Electrical Issue

[Boris7]

Had Lithium batteries fitted by RoadPro couple of years back.
Last year S&G fitted an inverter, all good

Then a few months back started getting an issue with the display panel saying batteries were depleted while using the inverter, once the electrical item was turned off the display returned to normal and battery levels were fine.

Yesterday I had to take the van back to S&G for an unrelated item, but asked them to have a look at the electrical issue above, on collecting the Van they explained they had checked it over, ran some tests and identified the display was faulty, they had already spoken to RoadPro and been told if I went in they would change the display.

Popped into RoadPro, they had the panel ready as agreed, but when they tested the old panel it worked with no issues, I was a bit confused as it had been doing this for months, RoadPro did everything to make it fail, boiled kettles, turnd everything on, plugged tools in etc and it just worked 100% perfect.

Left feeling a little stupid.

Now its still working, but the mains socket next to the microwave and adjacent to the panel no longer works.

Any ideas?

 

[trevskoda]

No but what are you doing up so early, have the russians invaided.

 

[wildebus]

Had Lithium batteries fitted by RoadPro couple of years back.
Last year S&G fitted an inverter, all good

Then a few months back started getting an issue with the display panel saying batteries were depleted while using the inverter, once the electrical item was turned off the display returned to normal and battery levels were fine.

Not given much detail about the kit, so going to have to make assumptions ...
Originally had Lead Batteries? And the display that tells you battery level is basically a voltmeter I would guess?
When use the batteries, you get voltage sag. Heavier the load, the greater the voltage drop (even on Lithium!)
So stick a heavy load like a kettle on, the voltage will drop and you can get a simple panel like that saying batteries are 'depleted' as all it does it match an instantaneous voltage reading to a status.
A voltmeter is not much use to tell you what the battery situation generally, especially when using an Inverter and especially especially (!) with Lithium. What did your Battery State of Charge monitor tell you about the Battery state?
When the display said this, the inverter carried on working? No alarms for low voltage? Inverters usually have a cut-off voltage and will alarm if really low. If it carried on working, the battery can't have been that depleted?

Don't know if the panel sounds faulty from this remote thinking?

Yesterday I had to take the van back to S&G for an unrelated item, but asked them to have a look at the electrical issue above, on collecting the Van they explained they had checked it over, ran some tests and identified the display was faulty, they had already spoken to RoadPro and been told if I went in they would change the display.

Popped into RoadPro, they had the panel ready as agreed, but when they tested the old panel it worked with no issues, I was a bit confused as it had been doing this for months, RoadPro did everything to make it fail, boiled kettles, turnd everything on, plugged tools in etc and it just worked 100% perfect.

Left feeling a little stupid.

Now its still working, but the mains socket next to the microwave and adjacent to the panel no longer works.

Any ideas?

How was the testing done by each party? If S&G tested it 'off-grid' and Road-Pro tested it when plugged in EHU (or just took it out and checked the functionality) they would have got very different results.

Sockets now not working sounds like someone didn't plug a cable back in place.

 

[Boris7]

Both tested off grid,

Kit as below, but later added an inverter.

When running from the inverter a heavy load caused the issue

 

[wildebus]

"caused the issue".... What issue exactly? Sounds likes it was just a voltage sag and and incorrect conclusion to what that meant. Did anything actually stop working? (Apart from after they 'fixed' it)

Did you connect to the batteries BMS to check what they were saying and if depleted?

 

[Boris7]

No batteries were just fine, but the reading on the screen said they were flat, after turning the kettle off the display returns to normal, showing the correct voltage etc.

 

[wildebus]

No batteries were just fine, but the reading on the screen said they were flat, after turning the kettle off the display returns to normal, showing the correct voltage etc.

Voltage drop under load. Normal.

To trouble shoot this, you check the voltage on the screen against the real voltage of the battery when resting.
Repeat under the load and see how they they compare.
Also check both times against the voltage at the inverter terminals for comparison.

I would say it is a) a non-issue and a known consequence of putting a heavy load on a battery and/or b ) poor cabling between display and battery, maybe tapping a location closer to the inverter instead of the battery (where you are getting high voltage drop due to cabling being undersized as well as the loading)

 

[merl]

No batteries were just fine, but the reading on the screen said they were flat, after turning the kettle off the display returns to normal, showing the correct voltage etc.

That road pro battery monitor shows both battery voltage and percentage remaining. When you say " the screen says they were flat" are you looking at the voltage, the percentage remaining or both?

 

[Tezza33]

@Boris7 , do you realise that you have posted your address on here?

 

[1 Cup]

What invertor, did they fit ? =kw as unknown

 

[Boris7]

That road pro battery monitor shows both battery voltage and percentage remaining. When you say " the screen says they were flat" are you looking at the voltage, the percentage remaining or both?

Both, it actually dropped volts and amps and then shut down, although the inverter still worked just fine.

As I said once the kettle boiled about 20 seconds later it came back to life and the batteries were fine.

 

[Boris7]

What invertor, did they fit ? =kw as unknown

NDS 3kw

 

[Boris7]

@Boris7 , do you realise that you have posted your address on here?

Yes, can’t say I’m bothered much.

If your passing and fancy a brew, toilet/grey waste point or fresh water just pull on the left drive and use the side gate.

 

[Boris7]

What I don’t understand is that it’s just “fixed itself” felt a bit stupid at the time.

But I’d like to know what was wrong before it happens again.

 

[merl]

Both, it actually dropped volts and amps and then shut down, although the inverter still worked just fine.

As I said once the kettle boiled about 20 seconds later it came back to life and the batteries were fine.

Well as David suggested the drop out followed by a recovery is typical of battery sag, wiring resistance (too thin) and possibly poor connections. The display would also report low voltage BUT it shouldn't have reported zero capacity remaining in the battery too, that's a mystery, I'm thinking you've maybe got a couple of issues going on, the 230v socket that's packed up is bound to be a red herring too.
If I were you I'd fully charge the batteries overnight, reset the meter to 100% capacity, make sure the correct battery Ah is set too and then wait for the issue to crop up again. Note the remaining capacity at that point and if possible rest the system completely for an hour and then jot down the battery voltage before continuing to use them and then see how much use they give you at a lighter load. Probably not convenient to do when you're out but maybe it's something you could do at home. Also next time you use a kettle or other high load feel around the cables and especially the connections to see if anything is getting warm.

 

[merl]

What I don’t understand is that it’s just “fixed itself” felt a bit stupid at the time.

But I’d like to know what was wrong before it happens again.

The voltage rising in the batteries after you've removed the load is typical.
When you say "fixed itself", has it ever stopped working on the kettle and then soon afterwards (without adding a charge) worked the kettle fine? THAT would be "fixed itself"

 

[Boris7]

No it’s always worked completely fine, just the display reporting bad information.

The guy at RoadPro lives local and has said he’ll come around anytime I need him, can’t fault them.

The socket is due to it being on the fridge circuit which the inverter doesn’t power, once on EHU it’s fine.

Run the kettle several times this afternoon and put all the lights on etc at the same time, didn’t miss a beat and the display hasn’t been an issue

 

[Admin]

I have removed the address from the quote.

 

[Fisherman]

Not given much detail about the kit, so going to have to make assumptions ...
Originally had Lead Batteries? And the display that tells you battery level is basically a voltmeter I would guess?
When use the batteries, you get voltage sag. Heavier the load, the greater the voltage drop (even on Lithium!)
So stick a heavy load like a kettle on, the voltage will drop and you can get a simple panel like that saying batteries are 'depleted' as all it does it match an instantaneous voltage reading to a status.
A voltmeter is not much use to tell you what the battery situation generally, especially when using an Inverter and especially especially (!) with Lithium. What did your Battery State of Charge monitor tell you about the Battery state?
When the display said this, the inverter carried on working? No alarms for low voltage? Inverters usually have a cut-off voltage and will alarm if really low. If it carried on working, the battery can't have been that depleted?

Don't know if the panel sounds faulty from this remote thinking?




How was the testing done by each party? If S&G tested it 'off-grid' and Road-Pro tested it when plugged in EHU (or just took it out and checked the functionality) they would have got very different results.

Sockets now not working sounds like someone didn't plug a cable back in place.

Makes sense David, particularly when using an inverter.
One other possibility is a poor connection at the socket that’s no longer working. This would induce arcing, this would decrease resistance and increase current making matters even worse. I would check out the socket and check for a loose connection which would have induced arcing. Also if the socket is fed from another, then take a look at that, but normally in vans sockets are taken back to the consumer unit and wired independently. But I reckon your comments on the control panel are correct.

 

[guerdeval]

Yes, can’t say I’m bothered much.

If your passing and fancy a brew, toilet/grey waste point or fresh water just pull on the left drive and use the side gate.

Is there hook up?