Question on BMV 712 smart

[Dr Bob]

What am I doing wrong?

I have two of these battery monitors and trying to get them sounding an alarm for high/low voltage etc. I have both units with buzzer set to 'on' in the Battery settings 32. Both visually flash and show a notification when the alarm condition is reached but neither makes a sound.

Is there something else that needs to be set for them to make a noise?

I have tried to set the buzzer on and off a few times, both via the victron app on the phone and on the meter itself.

The relay works fine on both units.

[Dr Bob]

Bump.

Any one with a BMV 712 who uses the alarms?

[Keith M]

 Do you not use an external buzzer and the relay as the switch? 

[Keith M]

Just taken this from an advert my feeling is it only comes with a contact an external buzzer is required

 

Victron BMV712 Smart battery monitor kit complete with shunt & connection kit -  c/w low battery alarm contact. 9-90vdc

[Dr Bob]

2 minutes ago, Keith M said:

 Do you not use an external buzzer and the relay as the switch? 

Thanks Keith.

No. I am separating the functions. I want the alarm to sound at the set alarm voltage and then the relay to activate at a higher voltage. The meter flashes at the alarm voltage (but no noise) and the relay activates at the higher voltage.

6 minutes ago, Keith M said:

Just taken this from an advert my feeling is it only comes with a contact an external buzzer is required

 

Victron BMV712 Smart battery monitor kit complete with shunt & connection kit -  c/w low battery alarm contact. 9-90vdc

The manual talks about alarm settings using a buzzer and separate relay settings. I cant see anything in the manual about an external buzzer. Not sure what the 'low battery alarm contact is?

[Sea Dog]

Have you tried the blog on Victron's Website Bob?  I had a bit of an issue pairing my phone with my bluesmart charger and they were really helpful, even borrowing a phone the same as mine to see what might be going on.  Go to the BMV pages and track down to the bottom - their replies are pretty quick.

[Dr Bob]

17 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Have you tried the blog on Victron's Website Bob?  I had a bit of an issue pairing my phone with my bluesmart charger and they were really helpful, even borrowing a phone the same as mine to see what might be going on.  Go to the BMV pages and track down to the bottom - their replies are pretty quick.

Now that is a good idea. 

I will give that a go to see if it throws up anything.

 

...but if anyone on here can help, please shout out.

If anyone on here has a BMV 700 series meter, can they test if their meter makes a noise? Dead easy to do. Just go into battery settings, set the high voltage alarm to a voltage below the current voltage and the alarm should sound. The buzzer on off control is set to 'on' by default. Once done, go back to setup and turn off the voltage alarm by setting it to zero.

[Keith M]

Having now read the manual. I will also check on Monday, I am working on an installation which is using a BMV 712

If the buzzer has been activated and all the setting is correct it may be an issue with the monitor itself.

I would suggest talking to the supplier 

[Dr Bob]

8 hours ago, Keith M said:

Having now read the manual. I will also check on Monday, I am working on an installation which is using a BMV 712

If the buzzer has been activated and all the setting is correct it may be an issue with the monitor itself.

I would suggest talking to the supplier 

I did think of that when I first noticed the problem with the newly purchased bmv, but the same is happening to my other bmv 712. Is it just a setting I am missing?

 

[Sea Dog]

13 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Is it just a setting I am missing?

I think you're missing. Get your wife to phone the police immediately - the first hour is crucial! 

 

[Dr Bob]

58 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I think you're missing. Get your wife to phone the police immediately - the first hour is crucial! 

 

Nope, they never found me in the first hour. Should I be worried?

[Sea Dog]

50 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Nope, they never found me in the first hour. Should I be worried?

No, leave worrying about you to the rest of us.

 

[Keith M]

I was at an installation yesterday which has a BMV 700 & 712 installed, both will not be operational for some time yet, However, I look at both manuals and they give the impression that the 712 has an internal buzzer. I would now talk to the supplier?  

[eid]

On 09/03/2019 at 22:36, Dr Bob said:

Now that is a good idea. 

I will give that a go to see if it throws up anything.

 

...but if anyone on here can help, please shout out.

If anyone on here has a BMV 700 series meter, can they test if their meter makes a noise?

Yes, it makes a high-pitched beep which can be heard at the other end of the boat.

[Dr Bob]

38 minutes ago, eid said:

Yes, it makes a high-pitched beep which can be heard at the other end of the boat.

Thanks Eid for trying it out. Have a greenie for your efforts. 

Ok, sounds like mine have a problem. 

1 hour ago, Keith M said:

I was at an installation yesterday which has a BMV 700 & 712 installed, both will not be operational for some time yet, However, I look at both manuals and they give the impression that the 712 has an internal buzzer. I would now talk to the supplier?  

Thanks Keith. The manuals are not very good at some of the detail. I may just ignore the issue as I have other ways to get the alarms but it would have been nice to utilize the BMV. 

[Sea Dog]

7 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

The manuals are not very good at some of the detail. 

That's a big difference between Mastervolt and Victron for me: Mastervolt provides good manuals to the end user but are unwilling to provide further technical support to the user, whilst Victron manuals are a bit on the light side, but they go the extra mile in the provision of technical support to the Victron "community".

 

Did you ask the question on their webpage blog thing, Bob?

[Dr Bob]

16 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

That's a big difference between Mastervolt and Victron for me: Mastervolt provides good manuals to the end user but are unwilling to provide further technical support to the user, whilst Victron manuals are a bit on the light side, but they go the extra mile in the provision of technical support to the Victron "community".

 

Did you ask the question on their webpage blog thing, Bob?

Yes, just responses from one person who couldnt answer the question and said revert to the seller.......so no real answer.

[Sea Dog]

8 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Yes, just responses from one person who couldnt answer the question and said revert to the seller.......so no real answer.

 B's!  Bet they did that just to prove me wrong! 

 

(I'm surprised  - I've contacted them a couple of times and found them really helpful)

[eid]

Dr Bob, have you updated the firmware on your BMV's? When I bought mine the seller said it was important, but I forget why.

 

I doubt it's relevant but you never know.

Edited March 13, 2019 by eid

[Dr Bob]

1 hour ago, eid said:

Dr Bob, have you updated the firmware on your BMV's? When I bought mine the seller said it was important, but I forget why.

 

I doubt it's relevant but you never know.

Yes, both units updated the firmware when I first connected the app. The new one is therefore the current on. The other one is one year old. Thanks for the thought. I will have another play today.

[eid]

On 13/03/2019 at 08:28, Dr Bob said:

Yes, both units updated the firmware when I first connected the app. The new one is therefore the current on. The other one is one year old. Thanks for the thought. I will have another play today.

 

Bob,

 

I have recently updated the firmware on my BMV. It only came up because I updated the app via play store (I haven't done this for ages as I only do it when I'm on someone else's un- metered internet).

The firmware updated twice.

 

My alarm is now barely audible! I have to be very close to hear it. Before the update I could easily hear it at the other end of the boat.

 

<mumbles something about "progress" and alarms you can't hear>

[Dr Bob]

19 hours ago, eid said:

 

Bob,

 

I have recently updated the firmware on my BMV. It only came up because I updated the app via play store (I haven't done this for ages as I only do it when I'm on someone else's un- metered internet).

The firmware updated twice.

 

My alarm is now barely audible! I have to be very close to hear it. Before the update I could easily hear it at the other end of the boat.

 

<mumbles something about "progress" and alarms you can't hear>

Wow! That cant be a coincidence. I didnt try with my ear up to the meter. We are off the boat for 10 days but I will try it when we get back. I've got round the issue by buying a voltage board from amazon and a cheapo buzzer. Thanks for the info.

Interested if anyone else has updated their firmware and lost their alarm?

[Tom and Bex]

The alarm on ours works well. Not the loudest, but definitely audible. Not upgraded any firmware though, and not sure what version it's running? I can confirm that the internal alarm buzzer on ours sounds when the display shows alarm status. 

[Dr Bob]

1 minute ago, Tom and Bex said:

The alarm on ours works well. Not the loudest, but definitely audible. Not upgraded any firmware though, and not sure what version it's running? I can confirm that the internal alarm buzzer on ours sounds when the display shows alarm status. 

Thanks Tom. Let me know if it changes if you ever update it. I always avoid updating firmware if I possibly can.

Once I check it out when back on the boat, I will call victron.

[eid]

1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

Thanks Tom. Let me know if it changes if you ever update it. I always avoid updating firmware if I possibly can.

Once I check it out when back on the boat, I will call victron.

I've emailed my supplier asking if this is a new feature (making it useless) or if my BMV is faulty. I'll post back the result. Let us know how you get on because I really want my buzzer back!

 

I suppose it's impossible to roll back the firmware?