Fixed inverter help solving a problem.

[haganap]

So on the Hymer (starship) I have a hard wired inverter which is of excellent quality. (please see picture 1)

The inverter is designed to come on and make all sockets live which it does.

There is a remote control installed (see picture 2).

Here's the issues I am having.

When I am off hook up I press the button to make all sockets live. I have a wifi installed and an alexa and I noticed over the weekend the inverter appears to simply restart every 30 seconds. The controller has two lights (red in the pic is when you are on hook up) Green and Yellow. The yellow light flashes and it appears to reset itself. In the case of the wifi and alexa and Nikkis little robot hoover they simply give the impression they are being replugged in every 30 seconds?

However, here's the really strange thing, when Nikki runs her hair dryer the problem does not happen? ie the inverter runs it fine and the resets stop? I have treid unplugging the wifi router to no avail, still resets.

yesterday I thought the problem was solved as it stopped doing it? at the time we had a lot of battery use from lights on etc. essentially it worked fine loaded up but won't keep the other products live?

anyone offer an explanation as to what might be happening or anything I can look in to?

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Does the inverter have an "eco" type mode. I know many of the Victron units do this. In Eco they are effectively powering down and back up again when there is low load, effectively going into some sort of standby mode to save energy.

 

[Tombola]

If it Is not pure sine wave? could be the issue with some gadjets/electronics

 

[Googlebot]

Does the inverter have an "eco" type mode. I know many of the Victron units do this. In Eco they are effectively powering down and back up again when there is low load, effectively going into some sort of standby mode to save energy.

You are right, but the power on is literally a flicker to detect draw. I very much doubt an Alexa would even start up. The relay on my setup just clicks on and off straight away unless something is plugged in.

I have had an issue where it kept going into low voltage fault mode. Inverter said voltage had dropped below 10v. It clearly had not as the shunt told me it was fine. It was the inverter that was knackered.

 

[pappajohn]

It works ok with hair drier yet resets with other things.
Try unplugging both the router AND the 'spy in the house' ..Alexa, then try the robot hoover

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[haganap]

You are right, but the power on is literally a flicker to detect draw. I very much doubt an Alexa would even start up. The relay on my setup just clicks on and off straight away unless something is plugged in.

I have had an issue where it kept going into low voltage fault mode. Inverter said voltage had dropped below 10v. It clearly had not as the shunt told me it was fine. It was the inverter that was knackered.

Yes, was thinking this may be an issue as it being knackered but works fine with the hair dryer keeping lights on etc. in fact the more draw it takes the better it runs.

If it Is not pure sine wave? could be the issue with some gadjets/electronics

it's pure sine

It works ok with hair drier yet resets with other things.
Try unplugging both the router AND the 'spy in the house' ..Alexa, then try the robot hoover

tried all that John, but still the same.

 

[funflair]

I don’t have any suggestions other than sending a email to Buttner in Germany as I have found them quite good at responding.

 

[eddie]

The load of the Alexa and the other appliance is too small or is below the threshold so the inverter doesn’t see it. I suspect that there will be a dipswitch configuration to adjust this

 

[haganap]

The load of the Alexa and the other appliance is too small or is below the threshold so the inverter doesn’t see it. I suspect that there will be a dipswitch configuration to adjust this

I did think this Eddie, but am I not right in thinking that when the van has electrickery to go all sockets live, when I turn it on, it's on? with this in mind, when I use the lights etc are they on 12v or 230? or do all lights stay on 12v circuit regardless of being on electric or not? Obviously the fridge is isolated from this to remain on gas due to the load on the battery's but I thought everything else switched to 230 through some sort of magic.

essentially in short, are you saying when they hard wire these inverters in, they only do the plug sockets?

if that's the case would it be normal behavior for the inverter to reset itself every 30 seconds if nothing was running on it?

 

[Manic]

The light would always be on the 12volt supply.

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[jongood]

I did think this Eddie, but am I not right in thinking that when the van has electrickery to go all sockets live, when I turn it on, it's on? with this in mind, when I use the lights etc are they on 12v or 230? or do all lights stay on 12v circuit regardless of being on electric or not? Obviously the fridge is isolated from this to remain on gas due to the load on the battery's but I thought everything else switched to 230 through some sort of magic.

essentially in short, are you saying when they hard wire these inverters in, they only do the plug sockets?

if that's the case would it be normal behavior for the inverter to reset itself every 30 seconds if nothing was running on it?

Ours also has hard-wired inverter from the factory switched from the CBE panel. IF I leave it on with no apparent load we can hear the fan cycling every 10 seconds or so. In our case I think its the panel on the Microwave that is triggering it. Is your perhaps detecting some load but not needing full power?

Ours has a big changeover relay in the garage that clunks over when you plug it in therefore isolating the inverter, this works well but is sensitive to polarity so can be a problem on foreign sites with 2 pin sockets. I've wired a neon light into my EHU input so I know if the plug is in the right way round.

 

[eddie]

I did think this Eddie, but am I not right in thinking that when the van has electrickery to go all sockets live, when I turn it on, it's on? with this in mind, when I use the lights etc are they on 12v or 230? or do all lights stay on 12v circuit regardless of being on electric or not? Obviously the fridge is isolated from this to remain on gas due to the load on the battery's but I thought everything else switched to 230 through some sort of magic.

essentially in short, are you saying when they hard wire these inverters in, they only do the plug sockets?

if that's the case would it be normal behavior for the inverter to reset itself every 30 seconds if nothing was running on it?

Because the remote has an automatic setting, that makes me think that it sits off, until it ‘see’s’ a load, and it turns on automatically

If my assumption is correct there would logically be the ability to determine the value of the load to kick the inverter in

This is backed up by the system working correctly with a bigger load

 

[funflair]

Instructions Paul, but you will have to Google translate,

https://www.buettner-elektronik.de/fileadmin/redakteurupload/downloads/Sinus_Wechselrichter/MT_Sinus-Wechselrichter_MT1200_1700_Si-N_Erdung.pdf

 

[funflair]

Because the remote has an automatic setting, that makes me think that it sits off, until it ‘see’s’ a load, and it turns on automatically

If my assumption is correct there would logically be the ability to determine the value of the load to kick the inverter in

This is backed up by the system working correctly with a bigger load

Pasted from the instructions,


"Commissioning and function:

After connecting the inverter to the 12 V battery, the device is ready for operation. By pressing the
ON/OFF switch (approx. 1 second) on the control panel of the inverter, the device is switched on (ON) and the
Green light-emitting diode (LED) "Inverter" indicates operational readiness. After an internal self-test of the entire
System, signaled by 2 short and one long signal tone, the operation of the inverter starts. On the front
The device socket now has 230 V alternating current (AC) and the consumers are supplied.

Operating the inverter in automatic mode (standby mode):
The automatic mode is used to save battery energy with larger consumers: Large consumers become
Because of their high energy requirements, they are often only switched on for a short time or at intervals, while the inverter
permanently loads the battery, even if the consumer is already switched off (idle)!!
To reduce this unnecessary battery drain, it makes sense to use the standby function!
When the inverter is switched on by briefly pressing the ON/OFF switch, the inverter is started in automatic mode and the "Inverter" and "Automatic" LEDs light up

When switched on, the inverter constantly checks the connected load (e.g. TV set). As long as the TV set is switched on, it requires power (> 25 W). If the TV set is switched off (< 25 W), the
Inverter this state and after an observation time of approx. 30 seconds automatically changes to the
standby mode.
All LEDs go out, only the yellow "Automatic" LED flashes every second. The battery will now only with
approx. 0.4 A loaded.
The inverter now checks every second whether a load > 25 W is connected to the output. Does he find in
If there is no consumer in standby mode within the next 5 or 10 minutes, it switches itself off completely and can
can only be restarted using the ON/OFF switch (safety measure).
In order to better adapt the standby mode to the respective requirements
the standby load threshold (Load) and the duration of the standby search run (Time) can be set. For this purpose the display/remote control of
loosen the front panel and adjust accordingly via the two
Make switch:
Switch 1 (Load): load threshold 25 W or 60 W
Switch 2 (Time): Search duration 5 minutes or 10 minutes
Changeover switches 3 and 4 (air conditioning OFF stationary operation):
switching threshold 11.8 V; 11.6V; 11.4V and 11.2V"

 

[funflair]

If I understand the above instructions correctly and the function would seem very similar to our Buttner 3000 SI-N inverter, a quick press to switch on is automatic mode and the green and yellow light will illuminate, the inverter will hunt for a consumer and stay on if it is being used but after an idle period it will switch off, a longer 1 second press of the on/off and there will be two short and one long beep and then just the green light will be on, the inverter is now switched on and is not hunting for a consumer.

As I said this is basically how ours work except that I think it is 3 seconds to turn it on permanently, I like the automatic/standby on ours as I can plug in the Dyson or laptop to charge and when they are done the inverter switches off. We don't get the device restart Paul haganap like you describe with WiFi and Alexa although I have the WiFi router on 12v.

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[haganap]

Thanks Martin. I'll check that out when I get home.

What you write is exactly how I see it.

What I need to do is find the way to run it on constant or take the auto off as like Eddie says there must be to little draw.

 

[funflair]

Thanks Martin. I'll check that out when I get home.

What you write is exactly how I see it.

What I need to do is find the way to run it on constant or take the auto off as like Eddie says there must be to little draw.

Just hold the on/off button for a second or two and you should get a Beep Beep Beeeeeep.

 

[haganap]

Thank you everyone for your input. Thank you to Martin funflair you solved the issue. Just need to speak better German. Obviously as you say the draw not being enough kicks it back on to auto. I can override this by following the steps you put out which leaves the inverter on all the time.

 

[haganap]

actually got a response from Buetner in Germany today.


if you switch the inverter out of automatic mode, small consumers will also run. When switching on, keep the button pressed for about 4 seconds, then the inverter is permanently on until you switch it off again.



Reg. Büttner Team

 

[funflair]

actually got a response from Buetner in Germany today.


if you switch the inverter out of automatic mode, small consumers will also run. When switching on, keep the button pressed for about 4 seconds, then the inverter is permanently on until you switch it off again.



Reg. Büttner Team

Good result Paul, I think the instructions said about 1 second, I doubled it to or 2 as I know ours is 3 so about 4 is a good compromise