Video explaining my problem with my install

[randerson]

I just got my pip and lithium battery and am having trouble getting it to work. Please watch my video. Any input is appreciated.

I want to fix whatever is wrong myself because i did not want to pay the $300 plus to ship the unit back. I also do not want to be a month without solar while i wait.

here is the video:

 

[DASH]

I know nothing about your setup and equipment, but several times You mentioned about seeing 24 volts being displayed on the Mpp LCD. I think that is odd given that it appears You have a 48 volt (nominal) battery system. I would expect at least one of the settings You went through, would have shown a voltage of approximately 51 volts, matching what You said is coming out of the battery system. Again, this is just an observation, and I very well be wrong.

 

[DASH]

I would go over all the specifications of the Mpp and the Battery to make sure they are compatible, and the settings (if any, are set correctly. ) Many controllers need to be set for the type of battery that is in use.

 

[ghostwriter66]

So my initial thought would be that you have a bad sensor board ... its the board that senses power coming into the MPP and then tells the circuit what to do with it ...

OR it could be that the battery switch is bad and you are not actually getting power to the MPP..

Do you have a DVM where you can measure the voltage across the 2 power connectors on the MPP while someone else is flipping the battery switch??

BUT with that said - you turning the power off and the device still staying on is a indication of again a bad sensor board (not sure what the Chinese call the board) ...

I'm going to follow this to see if anyone has any better ideas ...

DID you pay for it by Credit Card??

 

[ghostwriter66]

I would go over all the specifications of the Mpp and the Battery to make sure they are compatible, and the settings (if any, are set correctly. ) Many controllers need to be set for the type of battery that is in use.

So actually this particular MPP model does mostly plug and play - its should be auto-sensing ... in both the PV and the Battery ... I think he has a bad board ... hoping not though

 

[ghostwriter66]

I just got my pip and lithium battery and am having trouble getting it to work. Please watch my video. Any input is appreciated.

I want to fix whatever is wrong myself because i did not want to pay the $300 plus to ship the unit back. I also do not want to be a month without solar while i wait.

here is the video:

Hey @Steve_S @Craig @svetz @MisterSandals @tictag @Will Prowse DO YOU guys have any suggestion ... its a 7 1/2 minute video but 5 1/2 of is is him just flipping the on and off switch to see if he can get it to come on .... I am very unfamiliar with the MPP - but to me it seems like a bad power sensor board ...

 

[Craig]

I want to see how many volts are at the MPP battery input terminals. Does the BYD have a built in BMS? Turn it n and show us the voltage at the MPP that will answer a ton of questions. That is I want to see it without you needing to keep switching is on and off.

 

[ghostwriter66]

I want to see how many volts are at the MPP battery input terminals. Does the BYD have a built in BMS? Turn it n and show us the voltage at the MPP that will answer a ton of questions. That is I want to see it without you needing to keep switching is on and off.

I think you and I are thinking the same that it could be a bad battery switch .. that would be EASY to fix .. the think that made me think its the MPP is when he turned it off - it stayed on ...

I am hoping he has a DVM .... or a long tongue .. LOL

 

[Gazoo]

I want to fix whatever is wrong myself because i did not want to pay the $300 plus to ship the unit back.

Did you buy from Ian on Ebay or get it somewhere else? You don't have to pay $300.00 to send it back. Contact the supplier and they will help you diagnose the problem and send you a new board. If they determine the sense board is bad that's what they will send you. I have watched a couple of MPP Solar repair videos on YouTube and it doesn't look like it's difficult to repair these. Hopefully it's something simple not related to the MPP.

 

[mrdavvv]

The "Power button" its in reality a swith for the inverter only. My MPP's are the same, if you turn off the inverter the unit will work for a little while if you have AC input connected.

I recomend messaging directly to MPP solar support (support at mppsolar.com)... they repply fast and after some testting they will find what board has an issue and send you only the replacement... if you want it fast you can ship by DHL and have it in about a week. The units are easy to dissasembly and repair, very modular.

 

[Craig]

The "Power button" its in reality a swith for the inverter only. My MPP's are the same, if you turn off the inverter the unit will work for a little while if you have AC input connected.

I recomend messaging directly to MPP solar support (support at mppsolar.com)... they repply fast and after some testting they will find what board has an issue and send you only the replacement... if you want it fast you can ship by DHL and have it in about a week. The units are easy to dissasembly and repair, very modular.

I was thinking this myself that the power button might not turn the display off for whatever reason.

 

[Forbisher]

I want to fix whatever is wrong myself because i did not want to pay the $300 plus to ship the unit back.

Shoulda bought it from Ian in Utah at USA MPP. Great support. He answers the phone.

 

[randerson]

I got the unit off of ebay. I sent the seller a link of the video just now. I hope they respond quick. The seller is from "DIY Solar with Will Prowse" recommended affiliate list. I will put a volt meter on the MPP pos and neg buss bars tomorrow after work to see the volts coming in

 

[svetz]

Hey Randerson,

Sorry you're experiencing a lot of frustration...hopefully this will become an amusing story before to long. Let me first caveat this with I've no experience with the MPP.

...DID you pay for it by Credit Card??

That's an important question. If you did it gives you a lot of leverage. eBay also has a lot of consumer protections, so if it is a lemon you should have recourse. Helps to know your options before the company tries to snow you into a bad deal such as paying for shipping.

...Do you have a DVM ...

That was my first wish too, I really wanted to see the actual voltages (hate trusting a display on suspect item). Hitting something with a crimper and ratcheting it down tight doesn't mean it's a good connection (e.g., could be a lose wire inside the battery). For that matter, just because the battery display says 54V doesn't mean that's actually what's on the wires. I'd also want to see the voltage on the other side of the fuse. Thought it suspicious it fired up after fingering those.

....You mentioned about seeing 24 volts being displayed on the Mpp LCD.

I don't know anything about the MPP...but did you confirm the model number is what you ordered and that it can handle 48V? A lot of times I'm shipped the wrong model, sometimes good sometimes bad.

So, bad voltage coming in or voltage sensing board makes a lot of sense. Intermittent is odd ... a bad contact? possibly the board or a chip on it came loose in shipping? You didn't try one of my favorite tests for that...it's a solid wallop on the side of the unit to give it a bit a shake. Assuming the incoming voltage was right, I'd have left the battery on and tapped with the back of an insulated screw driver any bits on the MPP to see if any particular bit did the trick. If you do this, be careful not to short anything and please wear safety glasses... I've had bits of metal shoot off from sparks and caps explode, not worth losing an eye.

.. I sent the seller a link of the video just now. I hope they respond quick. ...

Please keep us informed as to how it goes. If they give you a hard time at least others will know not to buy from them.

 

[thealaskan]

I just got my pip and lithium battery and am having trouble getting it to work. Please watch my video. Any input is appreciated.

I want to fix whatever is wrong myself because i did not want to pay the $300 plus to ship the unit back. I also do not want to be a month without solar while i wait.

here is the video:

The display after the battery is turned off is probably from the capacitors in the unit discharging, your symptoms would possibly be low voltage input, you got a BYD 24 volt battery on what MPP unit? Because it looks like a 48 volt model.

Just a heads up, there are knock offs out there from china I found out, run your serial number through MPP and make sure you got a legit unit.

 

[RCinFLA]

Your battery cables?? Really! Hope you don't plan on powering much more then a LED light bulb.

The inverter may be choking on startup surge voltage drop across the small gauge battery wiring.

 

[ghostwriter66]

So OP .. when you get home tonight - lets try a few things.

TURN EVERYTHING OFF.
Turn on Battery.
Take a DVM and measure the voltage across the MPP connectors with the battery on.
Turn off Battery - Turn back on - read voltage again -- it should be 54+.
Turn on MPP. If it does NOT come on and you have voltage across the 2 leads on the MPP then you can rule out the battery.
IF you have a 12V battery handy - disconnect the 54 and hook the 12 and see if the MPP works properly. (There is a reason I am asking this)
If NO 12V handy then at this point you need to be contacting the EBAY seller (who has a good rep) .. and MPP (who has good customer service).

I dropped MPP a note this morning and they said that (as previously mentioned above) their machine will stay on after the power is turned off as the inverter discharges its capacitors ...

Also the 24V you are seeing is the LOAD indicator -- that is telling you how much load your 24V connection is drawing ... has nothing to do with BATTERY ...

Keep us posted ...

 

[thealaskan]

it should be 54+

I have yet to see a 48 volt BYD battery in that cabinet for $900.00.

 

[Craig]

Your battery cables?? Really! Hope you don't plan on powering much more then a LED light bulb.

The inverter may be choking on startup surge voltage drop across the small gauge battery wiring.

I at first was worried about his cables which are a bit small but with 48v and no load (even with capacitor charging) they should not be causing an issue.

 

[VincentRapide]

> I got the unit off of ebay. [OP]

Internet/ebay is rife with phony 'MPP-Solar' units. You need to indicate who you bought it from.
VR
--

 

[ghostwriter66]

I at first was worried about his cables which are a bit small but with 48v and no load (even with capacitor charging) they should not be causing an issue.

Between you and me - anytime anyone is asking for help and is NOT holding a DVM in his hand - I normally click away .. BUT this was the first time that someone did a video "HELP!!" I think so I was intriqued ... sure the 5 1/2 miunutes watching him flip that switch was a little painful - but I could hear the desperation in his clicking and thought we should help ... I guess we are all taking a knee until he gets home tonight - WITH HOPEFULLY A DVM IN HIS HAND!!! ... I am still leaning toward a bad sensor board ... or better put - a LOOSE poorly soldered sensor board ..

 

[ghostwriter66]

> I got the unit off of ebay. [OP]

Internet/ebay is rife with phony 'MPP-Solar' units. You need to indicate who you bought it from.
VR
--

He bought it from WILLs affiliate page - so that is only one there I think that sells that ... if its NOT fake then MPP is good to fix issues ... if it IS fake then his CC company will refund his money instantly ... as will Ebay ...

 

[RCinFLA]

Other item I picked up on is the sound of you flipping what sounds like a small rocker on-off switch on battery. Battery through a small switch would not be good. If it is running a power relay then maybe okay although I would not like the wasted battery power to keep a high current relay coil engaged.

Other odd observation is the small terminals for the inverter battery input. Makes me think this is just a grid-tie only PV inverter and you are trying to test it by feeding in AC from a computer UPS.

If it is a 24vdc inverter it would likely trip overvoltage shutdown, if not outright destroying unit.

You did not specify much details of what you have so a lot of guessing here.

 

[thealaskan]

If it is a 24vdc

Is it a 24 volt or 48 volt mpp? Low voltage would cause the problem.

The battery cabinet I see in the video is sold as 24 volt units from several ebay retailers.

One person is saying 54 volt, and one person is saying 24 volt. I think its mismatched items.

As he said 1 unit, $900.00 with $300.00 shipping, which indicates (1) 24 volt battery at 200 pounds, not ( 2).

I hope he figures this out, posts what he found, because new units are factory tested before shipment.

 

[randerson]