Victron 100/50 MPPT goes up in SMOKE

[moonlitsouls]

Yes it’s turning out to be one of those days, I posted in another thread about my installation issues with my recently purchased used multiplus

But since I had some downtime I decided to reconnect my solar panels and get some power for the day while I wait for my mk3 adapter

So I reconnect the panels to my busbars, which run through 2 double pole breakers , one between the panels and the SCC and one between the SCC and the busbars

I found it odd that I saw 20v but no current

I went up to he roof, checked all the connections, tested each panel individually (no issues) then removed my 1-6 parallel adapters and decided to do a test in serial connection to rule out the posibility of a faulty adapter

So I rewire in series, test the voltage and the current at the panels, then again at my mc4 extensions, everything checked out so I flipped my breakers open to allow the circuit to pass, within 3 minutes my SCC started smoking up, I shut it all down immediately

Not sure why the universe wants me to suffer today but it’s not going well

 

[meetyg]

Are you saying that you left you panels in series? Ouch...
Can the Victron handle 120v?

 

[moonlitsouls]

Are you saying that you left you panels in series? Ouch...
Can the Victron handle 120v?

No no the series voltage is about 85v, well within the specs of the SCC, it just blew up somehow. I checked all my wires 4 times to make sure I didn’t mess up

 

[meetyg]

OK then, that pretty odd...
I hope you still have some kind of warranty.
Sounds like it's not your fault then.

 

[moonlitsouls]

OK then, that pretty odd...
I hope you still have some kind of warranty.
Sounds like it's not your fault then.

I actually bought it on eBay , open box , only saved about $50 from Amazon list price, huge mistake. Now I have to deal with that and lay out the money to buy another SCC

 

[HRTKD]

If you saw 20v with the panels in parallel then those same six in series would be around 120 volts, which exceeds the Max PV Input Voltage of the Victron 100/50. Something is off.

 

[moonlitsouls]

If you saw 20v with the panels in parallel then those same six in series would be around 120 volts, which exceeds the Max PV Input Voltage of the Victron 100/50. Something is off.

I had 5 in parallel and disconnected one completely to do the series test

I would have exceeded the MPPT by 3 volts open circuit with all 5 in series , ask me how I know? Bc I did it 3 weeks ago and got an error on the MPPT

That prompted a whole new mission of trying to get all 5 connected, tried parallel and now I’m in this mess

I searched “victron MPPT smoking” on google and i found a number of posts with similar issues and others who were showing zero current out of nowhere , $290 down the drain and outside return window on eBay

 

[HRTKD]

I had 5 in parallel and disconnected one completely to do the series test

I would have exceeded the MPPT by 3 volts open circuit with all 5 in series , ask me how I know? Bc I did it 3 weeks ago and got an error on the MPPT

That prompted a whole new mission of trying to get all 5 connected, tried parallel and now I’m in this mess

I searched “victron MPPT smoking” on google and i found a number of posts with similar issues and others who were showing zero current out of nowhere , $290 down the drain and outside return window on eBay

There is a thread on here somewhere about how to fix the Victron MPPT. Something along the lines of "Don't throw out a bad Victron MPPT".

 

[moonlitsouls]

There is a thread on here somewhere about how to fix the Victron MPPT. Something along the lines of "Don't throw out a bad Victron MPPT".

I tried opening it up and even after I unscrewed it it was almost impossible to open. Must be glued tight. I probably ruined it even worse trying to open it but I really didn’t care anymore at that point. Will only be buying this type of equipment from Amazon moving forward, the return policy is just too good

 

[rmaddy]

Do NOT discard a Dead Victron MPPT 100/30 or its kind

All, For those who have a failed Victron MPPT, please do not discard it. I have few experiences to resurrect the dead Victron MPPT 100/30.

diysolarforum.com

 

[moonlitsouls]

Do NOT discard a Dead Victron MPPT 100/30 or its kind

All, For those who have a failed Victron MPPT, please do not discard it. I have few experiences to resurrect the dead Victron MPPT 100/30.

diysolarforum.com

I’m gonna try to pay this genius to fix mine ?

 

[EcoRV]

I actually bought it on eBay , open box , only saved about $50 from Amazon list price, huge mistake. Now I have to deal with that and lay out the money to buy another SCC

There are a lot of grey market sellers on Amazon, Ebay etc. and if you buy from them and need warrantee like i did it will be a huge PIA tracking down the authorized distributer who sold it to the grey market dealer. Bay Marine Supply is one of the best and the tech guy there answers most of the questions on the Victron forum.

 

[HRTKD]

There are a lot of grey market sellers on Amazon, Ebay etc. and if you buy from them and need warrantee like i did it will be a huge PIA tracking down the authorized distributer who sold it to the grey market dealer. Bay Marine Supply is one of the best and the tech guy there answers most of the questions on the Victron forum.

That's who I bought my Victron gear from as well some breakers and probably other stuff I don't remember. They used to be active here in the forum.

In shopping around for a Multiplus, the prices from reputable Victron resellers are all the same.

 

[EcoRV]

That's who I bought my Victron gear from as well some breakers and probably other stuff I don't remember. They used to be active here in the forum.

In shopping around for a Multiplus, the prices from reputable Victron resellers are all the same.

I was told by authorized dealers that cant discount prices for a single part but can do bundled (system) pricing if you buy several different parts at the same time. With that said it may only be 5-10%

 

[corn18]

That's who I bought my Victron gear from as well some breakers and probably other stuff I don't remember. They used to be active here in the forum.

In shopping around for a Multiplus, the prices from reputable Victron resellers are all the same.

Based on the recommendations on this forum, that's who I bought my new Victron stuff from. I called first and they saved me a lot of money by walking me through what plays well together and what doesn't. And especially helpful in what I needed to program a MultiPlus. I don't think Victron wants everyone playing with their settings, so it isn't obvious what works and what doesn't.

 

[HRTKD]

I was told by authorized dealers that cant discount prices for a single part but can do bundled (system) pricing if you buy several different parts at the same time. With that said it may only be 5-10%

I'm finding the same online price from multiple sources, some of whom I know to be valid authorized dealers.

 

[moonlitsouls]

Guess what? I got my victron 150/35 today, wired it exactly the same way I did yesterday, and the device is working fine. So now I know I didn’t do anything wrong. And to make matters worse, I tried opening up the bad controller yesterday and I roughed it up a little bit and I think I might’ve damage it even more. I probably could’ve reached out to the seller on eBay and ask him where he bought it and maybe even found the warranty claim. God I’m such an idiot.

 

[moonlitsouls]

Ok ive kinda just accepted that im out $300 bucks on that bad controller , and it really sucks. I asked the seller on ebay where he bought it from so i could start a warranty claim, he told me he bought it from a friend who has recently passed away. RIP , maybe covid im not sure. Was not able to figure out who the distributor was

BUT i mailed the bad controller to the wizard on here who brought a couple back from the afterlife , lets see if he can work some magic

 

[PerryB67]

I've said this many times before on other forums: "There is no free lunch!"

I wanted to purchase our Victron products from a reliable vendor who could answer questions relating to setting up and using Victron's products. After reading others experiences I purchased all our Victron products from Northern Arizona Wind and Sun. They match any price from Amazon and have answered questions as much as two years later.

Enjoy,

Perry

 

[Bugwubber]

To get into a Victron MPPT you need to gently heat the top (flip it upside down) until the half inch layer of epoxy potting softens. Or you can do like me and just cut the shell away. There is an internal quick blow fuse that can be replaced. It is located on the left side.
2nd photo I confirmed with a simple blade fuse a 1 solar panel it was functional again. I have since replaced the fuse and made a new aluminum diamond plate shell to cover it back up.

Best advice is to just BUY VICTRON FROM DEALERS! Victron has awesome warranties. ( They replaced this one for free even though I caused the fuse to blow). ;-)