , absorbtion volts, will need lowering, down to 13.8 volts if necessary, whilst in this lowered voltage condition increase the absorbtion duration to 6 hours. This will give the battery more time to balance the cells.

You haven't given details of your shore power charger or the device that indicates SOC when on shore power, these details will be useful.
The decline you see in charge state suggests the reading is voltage based. This is to be expected, once charge voltage is removed, the battery volts will drop and settle to a resting voltage, this will be in the range 13.4 volts +/- 0.05 ( no load or charge).

What you are seeing is a battery where the cells are slightly out of balance, this is common . What happens with a high charge volts of 14.6, is that each cell (if they are exactly the same), would reach 3.65 all at the same time. This is unlikely, well before 14.6 is reached, one cell will exceed the protection level, ( 3.65) and the BMS will shut down the charge path.
It's not a serious issue and unfortuantly battery manufactures/suppliers continue the recomend 14.6 volts as a charge value. This causes confusion and worry to users.

Mike

Thanks so much for the explanation. I did not realize that the 3rd decimal was that crucial to the equalization. I can't tell much today since it is stormy and overcast, but the BMS on the battery still shows 60% SOC, however the chargeMOS is green (on). The volts from the solar panel are very low (clouds) but the amps are up, so the Victron app is actually reading MORE watts, (at 20-25W) than it showed the panel putting out on the full sun days (on those days the volts are high but the amps are almost zero, so the watts are around 7W). So it appears that I'm getting more charge on the cloudy days than when the panel is in full sun (25W vs 7W). Neither are very good numbers for a 200W panel and aren't doing a thing for my SOC.

The shorepower charging goes through the WFCO converter I think. I recall having to play with the "automatic detection" to get it to see the LiPo battery. The battery indicator inside the RV indicates a full battery. The BMS on the Powerurus says the battery is 60%. I haven't plugged into shore power in several days as I have been watching this whole solar thing. I'm inclined to believe the BMS on the battery, but the rest of the system is acting like the battery is fully charged.

I don't see anywhere on the Victron App where I can adjust Most of the settings that you and Powerurus have indicated, but I have made sure that the settings that I do have access to match what Powerurus put in their email that I received this morning:

FROM POWERURUS EMAIL 10/5/2023:
Mode Selection
Battery Type: 12V / LiFePO4
Setting Mode: User Defined / Customized
--------------------------------
Charging Parameters

Charging Limit Voltage: 14.6V
Over Voltage Disconnect Voltage: 14.7V
Over Voltage Reconnect Voltage: 14.4V
Bulk Voltage: 14.4V
Absorption Voltage: 14.4V
Boost Voltage: 14.4V
Boost Reconnect Voltage: 13.2V
Float Voltage: 13.6V
Equalization Voltage: Disabled or 14.4V
--------------------------------
Discharging Parameters

Low Voltage Disconnect Voltage: 11.2V
Low Voltage Reconnect Voltage: 12.4V
Under-Voltage Warning Voltage: 12.0V
Under-Voltage Warning Reconnect Voltage: 12.4V
Discharging Limit Voltage: 11.0V
Over-Discharge Disconnect Voltage: 11.0V
Over-Discharge Reconnect Voltage: 12.0V
Over-Discharge Delay Time: 1 Second
--------------------------------
Other Parameters
Absorption Time: 120 Minutes
Equalization Duration Time: 120 Minutes
Equalization Interval: Not Applicable to LiFePO4 Battery
Boost Duration Time: 120 Minutes
Boost Interval: Not Applicable to LiFePO4 Battery
Temperature Compensation: OFF
Low-Temperature Cut-off: OFF
 
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