Update: I verified the PWOD 16S 48V BMS is shot. I went through the trouble of connecting the leads the proper way. Tested them at the ribbon connector before connecting to the BMS. The voltages increased by ~3V on each lead as it should. When I connected the BMS B- lead to the battery, and then connected the ribbon cable to the BMS I tested the overall pack voltage on the P- lead (Through the BMS) and got nothing. Total pack voltage is now up to 51.5V when tested at the battery terminals. I ordered a DALY 150Amp BMS with WiFi and a 3” display screen. This should fill in with showing pack status until I can figure out the DIYBMS module issues. Cheers.
Greetings, I come with an update. Due to the DIYBMS modules being unavailable, I’ve removed all modules and replaced them with a DALY 16S 48V 150A BMS with Smart Active Balance Module. This unit has effectively replaced the DIYBMS balancing duties.
I totally reworked the battery box and trickle charged all the batteries up to their nominal 3.2V per cell. This allowed me to finally activate the Growatt Inverter. We’re back up and running for the most part, and have had limited success charging from the solar panels and the Utility on occasion.
At a minimum, we’ve managed to get power to the outlets and lights in the barn so the owner is super happy about that! We even stress tested the system for over an hour running two exhaust fans, a big boy floor fan on high, barn lights, a shop vacuum all while charging two iPhones and an iPad. The Growatt was saying we were pulling 42-45 amps and running at 50-60% load. Not bad.
We kept getting a #13 fault code from the inverter. This is the PV overvoltage fault and because of this, we weren’t able to run the system for more than 20-30 min during the daytime. This system has 12 panels of unknown make or stats. They look like they’re configured in a 3S4P arrangement. We’ve seen voltages as high as 150-160V out of these panels! The Growatt support techs say we’re getting the #13 fault code because the Growatt’s maximum voltage is hard set at 145V. Anything more than that and the inverter shuts down with that fault code.
Our plan now is to either pull the fuse for one of the four 3-panel series or cover one solar panel at a time during the day to get the overall voltage below that 145V limit. The next time I’m down the hill I’ll try and pull up one of those solar panels to try and get some additional info about their stats.
After we figure out how to get the system to run all day on its own for a few weeks I’ll give my final update. Thank you to all who have read and/or suggested options to get me this far.
Cheers for now! Rick.