Schneider Conext SW4048 Stacked Inverters Not Charging Battery Bank

neutronspin

Installed replacement inverters and the charging function doesn't seem to come on.  I have the recharge voltage set at 50.0vdc.  Right now the battery bank is at 46.4vdc as indicated on the SCP.  I am worried that my bank will die completely.  I checked all the charger parameters per the manual and they seem to be correct.  I talked to the vendor and he said they seem to be correct.  The state of charge as indicated on the Conext battery monitor is at 51%.  The inverter is in AC pass thru mode and right now not drawing any DC current presently so hopefully the bank will not go any lower.  I would think if the recharge voltage is at 50vdc the charger should have come on.  Any help appreciated.

BB.

I do not know--But would "pass through" mode disable the SW charging system?

Generally, modern inverter-charger systems pretty much use the same "hardware internally" (transformers/FETs/etc.) when charging and invertering. Pass through would seem to "disable" the entire system.

-Bill

mcgivor

The battery at 46.4V is very close to death, turn the inverter on ASAP to allow charging, depending how large loads are it may require disconnecting them to prioritize charging.

neutronspin

mcgivor said:

The battery at 46.4V is very close to death, turn the inverter on ASAP to allow charging, depending how large loads are it may require disconnecting them to prioritize charging.

I put the system in standby and disconnected the loads and disconnected the battery bank.  I need to get a 48 volt charger to put some life in the bank until I either get more sun or else.  I am going to contact Schneider Electric tomorrow and see what they think.  There must be a parameter that is wrong keeping the inverters from going into the charge mode.  Thanks and will keep trying to find out what is wrong.

neutronspin

BB. said:

I do not know--But would "pass through" mode disable the SW charging system?

Generally, modern inverter-charger systems pretty much use the same "hardware internally" (transformers/FETs/etc.) when charging and invertering. Pass through would seem to "disable" the entire system.

-Bill

I am beginning to regret purchasing these inverters.  The original units would enter the charge mode until they failed.  I am now on the second set of inverters.  Contacting Schneider to get some answers...thanks..

mcgivor

On the SCP enter SW 4048, scroll down to Charger Settings, check Auto Chg Enable is enabled. On 48V models the default is disabled.  

mike95490

I don't have an SW manual, but the XW manual is pretty dang complete, and covers all the settings and how they work, you only have to read it, and @ 46V, your batteries are dead/dieing/murdered   Either read the manual and configure the inverters properly, even set to factory defaults, they should charge the bank properly.  Read first, then muck about with the settings.

Photowhit

So this is posted in Off grid, could it be as simple as the wiring for generator starting?

If you manually start the generator, will it start charging?

neutronspin

mcgivor said:

On the SCP enter SW 4048, scroll down to Charger Settings, check Auto Chg Enable is enabled. On 48V models the default is disabled.  

Thank you for the info.  I ended up taking both inverters to standby and resetting them to factory settings.  Then I went to Charger Settings and checked Auto Chg Enabled as you stated and now I am golden.  Battery Bank is charging properly now.  There must have been a setting that was wrong and I think it was one of the AC settings.  I am going to make a copy of the settings for future reference to keep this from happening again.  I hope the bank isn't too badly compromised.  I really do appreciate all the help on here.  This forum is a great asset.  Thanks again....

Mwaka

For a conext battery monitor equiped setup, the soc setting should be enabled. Sometimes the soc setting is enabled in a system WITHOUT a battery monitor. If the setup does not have a xanbus networked battery monitor, and the soc setting is enabled, the battery may not charge.