Victron SmartSolar Charge Controller Bluetooth – MPPT 75/15 – 75 Volts, 15 Amps

[SameGuy]

I am testing my small solar setup today and have run into a snag. I have an Aims Power PV120CASE 120W Foldable panel running through the Victron MPPT controller. This is connected to my house battery and appears to charge it just fine, then through a Blue Sea 7726 ACR to my starting battery, which is also getting some charge. My issue is running my ARB 63 through the load output of the charge controller. I put the fridge in last night and fired it up, temp set to 27, which for some reason is where I leave it to keep beer as cold as possible without freezing it. IT was already cold and obviously nothing was coming in through solar. The fridge used approx 90 Watt hours through the night and ran fine. This morning I hooked up the panel and all seemed to be well. A few hours later The fridge was turning on and off rapidly and showing 40 degrees. Worried that there was a problem with the fridge I plugged it directly to the battery (which is my go to method of powering it and everything else) and it fired up just fine. I hooked up a small led light to the load output of the controller and it flashed on and off. I'm wondering if the controller is getting too hot to run the load output? IT is in the back of my Tundra, and the topper is all closed up and feels rather warm to the touch. IT's around 75 degrees outside and prob 95 in the topper. The load output is set to constant on for info.

 

[SameGuy]

TO clarify, I don't plan on using the load output from the controller, I don't really see much use for it as I have power coming directly from the house battery. I was just using it to test how much power the fridge used in a day. The controller shoots all its data to my phone which seems pretty slick.

 

[luthj]

Does the controller have a loaf low voltage cut out set? Also the additional wire between the fridge and the batteries through the controller maybe adding enough voltage drop to make the fridge disconnect. I suggest getting out a voltage meter and doing a little probing during operation. That probably tell you all you need to know.

 

[SameGuy]

The load output was set for 'always on' with no voltage cutoff and the connection between the load output and the fridge plug is 10ga wire 6" long with a heavy duty plug. When the fridge was plugged into its normal receptacle it worked fine as usual. The load output was coming on and off in 1 second intervals. I plugged a small led light string into it and it flashed on and off. Couldn't find anything online or in the manual, sent Victron an email, hoping they have a fix, or at least a reason this is happening.

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Disconnect battery and solar and see if the controller resets. What is load connection amp rating?

 

[SameGuy]

After disconnecting the controller from the panel and battery for a few minutes I got the same result. The amp rating for the load output is 15 amps. When the fridge first switches on it pulls 5.3 amps for about a minute, then settles down to around 3 amps and below. I don't think that should have overwhelmed the load output on the controller, and I'm sure the small 7 watt LED I also tried would have either.

I have an email into Tech Support at Victron, hopefully they will have a resolution for the issue. Will pass it along when I get it.

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Yes please pass this along to us. It should have reset the controller taking all the power off of it. Yes that should have been plenty of current carrying ability for the fridge.

This is where good customer service can shine depending on the quickness of reply and if the info is helpful.

 

[pdavitt]

I am testing my small solar setup today and have run into a snag. I have an Aims Power PV120CASE 120W Foldable panel running through the Victron MPPT controller. This is connected to my house battery and appears to charge it just fine, then through a Blue Sea 7726 ACR to my starting battery, which is also getting some charge. My issue is running my ARB 63 through the load output of the charge controller. I put the fridge in last night and fired it up, temp set to 27, which for some reason is where I leave it to keep beer as cold as possible without freezing it. IT was already cold and obviously nothing was coming in through solar. The fridge used approx 90 Watt hours through the night and ran fine. This morning I hooked up the panel and all seemed to be well. A few hours later The fridge was turning on and off rapidly and showing 40 degrees. Worried that there was a problem with the fridge I plugged it directly to the battery (which is my go to method of powering it and everything else) and it fired up just fine. I hooked up a small led light to the load output of the controller and it flashed on and off. I'm wondering if the controller is getting too hot to run the load output? IT is in the back of my Tundra, and the topper is all closed up and feels rather warm to the touch. IT's around 75 degrees outside and prob 95 in the topper. The load output is set to constant on for info.

Open the Victron Connect app and under settings, check the battery voltage setting. Some times when you apply power to the charge controller from the PV first (a 12V PV may actually output 17V or more) the battery voltage can be set to 24V. Make sure it is set for 12V. An incorrect battery voltage setting can cause the controller to do some weird things.

Just a guess,
Pat

 

[Bbasso]

I'm strongly considering a victron SCC soon and would like to hear your results.
Thanks.

 

[Chris Cordes]

As pdavitt mentioned it might be a setting within the controller. It can either be the battery voltage, the voltage cut off, a proplem with the shunt, etc. Id give AM solar a ring and see what they say

 

[SameGuy]

Thank you for the tips. I checked the controller settings and everything is as it should be. Victron Tech support said they have never heard of this issue in high heat but couldn't say for sure if that could be the culprit. Suggested I try it in a cooler environment and if the problem continues, to contact my dealer (amazon, lol) and send it in for testing and repair.

The operating temperatures for the controller are -30 to +60°C (full rated output up to 40°C) or -22F - 140F with full rated output up to 104F. I would surmise it could easily be over 104 inside a vehicle sitting in direct sun with ambient temps in the 80's.

I just plugged everything in a few minutes ago, brought the controller from inside so it is nice and cool. I plugged my endless breeze 12 volt fan into the load output and set it on high. The fan is running fine, blowing on the controller and the back of the topper on my truck is open. Will see how it does like this, then shut everything up and see if it will fail again when the temp goes up.

Here is a screenshot of the controller app. from my phone. It's around 1400, the panel is laying flat on the ground and it is somewhat hazy. The battery current is showing what is actually going into the battery after subtracting out what the load output is using, the battery was fully charged 2 days ago and hasn't been used since.

 

[SameGuy]

Well after a day of testing I couldn't get it to fail again. Unfortunately it was cloudy most of the day and I wasn't able to get the heat to build up in the topper. It went as high as 102 and everything ran as it should. I like the controller otherwise and the interface and information on the application are really nice.

 

[ebrabaek]

I have the Bluetooth Vitron 75/10 and used the load connection for my Engel MR040 fridge. I have the load setting at " Battery Life" When the fridge powers on it pulls 3.5 amps for a few seconds, but settles @ 2.5 amps. Voltage is around 13.2 volts with the load on, due in part to the small battery that I use. Recharging is a 50 watt monocrystalline solar panel. It works flawless to me, and gives me the option to set the battery cut off as the Engel does not have that built in, and more important it tracks the power consumption via the APP. This way at the end of the day, I can see how much energy my fridge uses.
Your symptoms seems very strange, and I suspect something is wrong with the Vitron. Perhaps just a gremlin, as it have fixed itself.