Emergency: Classics stopped charging

Started by krementz, December 15, 2017, 11:13:54 AM

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krementz

Out and back too quickly due to adverse weather...

Both Midnites were in OFF mode. No errors apparent. I changed to ON mode, rebooted everything, and every thing seemed to come up good. I changed the Auto-reboot to ON.

Had to leave, but remotely could see system charging normally for 2 days. Turned off inverters remotely to conserve power during adverse weather. Restarted inverters today, nice sunny and very cold day, zero watts!  Any ideas?

Can the Classics "freeze", I mean from temperature? The temperature is around 0ËšF. When I was using the MNGP, each button push seemed to take 5-15 seconds to respond and update the screen. Later when I got the Workshop up to about 40-50Ëš, they responded normally.

Way off grid
Old system: Outback 2524, 1200 W PV,  installed 2005, 384 amp hours
New System: 2 SMA 6048 with 2 Midnite Solar Classic 150 controllers, 5500 W PV, 1700 amp hours

ClassicCrazy

My Classic is out in the shed and has been 0 F or below for a week or more and also in the past have never had any problems.
I have the MNGP for it inside though but I have seen LCD displays that were cold take a long time change so could be the cold effects that.

Not sure why your Classic would not be charging . What was the battery voltage ? Did you ever get the remote Local Status app working or get it to report to MyMidnite ?

Are those Classics in Follow Me ? Seems like I just heard someone else have problem like that with theirs when it was in follow me mode.

Larry
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

estragon

Are ground fault and/or arc fault enabled (I think both are by default)?  IIRC, these need a manual reset, a daily automatic soft reset doesn't clear them.  I think I had to mess about a bit with sensitivity to avoid nuisance trips. 

FWIW, my classics also get cold (0f or lower), and they run fine.  They warm themselves up when charging, and are probably happier not getting too hot.  LCDs in anything will slow down a lot in the cold.

Just a thought, but I wonder if the cold might have loosened a connection somewhere enough to trigger a fault?
Off-grid. 
Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter

krementz

Thanks everyone for their comments.

I was able to get one of the Classics connected to Mymidnite, and have been monitoring both Classics via the SMA software tools. I have not been on-island since Jan 4.

After several days of nada, everything seemed to start working again on January 9. The batteries stated warming up (from 11ËšF to above freezing today) and the air temperature stayed above zero, but that should not have made much of a difference. I would expect the Classics to work below zero; the specs say they functions down to -40. The autorebooting seems to be functioning.

There does not seem to have been any ground or arc faults as I have not reset them.

So still a bit of a mystery, but the chargers are working as expected and therefore no crisis. Next time I go out I will get the router ports opened so I can see the Classics remotely, and figure why there is no MAC or ID code on the 2nd Classic. The Midnite software is much more friendly and useful than the SMA software.

I'm adding more PV and a third Classic in the spring, so it's good to get all the software and comm equipment running properly.

Way off grid
Old system: Outback 2524, 1200 W PV,  installed 2005, 384 amp hours
New System: 2 SMA 6048 with 2 Midnite Solar Classic 150 controllers, 5500 W PV, 1700 amp hours

krementz

Finally got back out.

Everything seems to be fine. Still had the no MAC and no Device ID on the MNGD, even after multiple power-off reboots. Someone discussed looking via the Local App, and voilá, there they were. Entered, and now have MyMidnite reporting on both Classics. Yay.

Thanks to everybody giving me ideas.
Way off grid
Old system: Outback 2524, 1200 W PV,  installed 2005, 384 amp hours
New System: 2 SMA 6048 with 2 Midnite Solar Classic 150 controllers, 5500 W PV, 1700 amp hours

Westbranch

your comment about using the L App reminded me (loosened some cobwebs) of a post some time back that the \MNGP and the L App were not always reporting the same value for MAC and Device ID... 

good that you got it all up and reporting.
KID FW1811 560W >C&D 24V 900Ah AGM
CL150 29032 FW V.2126-NW2097-GP2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3Px4s 140W > 24V 900Ah AGM,
2 Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr, NetGr DS104Hub
Cotek ST1500 Inv  want a 24V  ROSIE Inverter
OmniCharge3024  Eu1/2/3000iGens
West Chilcotin 1680+W to come