Victron Overload Light

[hummingway]

Victron Phoenix Multiplus 12v/2000/200

My motor has been getting rebuilt so I'm tied up to a dock. A couple of days ago we plugged in the shore power and I fired up the Victron for the mechanics use. It worked fine and I went home. I checked in yesterday and it wasn't functioning properly. If I disconnect the shore power the inverter kicks in and works but with the shore power on the charger will try to engage during startup but it will kick out and the overload light comes on. It does this with the rocker in inverter/charger or charger position. I've hooked the shore power up to my Honda 2000i and it behaves the same way so it's not the dock power that is the issue.

I haven't opened it up yet, I wanted to see if anyone had any ideas first.

[hummingway]

I'm going to complicate this with more information.

When I first saw the the inverter it had the overload and low battery lights lit which according to the manual means excessive ripple voltage on the battery terminals. After turning things off and disconnecting and reconnecting a wire or two. Only the overload light was lit.

The engine has had two alternators and it appears one feeds the starter battery and the other the house bank. The latter is a huge thing and the suspicion is that some of the damage to the engine was done by its load so it hasn't been remounted or hooked up.

The mechanic ran a heater to warm the engine before starting it for the first time. The engine was then started, shut off and tightened some things and then let it run for a while. I think it was in between the running that the problem started.

[colemj]

Is the fault error just waiting for an acknowledgement or reset?

Mark

[s/v Jedi]

Remove first AC and then DC power from the Multiplus and wait a minute before reconnecting DC followed by AC. Check how the unit behaves after that.

ciao!
Nick.

[hummingway]

IT may be that it needs a reset. I'll try Nick's suggestion and see if it resets something.

[hummingway]

I have connected and reconnected several times. I've disconnected everything downstream but the batteries on the 12v system and it's still showing overload.

The batteries are well charged from the solar panels. The MPPT controller is showing float. When I turn on the charger the MPPT shows fully charged, the Victron shows mains on, bulk, absorption for about 5 minutes then the buzzing gets louder and it switches off lighting the overload light.

I'm not sure what to try next. It would seem to me there's a problem in the Victron perhaps? The manual says, "The inverter is switched off due to overload or a short circuit."

Any suggestions?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by hummingway

I have connected and reconnected several times. I've disconnected everything downstream but the batteries on the 12v system and it's still showing overload.

The batteries are well charged from the solar panels. The MPPT controller is showing float. When I turn on the charger the MPPT shows fully charged, the Victron shows mains on, bulk, absorption for about 5 minutes then the buzzing gets louder and it switches off lighting the overload light.

I'm not sure what to try next. It would seem to me there's a problem in the Victron perhaps? The manual says, "The inverter is switched off due to overload or a short circuit."

Any suggestions?

Yep, measure charger output voltage and current during those 5 minutes you mention. You're gonna need a clamp multimeter for that... I think it's time to get a pro to have a look at it.

Also, you can try with solar disconnected.

Ciao!
Nick.

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Yep, measure charger output voltage and current during those 5 minutes you mention. You're gonna need a clamp multimeter for that... I think it's time to get a pro to have a look at it.

Also, you can try with solar disconnected.

Ciao!
Nick.

I did take the solar out of the equation but it didn't make any difference.

Is it the sort of thing where I need to check with Victron for qualified repairmen in the area?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by hummingway

I did take the solar out of the equation but it didn't make any difference.

Is it the sort of thing where I need to check with Victron for qualified repairmen in the area?

No, that's not really needed, a regular decent marine electric tech should have no trouble checking the charger. But if a simple call can bring up the good techs around your area, why not!?

ciao!
Nick.

[hummingway]

Thanks Nick.