Changing Setpoints on Morningstar TS60 PWM

Ako

When i load and edit any setpoints on my TS60 i only know of one way top write them to the Controller which is to press the " Program Tristar " button which always creates a Fault , to reset the fault and have the new settings applied i have to disconnect a cable from the batterie and reconnect it , obviously disconnecting the solar array first .

The downside is that the log file always shows zeros for the day its done . I did watch a video where once the button to " Program Tristar " was pressed a pop up window showed with the option " Disconnect and apply settings "  which didn't return a fault , the guy just selected Connect on the MSVIEW Devices tab , the video was on the MSVIEW program and they were doing it on a MPPT TS60 as it had more settings to demonstrate .

I have tried disconnecting the Controller through the DEVICES option on the top of the MSVIEW then Program Tristar and then Connect again through Devices but that doesn't work either , stil has a fault show and the days log are lost .

Anyone have a solution .

mike95490

What interface are you using to connect with ?  I use a rs232 to usb adapter.

Ako

Hi Mike , Im using a Tripp lite USB to Serial Adapter Cable (USB-A to DB9 M/M),5-ft.MODEL NUMBER: U209-000-R . Bought it 4 years ago when i bought the TS60 on the advice of Morningstar and its excellent ,always a connection straight away , never had a problem finding the unit .

Messaged Morningstar also last night not expecting a reply until in the new year, just received one , very impressed .Pasted the reply which answers the question although leaves me still having to Louse a days data at least i now know theres nothing i could do to overcome it .

" Anytime you make a change to the programmed charge settings of the controller, the controller will fault and stop charging and has to be reset to resume.  There is no way around this.  This is by design and is a requirement for CE regulatory compliance."

Ako

For anyone looking to get one for themselves this is what to go for .

Ako

Another anomaly i wondered if anyone had a solution for . I made adjustments to the settings on the TS60 PWM for the new AGM batteries , each time i had an Alarm show on the log which is expected as i had to remove a batterie terminal for a second to apply the new settings . The figures are all over the place on the days i amended the settings which i have to accept is a consequence of the mandatory powering off for a moment but date being put back 1 day each time is a different problem .

What i did not expect is that now the Date on the Log is lagging 3 days , the screenshot was taken today January 3rd after disconnecting and reconnecting through Devices tab .

The running log is showing correct date and taking a reading every 2 minutes without any problem as always , its juts the end of day summary thats out .

MStar1

The newer versions of MSView will automatically disconnect when you program the controller.
Cycling power will reboot the controller and clear the fault but you can also do this in MSView. After programing the controller connect to the controller again and then right click on the controller and select properties. Then select Control. Select Reset Control and Force Coil On and it will clear the fault.
You can see more about the Device Control Coils in the Reference section in the Help Topics.
It is also a good idea to disable charging with the coil command before programming the controller. 

Ako

I did overcome the problem of the date on the daily summary thanks to Morningstar Support , i will post the solution here as it might be helpful to others experiencing the same .

" Rename the .xml file that is created on the PC when the charge controller is connected in MSView, and start over with a new .xml file.   When the controller is connected to a PC in MSView the logged data is written to an XML file on the PC at the following location
C:\Users\"User_Name"\AppData\Local\Morningstar Corporation\Logs\"Controller Model/Serial".xml

The appdata folder in windows is a hidden folder. If you are unable to see this folder you will need to change your folder view permissions in Windows to allow you to see hidden folders.

Please disconnect the charge controller from the PC, shut down MSView, Rename the current .XML file to something like .oldxml, reboot the PC, reconnect the charge controller to the PC, reopen MSView and connect the controller in MSView (you will probably get a message about a large amount of data, that is normal), then export the log file again and see if the date issue is resolved."

What is the latest version of MSView ? i have had mine for 4 years , version 1.6.44.0

I have never been advised or read anywhere anything regarding disabling the Charging before programing the controller and was told that anytime you make a change to the programmed charge settings of the controller, the controller will fault and stop charging and has to be reset to resume.  There is no way around this.  This is by design and is a requirement for CE regulatory compliance.

The result it that the current days data is lost as well as some of the following days also , the figures shown on the daily summary are not relevant to anything

MStar1

That is the latest version. It used to be that you could not program the controller while it was connected in MSView. You would have to exit the setup wizard and disconnect the controller and then open the setup wizard and reenter the settings. Now it automatically disconnects from the controller when you program it without having to do that. I wasn't sure if you were having this issue.
We have had a few TS-MPPT controllers that failed during a reset on a sunny day. I think it was very rare that this occurred and we updated the firmware about 5 years ago so it should never be a problem anymore. I just do it as a precaution.
The internal daily logged data has no time stamp so the dates in the .cvs log file are created based on the PC clock. If you shut off the controller for several days it will not count the days that it was off. Also, whenever you do a reset or power cycle it starts a new day. It is also possible to download the daily logged data on the Log Files tab at any time if you just want to see the data which is currently logged on the controller. 
It is possible to edit the data in excel. You might be interested in this article regarding how to adjust the time for your time zone.
https://www.morningstarcorp.com/technical-documents/adjusting-morningstar-data-log-file-time-zone/
You can also change the date by adding or subtracting 1 for each day to the time values.
The time in Absorption and Float would be a scaling bug. We may have fixed this with a newer firmware version.
https://www.morningstarcorp.com/firmware/tristar-firmware/
Please let me know if it is still a problem and I will request a firmware update to correct this bug.

Ako

Thank you Mstar1 , not sure what your situation is but it appears you have a connection to Morningstar as you seem to well informed to be an end user . I am happy with the TS60 provides the data now i understand it better . The date issue is just a case of deleting the file and the Charge Controller will create a new one once its been Disconnected and Reconnected through MSView with the correct date and as parameters are not something a user would change on a regular basis its no big deal . I did not read anywhere in the MSView help manual that the user has to Disconnect then Reconnect through MSView to get the latest daily summary data , if you don't then you only get up until the last time it was connected which could be weeks or months previously , i do it daily .The 1 hour time difference between my time and what it shows on Logging is also simple to rectify , the Windows 10 Laptop i leave permanently connected to it is set 1 hour ahead of my real time so everything it displays in Logging equates to my time perfectly . Looking a the method to adjust the MSView i think my way is simpler and takes into account clocks going forward and backwards at different dates each year so works for me .

There are a couple of things i have never been able to get my head around but as i have no doubts theTS60 is functioning as it should and i have even connecting a second TS60 which showed an identical  pattern so they might just have to romaine a mystery .

The charging voltage during the Bulk charging period displays panel voltage between 0.01 to 0.20 less than the batterie voltage while the batteries continue to charge and voltages increase until Absorption when it shows Higher Panel voltages than battery , the point for transition from Bulk to Absorption is temperature compensated and perfectly correct always as is the Float which i see about once or twice a week @ 30% for1 hour . I don't have any cable loss between TS60 and batteries as cables are more than ample and less than 1 meter long so i don't use a sense cable .


The other strange unexplainable thing is the input amps are les than the known output Watts shown on my Inverter which i have confirmed to be correct with the use of Watt meters . I only ever use what i consider to e quality reliable equipment irrespective of costs and find in the long term to be cost effective . My last Morningstar controllers , Prostar 30 with LCD windows served me well for 16 years and now 4 years later are still performing perfectly for the friend i gave them to . My explanation for this can only be due to the fact that the Charge controller registers Amps and the Inverter and Watt meters register Watts , i think converting either of them to find a common denominator is the problem , either Amps x Voltage (25)  = Watts or Watts divided by Voltage (25) = Amps as i used to use a standard 25 volts as the Watts consumed are approximately 50% at night when  voltages are mid 24 volts and 50% daytime while charging with low 29 volts as its easy to use and close to my systems nominal voltage s while the Amps shown on the Charge controller are mostly when in Absorption around at low 29 volts . I'm hoping that's where the anomaly is explained away . Not sure if any of that makes sense or if my theory is way off track . Input around 125-135 amp/hrs , consumption around 3500 - 4000 Watt/hrs

Any observations , criticisms or explanations you have will always be very much appreciated .

MStar1

I do work at Morningstar. It has been quite a while since I have been on this forum. 
I thought that I replied to this but I guess I must have closed the window before posting it.
I don't think the array voltage is as accurate as the battery voltage (≤ 0.1 % ± 100 mV) so you might see a different array voltage differential with a different controller.
The battery voltage is always higher during charging than during discharging so you would need to use a higher voltage with the energy calculations with the controller. Maybe 26 or 27V. Also the accuracy of current sensor is not that great. The only way to know what is really going on with the battery circuit would be with a battery shunt meter.
We never really considered disconnecting and reconnecting with the daily logged data as it was designed mostly for users that have autonomous sites and the system is running continuously so they know what has been happening over the last few months when they visit the site or view the daily logged data at any time.
I hope this helps.

Ako

Thank you once again MStar1 , it certainly does help me to understand better . Will be multiplying my input Amps by 27.5 now as normal voltage for most of the day is 28.8 , at 27.5 the input amps do exceed the known output Watts .

I have 2 TS60s and both work identically , same pattern and as the battery voltages can be confirmed and they would not charge with a lower voltage i have to assume the Array voltages shown are lower than they actually are while in Bulk although i am surprised the TS60s are so far out .I am also surprised the current input is not precise , i had assumed that all the parameters were within very tight margins although the i can see that the resettable amps wouldn't need to be that accurate as its doesn't effect the battery charging regime or put the batteries at risk  which is the primarily purpose of the Charge Controller .

I disconnect and reconnect so that i can check each day the lowest voltage the batteries have gone down to during the previous 24 hours ,because with AGM batteries its one of the few ways to get an understanding of whats going on although i have found the Min voltage can be a long way off sometimes . I have a fridge that cuts in during the night sometimes  the voltage drop is not visible and even with a 1 second log its rare i can see it but i know its there  because the lowest voltage on the log would be about 24.6v while the MIN voltage for the 24 hours would be 24-25v , turning the fridge off and the Min voltage for the period can be identified  on the 1 second log .

Where i live on the hills of Spain there is no electricity and we all have solar systems , the Mornigstar is one of the more popular chargers in use but everyone i know monitors their systems as i do , probably because buying or getting anything here is not as simple or as cheap as in the US so we need to take care of what we have .

Thank you once again for your advice , its very much appreciated .