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Hi,
i am the proud owner of a gs6k inverter
I have purchased a generator capable of auto starting. I can start the generator by shorting a pair of wires for 2 seconds(ie push button start). The same two wires can again be shorted for 2 seconds to stop the generator(push button stop). One of my questions is can pins A and B be joined to provide the functionality I require?
Second Question is where does the cable from the gen start connector plug in. When I first received my inverter, several things inside were disconnected (Sean thinks customs may have done this during inspection). I was able to reconnect everything I noticed and the inverter worked.
It was only when I tried using the gen start function that I noticed it wasn't working. So I removed the cover again and noticed the gen start wires were not connected to anything. 2 blue wires and a black wire with a white 3 pin connector. Where does this plug in?
thanks
One of my questions is can pins A and B be joined to provide the functionality I require?
What's the firmware revision on the inverter? (OUT screen -> press Enter -> down 3x should highlight "Diags" -> press Enter -> firmware revisions (display and control board) should both be listed there.
One of the generator control modes is "(On)(Off)", i.e. momentary press on "A" to start, and another momentary press on "B" to stop. Yes, you can easily short A + B pins together: they're isolated relay contacts.
It was only when I tried using the gen start function that I noticed it wasn't working. So I removed the cover again and noticed the gen start wires were not connected to anything. 2 blue wires and a black wire with a white 3 pin connector. Where does this plug in?
Umm...on a three pin connector...
What control board version does your GS inverter have? Sounding a bit like it's one of the very first ones with an A.1 control board?
If so, the generator start lines should have been part of a 10-pin connector that also had the main power button.
It's also possible that the control board was replaced with a B or even a C board, both of which have a separate 6-pin connector for the generator start (only 3 positions used).
Hi Sid,
Thanks for the quick response.
Firstly both display and control board are revision 1.2r2
lcd board is revision c1
Good news. I have it partially working
Unfortunately I still have some problems.
I only have the Beta manual, but in it the arrow that points at the 2 phoenix connectors says "generator start comm port".
As they are unlabeled ,I assumed the top one was the generator start.
After removing the cover again, I realized the 3 pin connector that was disconnected plugged into a chip that says rs232 on it.
And the lower phoenix connectors 3 wires go to the main board where it says GEN on a 6 pin white plug.
So I am unsure if mine got built "upside down" or if the manual is just misleading.
Now on to problem number 2
I had the pulse time set at 2sec as requested by gen manufacturer
Testing the resistance across pins A and C after commanding Gen On led to approx 0.5 sec short
Gen off gives the requested time.
I had to set pulse to 5 sec to get a 2 sec Gen on signal ,but that results in a 5 sec gen off signal.
Not sure if that will be a problem.
So with the above values I can command the generator on and off.
Unfortunately It is possible to get the inverter and generator confused (ie inverter thinks gen is on but it isn't) when short pulse sent.
Not sure if this can be fixed?
Problem 3
I still can't get the generator to auto start
I'm not sure about several settings
Sync in ats? where should this be set?
Under Battery/charge
charge mode auto or manual?
Does Charge trigger have to be higher or equal to current battery voltage?
What is the meaning of Charge amps% ?
under AC input transfer
ATS gen on voltage does this have to be higher or equal to battery voltage?
how is this different from Charge Trigger voltage?
thanks
also is the final manual available and where?
sorry one more question.
a few times , i have had my generator stop supplying power- for various reasons
(out of gas, breaker tripped on generator, cord disconnected) and the generator left running (if not out of fuel).
this results in the inverter shutting down with alarm and flashing red light.
can the inverter be reset automatically?
sorry one more question.
a few times , i have had my generator stop supplying power- for various reasons
(out of gas, breaker tripped on generator, cord disconnected) and the generator left running (if not out of fuel).
this results in the inverter shutting down with alarm and flashing red light.
can the inverter be reset automatically?
What is the error the inverter provides when it trips out in these cases?
In normal operation, the inverter should just click back to battery power--tripping out is unusual.
I only have the Beta manual, but in it the arrow that points at the 2 phoenix connectors says "generator start comm port".
As they are unlabeled ,I assumed the top one was the generator start.
After removing the cover again, I realized the 3 pin connector that was disconnected plugged into a chip that says rs232 on it.
And the lower phoenix connectors 3 wires go to the main board where it says GEN on a 6 pin white plug.
So I am unsure if mine got built "upside down" or if the manual is just misleading.
Beta manual is as far as I've gotten; it's got everything except for some "AC wiring diagram" examples for various system configurations.
Most likely the connectors were installed in physical reverse order; the one going to the 6-pin connector is the generator start one.
Sounds like you have one of the fully in-house GS inverters with all the bells and whistles. Definitely no reason for it to be misbehaving.
I had the pulse time set at 2sec as requested by gen manufacturer
Testing the resistance across pins A and C after commanding Gen On led to approx 0.5 sec short
Gen off gives the requested time.
I had to set pulse to 5 sec to get a 2 sec Gen on signal ,but that results in a 5 sec gen off signal.
Not sure if that will be a problem.
So with the above values I can command the generator on and off.
These issues with genstart timing have been reported by a different customer; as of right now, they're fixed in the source--but I haven't released the current firmware yet. I should test it a bit on my bench and then can Tech it to you for testing. (A lot of things have been improved since 1.2r2.)
Sync in ats? where should this be set?
Does not matter.
This was for Sean, so if the inverter is always connected to AC Mains, you can disable sync between AC input and AC output when in battery mode. (Obviously it will sync before switching.)
charge mode auto or manual?
Up to you. "Auto" for automatic charge control, and "manual" for manual control.
Does Charge trigger have to be higher or equal to current battery voltage?
As per the beta manual, when the battery voltage falls BELOW the charge trigger, then it will automatically activate if Charge Mode is set to Auto. Note that this is separate from ATS thresholds because it is possible in some cases (GTI inverter) to enter battery charge mode without switching to AC input.
What is the meaning of Charge amps% ?
Per the beta manual: percentage of the inverter's maximum input power rating. 100% of a 6kw inverter will run a maximum of 6kw charge. 100% of a 12kw inverter will run a maximum of 12kw charge.
ATS gen on voltage does this have to be higher or equal to battery voltage?
Per the beta manual: when the battery voltage falls BELOW the trigger threshold, it will automatically switch to a (valid) AC input...IF the ATS Mode is set to ATS. (If set to UPS, it will always default to AC Input if valid.)
Hi,
the error the inverter gives is AC Input Fault when the input is interupted.
I am no longer at the off grid cabin but would like to fully understand the control and hopefully get it functioning next time I go up.
Sorry for all the questions but the multiple menus are a bit confusing.
Even the Command menu can be confusing.
At times not all items are present on the command menu ie the charge and gen start functions do not always appear and I don't fully understand why.
Is this controlled by the charge trigger settings?
by setting charge mode to auto does this eliminate the manual charging from the command menu?
These issues with genstart timing have been reported by a different customer; as of right now, they're fixed in the source--but I haven't released the current firmware yet. I should test it a bit on my bench and then can Tech it to you for testing. (A lot of things have been improved since 1to same t.2r2.)
I look forward to a firmware update when available
Regarding the charge trigger vs Ats (gen on) voltages , can they be the same? Which one triggers the generator? what does the other do?
same regarding Ats(gen off) vs Tmr task Gen off?
should both be set to same value?
Thanks again
Phil
The more I look at the manual ,the more confused I am.
Regarding voltages that are listed as "Calculated as points above Nominal", do I enter in the actual voltage or points above nominal? The voltages shown in the examples appear to actual voltages.
If the voltage for charge trigger and ats/gen on are the same ,in what order will they be triggered?
there seems to be multiple ways to turn off generator. ats/gen off or using the tmr task to end chg or gen off.
how do you recommend I set this up?
Even the Command menu can be confusing.
At times not all items are present on the command menu ie the charge and gen start functions do not always appear and I don't fully understand why.
Items on the Command menu are only visible if they are an option, i.e. you will not see the ATS controls if there is no AC Input. You will not see battery charge commands if battery charge is not possible. You will not see Generator Start commands if Generator Start is not possible.
by setting charge mode to auto does this eliminate the manual charging from the command menu?
It would, yes.
Which one triggers the generator?
Slow down a moment, this is getting rather ridiculous.
Which one triggers the generator?
Umm...maybe the one that says "Gen On"??
Regarding the charge trigger vs Ats (gen on) voltages , can they be the same?
Of course they can. No magic here.
These settings are really, really simple, almost self-explanatory. An inverter is not a complicated piece of equipment. Slow down and read the settings at first glance/understanding.
Charge Trigger = the voltage below which charge is enabled (if possible). Obviously, you can't charge batteries without incoming power.
ATS (Gen On) = the voltage below which Generator Start is run, and/or ATS is switched to AC Input (if available, and in the case of a generator, when the generator finally provides power).
same regarding Ats(gen off) vs Tmr task Gen off?
Well, "ATS (Gen Off)" is the setpoint above which the inverter is going to run the generator off sequence (if it's enabled), and it's also going to switch ATS back to battery.
Tmr task Gen Off is the exact same thing: when the charge timer expires, you can have it turn the generator off. Or switch ATS off. Or do nothing.
This isn't rocket science!
Regarding voltages that are listed as "Calculated as points above Nominal", do I enter in the actual voltage or points above nominal?
You enter actual voltage, because that's what it is!
The reason I mentioned "Calculated as points above Nominal", is because you will not be able to set it lower than the listed "Nominal" point. (If it's "points below Nominal", then you will not be able to set it higher than the Nominal value.) Also, note that if you adjust the Nominal voltage, all voltage setpoints will be dynamically scaled accordingly. This comes in rather handy if the system voltage is changed, say, from 48v to 24v. Every setpoint is going to be directly scaled by half, i.e. a 55.0v setpoint now will be 27.5v. Very simple.
If the voltage for charge trigger and ats/gen on are the same ,in what order will they be triggered?
Come on...think about it for a second.
Which comes first: the generator start sequence, or charging the batteries from the generator?
You can only charge IF there's already power present!
In practical logic, this means that if the battery voltage is below the "charge trigger" voltage (i.e. "charge trigger active"), but there's no AC input--nothing is going to happen!
When the generator starts (from the ATS/Gen On trigger), the inverter will then switch to AC Input, and automatically start charging (assuming Charge is set to "Auto") BECAUSE the Charge Trigger is also active
there seems to be multiple ways to turn off generator. ats/gen off or using the tmr task to end chg or gen off
Bingo! Pick the one you need, and ignore/disable the rest.