Inverter issues, help!

[Grant_thenovice]

Yet another query, sorry folks.

after almost buying a rubbish inverter, we took all the lovely advice off you guys and got a victron inverter/charger. For a few days whilst cruising we managed to get some use out of it, but feel like the leisure batteries may have seen the end of their days.

Our issue now is though that whilst connected to mains electricity we still have no use in our inverter/charger. Like, nil puit! Have we bought something dodgy? Are we still that novice that we haven’t sussed it out? Can anyone (in simple language) spell it out to us?

cheers in advance! 

[Paul C]

Who fitted it?

[Grant_thenovice]

4 minutes ago, Paul C said:

Who fitted it?

It was fitted at Longport Brokerage, don’t know the name of the chap who fitted it though

[Paul C]

How do you know it doesn't work, and what were you expecting to happen? 

[Grant_thenovice]

2 minutes ago, Paul C said:

How do you know it doesn't work, and what were you expecting to happen? 

When we switch it to “on” it flashes on the red alarm LED. Despite being connected to the off sure power. I have no idea what I was expecting to happen, besides it working hahah! But, that doesn’t seem to be the case

[Paul C]

With just the single red alarm LED, it could be overload, low battery or overtemperature. Without further info we're all guessing.....so I'll guess.....low battery. If the alarm still lights when its connected to the mains, then it can only be overload or overtemperature, since it should be charging and thus low battery isn't relevant. But then I'd be guessing that its not been isolated (from either mains, or batteries, or both), it would make sense to have some kind of isolation on both the mains and battery side. There is always the decision of whether to connect it directly to the batteries (fused), or via an isolation switch, because some of the time its a battery charger and other times its an inverter. If I were fitting one (I'd not be - I'd buy a separate battery charger and inverter instead) I'd fit an isolation switch but know where it is, and ensure its on when in use, and off at other times.

Edited October 2, 2017 by Paul C

[Grant_thenovice]

1 minute ago, Paul C said:

With just the single red alarm LED, it could be overload, low battery or overtemperature. Without further info we're all guessing.....so I'll guess.....low battery.

More than likely, but if we are connected to mains that shouldn’t be an issue? 

What other information would you need to be able to help further? Cheers

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, Paul C said:

With just the single red alarm LED, it could be overload, low battery or overtemperature. Without further info we're all guessing.....so I'll guess.....low battery.

But - the OP says it is on shore-power,

1) The battery should be charging

2) The mains should be on 'pass thru' and not coming from the batteries.

[Grant_thenovice]

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

But - the OP says it is on shore-power,

1) The battery should be charging

2) The mains should be on 'pass thru' and not coming from the batteries.

At present we have it on charge mode but still red alarm LED

[Paul C]

3 minutes ago, Grant_thenovice said:

 

What other information would you need to be able to help further? Cheers

A wiring diagram and the location on the boat of the items on the wiring diagram, eg isolation switch and/or fuse(s). It might be that the isolation switch is faulty too.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Grant_thenovice said:

At present we have it on charge mode but still red alarm LED

What voltage are you getting across the battery terminals ?

Any idea what current you are getting into the battery(s)

[Paul C]

Could be a faulty temperature sensor too. I think your best bet is to contact the person who fitted it, if it was recent or this is the first time you've used it.

[Dr Bob]

43 minutes ago, Grant_thenovice said:

At present we have it on charge mode but still red alarm LED

Are you saying that the red led is on when set to 'on' and 'battery charging'? 

[nicknorman]

Which model of Victron is it?

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Grant_thenovice said:

Yet another query, sorry folks.

after almost buying a rubbish inverter, we took all the lovely advice off you guys and got a victron inverter/charger. For a few days whilst cruising we managed to get some use out of it, but feel like the leisure batteries may have seen the end of their days.

Our issue now is though that whilst connected to mains electricity we still have no use in our inverter/charger. Like, nil puit! Have we bought something dodgy? Are we still that novice that we haven’t sussed it out? Can anyone (in simple language) spell it out to us?

cheers in advance! 

 

Have you tried looking the fault up in the manual?

[bizzard]

If your colour blind you might be seeing a red light which is really green.

[MtB]

7 minutes ago, bizzard said:

If your colour blind you might be seeing a red light which is really green.

But I'm NOT colour blind.

The OP might be though. Had you thought of that?

[cuthound]

Is there a selector switch for the electrical input, labelled something like "shoreline, inverter, generator"?

If so make sure it is the "shoreline" position.

Edited October 3, 2017 by cuthound
Spillung

[WotEver]

9 hours ago, nicknorman said:

Which model of Victron is it?

^^^^ this

It could be faulty. 

It could be wired incorrectly. 

It could be user error. 

Not enough info as yet. 

[Alan de Enfield]

Just a 'wild' idea -

Is the shoreline bollard 'live' (is there credit on the meter, has the 'trip' tripped) I there actually anything coming out of the bollard ?

Is there any voltage actually getting to your boat (has the shoreline got continuity ?)

Have you got a voltage at your fuse box / RCD ?

Is mains voltage getting into the Victron ?

Is 12v DC coming out of the Victron ?

Do you have 220v AC at any sockets (ie - does the electric toaster work ?)

 

Start tracing the electric from the last known point when you get a voltage until it disappears - that's  the  fault area.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Alan de Enfield

[MtB]

12 hours ago, Grant_thenovice said:

When we switch it to “on” it flashes on the red alarm LED. Despite being connected to the off sure power. I have no idea what I was expecting to happen, besides it working hahah! But, that doesn’t seem to be the case

To expand on my previous comment, the red light on pieces of equipment such as this is usually displaying a fault code when it flashes. The speed, frequency etc tells you what the fault is. There will probably be a chart in the manual showing all the possible red light flashing sequences, along with the fault each type of flash indicates.

So you can discover the fault yourself by looking up in the red light flash chart in the manual.

[mchancox]

Hi,

I Install and maintain Victron Invertor chargers.  What model have you got and which red LED is lit?

Firstly confirm that you have 230v coming into the vessel.  The Inv/Charger should automatically go into charge ode when hooked up to the mains and depending on what model you have you may even have an ammeter that shows how much current is being taken to charge up the battery.

Knowing which one you have and also which lights are illuminated would help further to offer you some sort of diagnosis.

Some of the more complex models can be accessed by the laptop and settings, charge rates, etc. can be adjusted. Current limits can be adjusted and allsorts.

Cheers.