Classic 200 frozen

[grizzley]

I have a classic 200 in wind mode that appeared to have frozen.  I saw a post from a few month ago where there was a similar situation with an RV installation.  My case is somewhat different and also I did not find a resolution to that case.

I have a Kestrel e400i using their controller and a classic 200 as the charge controller and a 48V battery bank.  I finally updated the firmware 10 days ago to the newest version and the unit was working well.  All day it charged but then lat in the afternoon I noticed that the classic read 111 volts, which surprised my since I did not think the wind was that great.  About 15 minutes later I went back to the controller and it still said 111Volts.  I checked the turbine and it was only slowly rotating.  I let it sit and an hour or more later I checked again and the charge controller still read 11Volts and the wind had died down and the turbine was not moving at all.  I finally power cycled the controller and it rebooted very well.  I did not see any issues so far today.  I am only used to windows crashing but not these controllers.  I have two, no issues with the other one, and had them for about three years.  Is this normal etc and what should I watch out for or do if this happens again?

Thank you

[boB]

Hmmm....  How old is this Classic ?

You said you are using the Kestrel controller.  Do you mean the Kestrel "clipper" ?

Yes, controllers "can" crash (like windows) but isn't very common.

It ~may~ be that the display (MNGP) stopped communicating with the Classic rather than
the Classic itself crashing.   Usually, if the Classic crashes and the MNGP is still running (the MNGP
has its own processor), the display will normally say "Got Comm ?" and/or the numbers will
show all zeros after a few seconds.  So, maybe that is what happened.  Or maybe not.

How high of input voltage to that Classic do you normally see in high winds ?  The Kestrel
clipper will usually keep that below 140 volts or so.

Next time you see the Classic freezing, see if you can pull off the display's plastic cover and
if there is a little flat looking push-button on the lower left corner, press that and see if the
display comes back to life without turning the whole Classic and LCD display power off
and back on again.  If the display comes back alive and the voltage numbers start changing,
then the Classic itself is the problem and the display just crashed.

You can also temporarily unplug the phone cable between the MNGP display and the Classic
but that requires removing some screws maybe.

Keep us posted.

Thanks,
boB

[Westbranch]

boB, can he use the local app to 'snoop' the classic in this application?

[grizzley]

boB
thank you for your inputs.  Hopefully I will not have to deal with another freeze episode but I have printed out your comment and will attach it to the documentation so that I know what to do in case it happens again. 

to your question on the age, we bought two controllers exactly 3 years ago.  One of them had an issue within the first year and after dealing with Ryan, he had determined that it needed to be replaced.  You would think I know of the top of the head which one that was but I do not.  I think it was the other (attached to the solar) controller.  We use a 48V Kestrel so there is only the controller.  At least Kestrel is calling this the controller and only uses the term clipper in the 110V and 250V versions.  I just looked through the logs I downloaded previously through the local app and the high voltage on that machine is just over 140V.

If I see it again I will try to reset the screen as described.   As to unscrew screws and open the classic under potentially loaded condition, I am not sure I want to do that.  I am not an electrician and prefer the unit being off and discharged before opening the cover.  I will keep you posted if it happens again.

[boB]

OK, Grizzley, just keep a watch on it.

Westbranch,  "boB, can he use the local app to 'snoop' the classic in this application?"

Yes, if the MNGP is at fault, the Local App should still work and if it does still get activity from that
particular Classic in question, then that would show that it is indeed the MNGP display/remote/LCD
and not the Classic itself.

boB

[grizzley]

Thanks bOB and Wetbranch. 
I will keep the local App in mind also.  It is nice to have a way to double check.

[grizzley]

Just a long delayed report back, bob.  Since this post almost a year ago the classic has  not frozen again - it is probably intimidated by the printed out instructions as to how to deal with it!