Victron BlueSolar display scrolls CONNECTING

[kmrice]

I have a factory installed solar panel and Victron BlueSolar solar controller on my Caravel 16RV. The solar controller has worked fine in the past. Today, parked at home and plugged into a 15 amp house current receptacle, the display on the BlueSolar continually scrolls "CONNECTING".

The controller itself seems to be working as I can reach it on my phone by Bluetooth, and the data I get seems to be appropriate.

I'd be grateful if anyone has any suggestions they would like to share.

Not sure if it matters but I also have 2 dealer installed Battleborn batteries, a Victron SmartShunt Model 5001 (which also communicates with my phone by Bluetooth) and a Victron MPPT 150/35 charge controller.

Thanks,

Karl

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Have you enabled the Bluetooth based local network on the SmartShunt and the solar controller? There is a "connecting" message if that breaks down.

Bob

[kmrice]

Thanks, Bob.

As far as I can tell, the Bluetooth connections to the solar controller and the SmartShunt are working Both devices give me what appear to be valid readings on the app on my phone. The only thing which seems to be not working is the display on the wall. That device is getting current, since it lights up and does scroll “connecting.” Perhaps it is not getting data?

Another problem has cropped up. The overhead lights in the bed area won’t turn off and cycle from bright to dim and back continuously. These are LED lights controlled by the black switch you tap to turn on or off and hold to dim or brighten. Any idea what that’s all about?

Thanks again for your help and all your contributions to this forum.

Karl

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by kmrice

Thanks, Bob.

As far as I can tell, the Bluetooth connections to the solar controller and the SmartShunt are working Both devices give me what appear to be valid readings on the app on my phone. The only thing which seems to be not working is the display on the wall. That device is getting current, since it lights up and does scroll “connecting.” Perhaps it is not getting data?

Another problem has cropped up. The overhead lights in the bed area won’t turn off and cycle from bright to dim and back continuously. These are LED lights controlled by the black switch you tap to turn on or off and hold to dim or brighten. Any idea what that’s all about?

Thanks again for your help and all your contributions to this forum.

Karl

Hi

Thanks for the kind words.

If you have the solar panels disconnected ( or in deep shade ) and have the vehicle with a bit of a low battery, the controller will indeed scroll along showing "connecting". There are a lot of them doing that on dealer's floors. Simple answer is to check the power from the solar and to the battery.

This assumes you have just the Blue Solar without a dongle and not the Smart Solar charge controller. (Yes, Victron gets a bit confusing with their names ). With no dongle, you would never see the Blue Solar on the phone app .... I'd bet you have a dongle on the Blue Solar.

One thing that still is a bit unclear here: What is your battery voltage? What is the use/store switch set to? Is the battery disconnect switch open or closed? If something ( like the disconnect switch) is getting in the way, all sorts of odd things will happen.

Lights cycling in intensity suggests there is indeed something a bit odd with the 12V system. A multimeter check of battery and converter voltages probably would help work things out.

Fun !!!!!

Bob

[kmrice]

Thanks again Bob.

Disconnecting shore power, turning the battery switch to store, and waiting 5 minutes solved the light problem; I guess something had to reboot. I haven’t tried turning the lights back on (for fear they will go crazy again) but at least they are off. Will turn them on and see if they are working normally when we get to CA; we don’t really need those lights for now,

I’ll look into the suggestions you made as to the display and report back later. On our way to Dollyland!

Thanks as always for your help.

Karl

[kmrice]

So we got into our campground last night and the bedroom light started dimming and undimming again and would not turn off. Tried disconnecting from shore power and turning the battery switch to store, waiting 5 minutes, and hooking back up and turning on the battery switch. After a few minutes the lights started acting up again. No way we could sleep with bright lights dimming and brightening a few feet above our heads so I decided to disconnect them at the switch.

Removed the black covers in the closet behind the switch (my lovely wife is slender and could get in the closet to unscrew them) but could not access the switch; wires went through the bulkhead. Got the switch cover off without, I think, doing too much damage (there must be an easier way to get it off but I only succeeded using brute force). Unscrewed the circuit board and cut one of the four wires soldered to the board. Lights went off and stayed off. I’m thinking the switch is bad.

I’m leaving it as is. I don’t need overhead lights in the bedroom; the reading lights are all I need. When I can get to a dealer I think I’ll see if they can just install a toggle switch like the one for the bathroom light. We always hated the little light in the switch that is always on and, in the dark, very bright.

The BlueSolar controller display is still scrolling “connecting.” Will follow up on Bob’s suggestions tomorrow. I continue to have access to the data on my phone, so I think the controller is ok.

[kmrice]

The batteries appear to be fully charged. I apologize for my confusion about my solar controller. According to my notes I have a BlueSolar controller not a SmartSolar controller but what the Victron app “found” it called a SmartSolar. Whichever it is, it has Bluetooth. The Solar controller (whichever it is) and the SmartShunt both report batteries at 13.6v on my phone app. The SeeLevel II (tank and battery monitor) is reporting 13.5v. The BlueSolar correctly shows 0 watts solar (normal with fully charged batteries) and 20.38v solar voltage. When the batteries are not fully charged and the trailer is in the sun it reports what seems to appropriate watts.

When the lights problem occurred I was on shore power with the AS battery disconnect switch set to use. I do not have a complete disconnect switch.
Since all the other lights work normally, I’m thinking the switch was defective.

The Victron display continues to scroll “connecting.” Since, as I mentioned, the controller seems to be sending what appears to be correct data via Bluetooth to my phone, I’m thinking the controller is fine and the Victron display is defective. Does this seem reasonable?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by kmrice

The batteries appear to be fully charged. I apologize for my confusion about my solar controller. According to my notes I have a BlueSolar controller not a SmartSolar controller but what the Victron app “found” it called a SmartSolar. Whichever it is, it has Bluetooth. The Solar controller (whichever it is) and the SmartShunt both report batteries at 13.6v on my phone app. The SeeLevel II (tank and battery monitor) is reporting 13.5v. The BlueSolar correctly shows 0 watts solar (normal with fully charged batteries) and 20.38v solar voltage. When the batteries are not fully charged and the trailer is in the sun it reports what seems to appropriate watts.

When the lights problem occurred I was on shore power with the AS battery disconnect switch set to use. I do not have a complete disconnect switch.
Since all the other lights work normally, I’m thinking the switch was defective.

The Victron display continues to scroll “connecting.” Since, as I mentioned, the controller seems to be sending what appears to be correct data via Bluetooth to my phone, I’m thinking the controller is fine and the Victron display is defective. Does this seem reasonable?

Hi

Have you tried a factory reset on the controller?

Bob

[kmrice]

No, didn’t think of that. Will see if I have a manual for it and try it. Will report back.

Thanks again for your advice.

Karl

[kmrice]

Can’t find anything in the Victron manual about how do do a reset. Fortunately, I am still getting the data on my phone, so I’m thinking I should just wait until I get back home. The dealer near me scheduled a visit shortly after we get back.

Thanks again for the advice.

Karl

[Kbuchanan]

I’m not sure if you fixed this. I fixed mine by taking off the display controller unscrewing 4 screws and unplugging for 30-60 seconds. Plugged it back in and it worked right away! It took me a few ideas to figure out how to fix. Hope this helps.