Victron Shunt not reading correctly

[Ynnde]

I am not really conversant electrically but the batteries always read 100% full with "-- " time remaining even after waking up with systems (furnace, 12v fridge,fan) having run all night. Thoughts ?
Thanks
Mark

[oldwave]

Is the shunt wired all dc negative loads on the post marked loads and the battery post direct from the battery with no negative loads on the battery?

[BobG]

Originally Posted by Ynnde

I am not really conversant electrically but the batteries always read 100% full with "-- " time remaining even after waking up with systems (furnace, 12v fridge,fan) having run all night. Thoughts ?
Thanks
Mark

I am not familiar with how Escape sets the system up but am curious. Are you using Victron Connect on your phone to read the SOC is 100% and the time remaining is "__"?

[Ynnde]

Originally Posted by BobG

I am not familiar with how Escape sets the system up but am curious. Are you using Victron Connect on your phone to read the SOC is 100% and the time remaining is "__"?

Yes. Correct.

[MVA]

After charging the battery "sufficiently" for a period of time (a day on shore power), you can set the Victron app to read 100%. The shunt does not really read the battery state of charge, but number of A-hr in and out of the battery.

[dstreight]

Did the software update on my Victron Shunt yesterday and SOC went to 100% (default) after the software update even though I was at 88% SOC. Not a big deal but FYI if it happens to others.

[Ynnde]

The suggestion to reset to 100% seemed very straightforward so even though we are camping without power I reset to 100% at dusk yesterday just to see if I could get any movement. At 6am this morning with furnace, 12v fridge, maxvent, lights etc we were still at 100%. I think the OP who suspects it is not properly wired is correct. As the trailer is not yet a month old let's see what ETI says .

[BobG]

Originally Posted by Ynnde

I think the OP who suspects it is not properly wired is correct. As the trailer is not yet a month old let's see what ETI says .

Seems likely. Can you post a picture that shows the shunt and negative cable from the shunt to the battery?

[Ynnde]

Originally Posted by BobG

Seems likely. Can you post a picture that shows the shunt and negative cable from the shunt to the battery?

Not sure if it is helpful but the shunt negative terminals are jumped together then dissappear under the floor into the foam insulation. Two black cables appear out of the floor. One to a negative bus and the other into the back of the inverter so I assuming the one into the bus came from the shunt.

[BobG]

Originally Posted by Ynnde

Not sure if it is helpful but the shunt negative terminals are jumped together then dissappear under the floor into the foam insulation. Two black cables appear out of the floor. One to a negative bus and the other into the back of the inverter so I assuming the one into the bus came from the shunt.

The shunt should look something like the one in this picture. The battery negative post should have only one conductor connected to it and it should connect to the Shunt terminal labeled "battery". All other negative conductors should be wired so that they ultimately connect via the negative busbar to the shunt terminal labeled "System".

If the 2 negative terminals on the shunt are jumped together then the shunt is being bypassed and can not measure the current going into and out of the battery. Therefor it won't be able to determine the SOC.

[Ynnde]

Just to let folks know that ETI has asked for pictures of the shunt and will get back to me - I was looking at the wrong Victron devices which probably demonstrates my limited knowledge of these systems although in my defense I have owned and kept running a fiberglass British sports car - which is all about the grounds and tracing faults in them : ...

[Sean Murry]

Originally Posted by Ynnde

I am not really conversant electrically but the batteries always read 100% full with "-- " time remaining even after waking up with systems (furnace, 12v fridge,fan) having run all night. Thoughts ?
Thanks
Mark

I have exactly the same issue. You are supposed to periodically recalibrate after you know it is 100% charged. I do that but it quickly goes back to saying 100% SOC. I have given up on that meaning anything. Instead I pay attention to what charge is going in or leaving the battery, and the voltage reading of the battery. With that information I can determine the state of charge, and know if I am gaining or losing power.

So not exactly as easy as reading the SOC, but still very valuable information. I have the "Smart Monitor" so all this info is read off my phone which is very useful.

[BobG]

Originally Posted by Ynnde

I am not really conversant electrically but the batteries always read 100% full with "-- " time remaining even after waking up with systems (furnace, 12v fridge,fan) having run all night. Thoughts ?
Thanks
Mark

Mark, If you have a Victron SmartShunt and use Victron Connect App to monitor your battery using your phone, you will have a no hassle accurate reading on your batteries provided the settings are set correctly. Escape should be able to tell you what settings to use. You can also download the manual for the shunt from Victron and it will help you. Or, you can go to any of the battery or equipment online suppliers like Battleborn or Northern Arizona Wind & Sun to see what they are recommending.

If not, there are people on this forum that can help. Or you can go to Facebook Group for Victron DIY Campers or something like that and get help.

[Sean Murry]

When I had my issues with it always reading 100% I first phoned Battleborn and we walked through all the settings. All was set properly. Worked for about 2 or 3 hours where I could see the battery SOC go down to about 90%, then at some point it went back to 100% and just stayed there, in spite of the fact the voltage was going down.
Next I phoned Victron, again confirmed all settings were correct. Didn't fix the issue so I have just given up on the particular feature of the battery monitor

[MVA]

Originally Posted by Sean Murry

When I had my issues with it always reading 100% I first phoned Battleborn and we walked through all the settings. All was set properly. Worked for about 2 or 3 hours where I could see the battery SOC go down to about 90%, then at some point it went back to 100% and just stayed there, in spite of the fact the voltage was going down.
Next I phoned Victron, again confirmed all settings were correct. Didn't fix the issue so I have just given up on the particular feature of the battery monitor

Assuming you have wired the shunt correctly (I assume you have) and you have used the parameters from BB (which I have also done), I suspect your shunt is faulty. I have a BB battery and am using the parameters from BB; the shunt works well including the SOC reading.

[Sean Murry]

If my shunt was faulty wouldn't you expect it to not record the incoming and outgoing amps? I do get readings showing input and output from the battery

[MVA]

Depends. The shunt measures the voltage drop over the shunt as a function of time. Given a known shunt resistance, the current passing through the shunt is calculated (I=V/r). If the current is known as a function of time, then the charge (e.g., A-hr, coulombs, A-sec, etc.) that pass through the shunt can be calculated by integration.

It is interesting that you can measure the current and voltage from the shunt. Assuming that data you measure is accurate (current), then something is wrong with the integration function of the shunt.

[MVA]

BTW, as a double check, these are the parameters BB sent to me use for the Victron shunt (just incase the BB rep you talked to may have not given you the correct parameters):

Battery Capacity: Total AH of your bank of batteries
Charged voltage: 14.4v but note that this # should be about .1 or .2 volts back of what the charging voltage is set to in your charging
device
Discharge Floor: 0%
Tail Current: 2-4% is good
Charged Detection Time: 3m
Peukert Exponent: 1.05
Charge Efficiency Factor: 99%
Current threshold: 0.10A
Time to go averaging period 3m
Battery Starts Synchronized: blue button should be to the right
State of Charge: leave alone
Synchronize SOC to 100%: Leave alone, this device will sync itself at the top of the charge
Zero Current Calibration: Leave alone

[Sean Murry]

Figures look good. I am no wizard by a long shot on this stuff. All I know is what I see on my phone. I can see current going in, I.E. when solar is inputting power, I can see when by 12V compressor fridge kicks in as the amperage shows a drain. etc etc etc. I can see the voltage of the battery. All this I can see on my phone, where it is coming from I have no idea,
But throughout the SOC will show 100%. Doesn't move a bit

[MVA]

If you have ensured the parameters are correct in the phone app and the shunt is wired correctly, then I would suspect that the shunt is faulty.