Mastervolt combi problem.....again.....

[Matt&Jo]

Hi all 

So i have just gone to my mastervolt unit to check the battery status upon hearing a tripping sound and i caught it switching constantly between mains and back....

There was a bit of a flash and it tripped the mains MCB on the boat.

 

I have reset this and disconnected the mains and i now have what seems a failure..... 3 lights showing are 3 solid amber 6 solid amber 7 solid red....on the image below as reference.

I have downloaded the manual but cant find this fault sequence......

 

Any help or ideas would be great. It is not accepting mains power.....could it be the thermal fuse....

This is going to be expensive i can feel it ?

Edited December 29, 2018 by Matt&Jo

[nicknorman]

I’m afraid I think it is going to be expensive.

 

have a look at this post:

 

 

Edited December 29, 2018 by nicknorman

[Matt&Jo]

Ive run the engine for a short while to see if the batts have run toooo flat and caused this fault...it seems not. Does the charger need to be on or will the alternator feed power to the batterys regardless of the inverter charger....

[nicknorman]

7 minutes ago, Matt&Jo said:

Ive run the engine for a short while to see if the batts have run toooo flat and caused this fault...it seems not. Does the charger need to be on or will the alternator feed power to the batterys regardless of the inverter charger....

The alternator will charge the batteries directly, nothing to do with the inverter charger.

[Matt&Jo]

Yes thats what i thought. Ive never dealt with inverter chargers before but 12v electrics im okayyyyyyish with.

 

Thank you.

[Matt&Jo]

So managed to speak to a marine engineer who thinks this could be the batteries. They are not the best in the world and sit at around 50% when disconnected from power and drop from there. Apparantly mastervolt does not like low voltage in batts and will not work below a certain point.

So floor coming up. Multimeter at the ready and lets see what happens  

[Matt&Jo]

Ok plot thickens....

 

So had the floor up and testing the batts.

I was informed the leisure batts are indeed 7 years old so i put a meter on them expecting 10v at best.. .12.84v at resting.....okay turn on the engine and 14.34v happy days switch off engine put her under load and(water pump) and it dropped from 12.84v to 12.77v then returned to 12.80v

So batts cant be the problem but then again my master volt charge state always read that they were low below 50% state of charge....

 

Inverter i think is the culprit.....lets hope it can be repaired.....will also get my 240v hook up checked out to the boat to ensure im 100% hunky doryin that department

[BruceinSanity]

On a couple of occasions I’ve had some of your symptoms when connecting the mains to my MV combi, relays switching two or three times and mains output on and off, but then settling down and behaving impeccably. It’s always been when the boat’s been sitting unoccupied for a while in cold damp weather, so I suspect it’s a condensation problem inside the box.

 

We’ve had previous discussions on here about combies not liking the damp.

[Matt&Jo]

Hmmmmm tempted to check the thermal fuse.....

3 minutes ago, BruceinSanity said:

On a couple of occasions I’ve had some of your symptoms when connecting the mains to my MV combi, relays switching two or three times and mains output on and off, but then settling down and behaving impeccably. It’s always been when the boat’s been sitting unoccupied for a while in cold damp weather, so I suspect it’s a condensation problem inside the box.

 

We’ve had previous discussions on here about combies not liking the damp.

Yes mine has been doing what you say......but the boat is far from damp its bloody boiling lol wifey on-board demands heat 24/7 lol

 

Its worked fine for 3 days now this

[Keith M]

Hello

Which version of inverter/charger has failed and what is its age?.

If it is an inverter issue. It may be repairable under Mastervolt flat rate repair scheme. 

I see you are located in Southampton you can try talking to Fischer Panda at Verwood when they re-open 

[Matt&Jo]

13 minutes ago, Keith M said:

Hello

Which version of inverter/charger has failed and what is its age?.

If it is an inverter issue. It may be repairable under Mastervolt flat rate repair scheme. 

I see you are located in Southampton you can try talking to Fischer Panda at Verwood when they re-open 

Its the mastervolt mass combi 12/2000-100 and its as old as the boat so 9 years old now.

Im deffo going to explore repair over new....mastervolt flat price repair.....hmmmmm do tell me more?

[Keith M]

Flat rate repair can be used on units under 10 years old.

The unit will have to go back to Holland for investigation and hopefully repair. The repair may take up to four weeks.

If the unit is repaired under the flat rate scheme, I would estimate the cost to be in the order of £390.50 plus carriage and vat, with a total figure in the order of £ 500.00, I could supply a new unit £ 1630.00 inc Vat.

You may have to return the unit via a dealer I can help you with that if you want.

 

Do not forget the when the unit is returned it is still a nine-year-old unit.

I hope the above is helpful.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Keith M
Incomplete reply

[Liam]

Moved to Boat Building & Maintenance

[Matt&Jo]

Been looking at alternative makes and models....sterling inverters? Any good?

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Matt&Jo said:

sterling inverters? Any good?

They are OK they do the job, not technically the best or most efficient - a bit like an old series 1 Land Rover will get you to the shops, but a Mercedes will get you there in more comfort and use half the petrol.

 

My Sterling is pretty 'thirsty' in that it actually uses more Ah to 'power itself', than the Freezer it is powering. 

 

I only keep it because it was on the boat when I bought it works and I have the battery bank to power it - given the choice it would be  Victron every time.

[Keith M]

I will look at the price of a Victron unit.

 

[nicknorman]

17 minutes ago, Matt&Jo said:

Been looking at alternative makes and models....sterling inverters? Any good?

Not really! Ok, but quite old tech and quirky. Uses a lot of current just sitting there doing nothing. Victron or Mastervolt are a cut above.

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, Keith M said:

I will look at the price of a Victron unit.

 

I know there are 'two-camps' on this, but, I would go for 'separates' (Battery charger & Inverter)

As you know, you can get failures and with a combi, if one 'goes' you lose both when you send it for repair.

[Matt&Jo]

Ok thanks all. Ive lost bloody both anyway lol no shoreline or inverter.....i may go seperate next time and also im wondering if i need a 2000w inverter too.....

[mrsmelly]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I know there are 'two-camps' on this, but, I would go for 'separates' (Battery charger & Inverter)

As you know, you can get failures and with a combi, if one 'goes' you lose both when you send it for repair.

Seconded, every time.

[mrsmelly]

23 hours ago, Matt&Jo said:

Ok plot thickens....

 

So had the floor up and testing the batts.

I was informed the leisure batts are indeed 7 years old so i put a meter on them expecting 10v at best.. .12.84v at resting.....okay turn on the engine and 14.34v happy days switch off engine put her under load and(water pump) and it dropped from 12.84v to 12.77v then returned to 12.80v

So batts cant be the problem but then again my master volt charge state always read that they were low below 50% state of charge....

 

Inverter i think is the culprit.....lets hope it can be repaired.....will also get my 240v hook up checked out to the boat to ensure im 100% hunky doryin that department

I always advocate seperates however my boat has a combi fitted and I have a brand new in the box Victron multiplus compact 12/200/80 as a spare in case my other goes wrong. Yes I have a brand new Victron inverter as a spare I know its not the done thing but I have a spare of everything including webasto, 2 props, water pumps x 2 etc etc etc its my way. However after again reading this thread I have decide that if mine goes bang I will now be fitting seperates so if you want an unfitted new in the box ( about three years old now ) Victron combi that will be an easy job for you to replace then pm me and let me know if you want it. £500 is a steal. I sold another similar that I had bought as a spare a couple of months ago to someone local but still have this one.

[Richard10002]

21 hours ago, Matt&Jo said:

Its the mastervolt mass combi 12/2000-100 and its as old as the boat so 9 years old now.

Im deffo going to explore repair over new....mastervolt flat price repair.....hmmmmm do tell me more?

I’ve used a couple of “flat rate” repair services over the years, for boat related stuff. In both cases the response was that the item was not repairable, but that they could sell me a new one at a discount.

 

A 9 year old piece of kit, the hassle of removing it, packing and posting it, along with the cost - I wouldn’t take the risk.

 

I have a Sterling inverter charger, Pro Combi S 2500w. When on it uses 4A with nothing using the 240v system. It uses less on “standby”, but won’t come out of standby unless a serious load is applied.... charging a shaver or a vacuum is not a serious load. So I have to turn it on and off as required, which is irritating.

 

I also have a Sterling Pro Charge Ultra charger which is great!

[Markinaboat]

Matt - why not get it repaired at APS Electrical or Sellweb? I thought this had been suggested but maybe another thread?

 

APS - they repair all power supplies:

http://www.cylex-uk.co.uk/reviews/viewcompanywebsite.aspx?firmaName=aps+advance+product+services+ltd&companyId=23035128

[Keith M]

As a matter of interest the cost of changing over to separates

Inverter, Battery charger and an AC transfer system using Mastervolt excluding Vat £ 2880.21 RRP.

Inverter, Battery charger and an AC transfer system using Victron excluding Vat £ 1608.70 RRP

 

The above just covers the three main items there will be additional items required.  

 

[Slim]

21 hours ago, Keith M said:

Flat rate repair can be used on units under 10 years old.

The unit will have to go back to Holland for investigation and hopefully repair. The repair may take up to four weeks.

If the unit is repaired under the flat rate scheme, I would estimate the cost to be in the order of £390.50 plus carriage and vat, with a total figure in the order of £ 500.00, I could supply a new unit £ 1630.00 inc Vat.

You may have to return the unit via a dealer I can help you with that if you want.

 

Do not forget the when the unit is returned it is still a nine-year-old unit.

I hope the above is helpful.

More or less what I was told when my Mastervolt. Inverter went belly up some years ago. Was also told that if it wasn’t repaired they would offer a discount. Can’t remember what it was but new units were available elsewhere cheaper. To the original o/p, there’s a thread / topic (never know which it is) running  around a Mastervolt repair. To repeat what I said on that , if going down the independent repair line tread carefully 

 

Frank