Victron BMV-700 dead

[Atlin]

My BMV-700 appears to be dead. Was working fine last fall. I definitely have power to it (checked fuse, actually measured voltage), have checked the 3-pair cable (and tried three different cables, checked the continuity on them as well). Have tried a reset according to the manual. Nothing, no lights or indications of life.

Any suggestions?

 

[Beach]

Is there an internal fuse to protect the board?

 

[Atlin]

Nothing I can see. Tiny PCB on the side of the shunt. I don't see any access to the back of the round display.

 

[Vic Harder]

Have you called support or gone to the online forums?

 

[ckent323]

The only power comes from the house battery bank via the Victron cable.

You posted that you checked and verified that there is power going to the BVM readout. I assume that means you checked at the end of the Victron cable that plugs into the readout.

If you have not done so already it probably makes sense in that case to check the receptacle on the readout for damage (e.g. bent pins or something).

BVM manual excerpt:

2.3 Common problems
No signs of life on the display
Probably the BMV is not properly wired. The UTP cable should be properly inserted at both ends, the shunt must be connected to the minus pole of the battery, and the positive supply cable should be connected to the plus pole of the battery with the fuse inserted. The temperature sensor (when used) must be connected to the positive pole of the battery bank (one of the two wires of the sensor doubles as the power supply wire).

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Manual-BMV-700-700H-702-712-EN-NL-FR-DE-ES-SE.pdf



A follow up thought. If you have the bluetooth dongle can you read the BVM-700 using the Victron app (something wrong with the display but unit is functioning otherwise)?

 

[Atlin]

Vic,

Have read through some of the forums. Most of the problems seem to at least have some sort of display. I was unaware of any support phone. Will try that.

ckent,

Yes, I'm sure it is properly wired. Power through fuse to the end of the + cable, inserted into display (I tried both insert points on the back of the display. No evidence I can see of the RJ plug connections being buggered. I recently got a dongle but have not tried it yet. Will give that a try in case it is just the display screen gone bad.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Vic Harder]

Vic,

Have read through some of the forums. Most of the problems seem to at least have some sort of display. I was unaware of any support phone. Will try that.

ckent,

Yes, I'm sure it is properly wired. Power through fuse to the end of the + cable, inserted into display (I tried both insert points on the back of the display. No evidence I can see of the RJ plug connections being buggered. I recently got a dongle but have not tried it yet. Will give that a try in case it is just the display screen gone bad.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Having an issue with my own BMV-712, I was troubleshooting a bit yesterday and found that even without the RJ-12 patch cable plugged in, the display will light up if it has 12v power via the wires as ckent has mentioned. So, if no display, it may be toast.

 

[Atlin]

Having an issue with my own BMV-712, I was troubleshooting a bit yesterday and found that even without the RJ-12 patch cable plugged in, the display will light up if it has 12v power via the wires as ckent has mentioned. So, if no display, it may be toast.

Perhaps the 712 is different, but mine only has a power (+) wire and the RJ cable. The only other plug on the back of the display is for the dongle. I presume that the ground is one of the wires in the RJ. Am I missing something?

 

[Vic Harder]

The power wire goes from the shunt to the battery itself, not to the BMV, as I recall.
https://www.outbackmarine.com.au/victron-battery-monitor-bmv-700-grey

 

[Atlin]

OK, I feel like an idiot, but that was the problem. I had the power wire plugged into the back of the meter in the "relay" slots. They look just like the slots on the shunt. Thank you Vic for saving me from replacing this!

 

[Vic Harder]

OK, I feel like an idiot, but that was the problem. I had the power wire plugged into the back of the meter in the "relay" slots. They look just like the slots on the shunt. Thank you Vic for saving me from replacing this!

Whew! That's great. FYI, while I was troubleshooting mine I found I had a bad data cable. The BMV always showed 14Amps charging, even when the SHUNT was disconnected from the battery! Surprisingly, this is a relatively common issue, as I found 2-3 hits on google searching specifically for "Victron BMV 14A" Strange!

 

[ski3pin]

OK, I feel like an idiot, but that was the problem. I had the power wire plugged into the back of the meter in the "relay" slots. They look just like the slots on the shunt. Thank you Vic for saving me from replacing this!

Glad you found it! We are all capable of doing dumb things. Welcome to the club.

 

[ckent323]

Good news! Glad you figured it out.

Welcome to the "I can't believe I did that club!" I am a senior member. ;-)