Victron BMV 712 Dead

[NealC]

My BMV 712 has been working fine since installed in March. Yesterday it died. Last three days I’ve been driving in cold and rain. Clue bird landed and I realized the circuit board on the shunt is a terrible design. It’s exposed to the elements in the non sealed battery bay. In addition those of us with lead acid batteries typically power wash that bay.

Lesson is the shunt needs to be sealed. I emailed Victron and they said it needs to be protected in an IP box. Whatever that is. So I need to figure out a way to protect the shunt.

If you protected your shunt from the elements how did you do so?

If you have a shunt with a circuit board learn from this and know that you need to protect it.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Originally Posted by NealC

Lesson is the shunt needs to be sealed. I emailed Victron and they said it needs to be protected in an IP box. Whatever that is. So I need to figure out a way to protect the shunt.

These links explains NEMA and IP enclosure ratings:

http://www.enclosurecompany.com/ip-r...-explained.php
https://www.siemon.com/us/standards/nema_comparison.asp

I'd think an IP65 or IP66 box might work for your application. Some here:

https://www.polycase.com/ip66-enclosures

[R.B]

Originally Posted by NealC

My BMV 712 has been working fine since installed in March. Yesterday it died. Last three days I’ve been driving in cold and rain. Clue bird landed and I realized the circuit board on the shunt is a terrible design. It’s exposed to the elements in the non sealed battery bay. In addition those of us with lead acid batteries typically power wash that bay.

Lesson is the shunt needs to be sealed. I emailed Victron and they said it needs to be protected in an IP box. Whatever that is. So I need to figure out a way to protect the shunt.

If you protected your shunt from the elements how did you do so?

If you have a shunt with a circuit board learn from this and know that you need to protect it.

I installed the shunt above the coroplast enclosing the trailer belly. The batteries sit on an outside tray just on the other side of the frame. This is the same area the factory installed a junction point (much cleaned up by me), so it should be adequate.

[NealC]

Learn from my mistakes, mistakes in troubleshooting! I should have comprehended and listened to C.Martin early on in my discussion with him on this issue, he was spot on, for that I paid a steep price.

I ordered another BMV 712 from Amazon ($200+) as I couldn't find just a shunt or board option. It came today so I decided to just replace the board and not deal with the shunt and go from there. Yep, that didn't work. I replaced the control head/display - no luck. Bad UTP cable? I connected the new cable to the new control head, no luck.

Yes, I paid over $200 for a FUSE! Replacing the "expletive" fuse in the temp probe solved the problem. Here is Charlie's initial diagnosis of which I didn't believe was the issue.

The temp probe attached to the BMV is a combination device. The red lead with inline fuse supplies dc+ power...the black lead transmits the temperature signal. The unit gets it's dc- from the 4/0 black cable attached to it.

Let me also add, as usual VICTRON ENERGY is of very little help when emailing them. They're dismissive and brief, granted, English is not their first language either. But I received no educated guidance from them such as check the fuse! I will figure out who my local dealer is and go to them next time or PKYS.com is probably a good place to get help and parts.

So with that said, click here and order spare fuses. Your BMV 712 kit comes with two temp probes so if you want to carry the spare probe or fuse from it with you that would get you a spare too. Mine is back at home as I'm on the road.

FML

P.S. Will I be putting my shunt in a IP box? NO. I have a spare now obviously but to date it's endured the elements. I'll work on designing and 3D printing one for fun but for now I have no desire to deal with the shunt.

[C.Martin]

Originally Posted by NealC

So with that said, click here and order spare fuses. Your BMV 712 kit comes with two temp probes so if you want to carry the spare probe or fuse from it with you that would get you a spare too.

They sell the BMV kit, I believe, with or without a temp probe. I ordered mine separately. The two cables that come with the regular kit are both just power leads. Connection one on the BMV is for your primary battery bank voltage reading and powers the BMV...while connection two is wired as you desire...it can be used to measure a “mid” voltage, like 6v on a series connected bank...or it could be used to monitor the chassis battery voltage. You have to specify in the setup menu which option you are using. The third option, which is the one most people will want...is the temp probe (normally, sold separately). Again, you need to specify this during setup. You can, however, scavenge those fuses...

I wonder if rain intrusion wasn’t the cause of the fuse blowing??? It may have saved itself.

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by NealC

Let me also add, as usual VICTRON ENERGY is of very little help when emailing them. They're dismissive and brief, granted, English is not their first language either. But I received no educated guidance from them such as check the fuse! ...

Glad you sorted it out, though in a hard way... I have never had Victron products but heard their name frequently on this board. Just surfed their website, there is no "About Us" or the background of the company. Wondering where they are from...

All of my RV electric upgrade parts (except solar) are of Magnum's. Excellent products with superb customer service. Knowing the system is working day and night, I rarely keep my eyes on it...

[jcussen]

https://amsolar.com/products
https://baymarinesupply.com/
These guys are very knowledgeable about Victron products. Victron is a dutch company and has been supplying the boating industry for many years, and are now doing a lot of rv work. Nice thing about their products are that most are bluetooth, So you can monitor and control your solar charge controllers, inverter/chargers, and battery monitors from your phone or tablet. They also work closely with the Battle Born lithium battery company.

[NealC]

AMSolar is fantastic in every regard. Highly recommend them. I’ll look at options like them in the future for problems like this. They helped me immensely in the past with a solar issue. Outstanding service.