EG4 6500 - Error 61 Information Gathering/Solution

[FullCircle]

Thank you for your response. The answer is "yes & yes". The rack I purchased had mounting holes misaligned but I managed to get at least one mounting screw in per battery. I will try the bonding wires, but is there a location on the battery to bond the wire to? This wire does not need to be connected to ground, correct?

@jimT - correct... Previous success included no Earth ground, only a bonding between the various chassis. I don't think it matters what screw you use, though the screws intended for mounting to the rack should work just fine and should be quite safe to fiddle with. Good luck!

 

[jimT]

@jimT - correct... Previous success included no Earth ground, only a bonding between the various chassis. I don't think it matters what screw you use, though the screws intended for mounting to the rack should work just fine and should be quite safe to fiddle with. Good luck!

One more question: should I power down the batteries before I do this? Thanks

 

[FullCircle]

While there's little risk to introducing a good, solid bond while running, it is equally likely the software (that controls the battery-to-inverter communications) won't reset & "pick-up" on the fact that something has changed until you do. Thus my vote is power everything down, then bond the chassis & then power up your system (if EG4, that means battery bank before inverters).
? Other thoughts anyone?
- Thx Jim!

 

[jimT]

While there's little risk to introducing a good, solid bond while running, it is equally likely the software (that controls the battery-to-inverter communications) won't reset & "pick-up" on the fact that something has changed until you do. Thus my vote is power everything down, then bond the chassis & then power up your system (if EG4, that means battery bank before inverters).
? Other thoughts anyone?
- Thx Jim!

Thank you! I'll update this thread once the test is complete.

 

[WindGat]

Video that addresses 95%+ of the issues we are seeing:

This video is "Private"

 

[WindGat]

I'm having Issue #3... intermittant Error 61 during the middle of the day during charging.
Battery is nowhere near 100%

This might help:

https://www.teci.co.za/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Kodak-inverter-user-settings-guide-1.1.pdf

 

[Hdez]

I don’t know if this has been stated somewhere, but here it goes:
While testing installation of my second EG4 inverter, I went through each setting and made them the same values in the 2P2 as in the 2P1. After changing setting #5 to “EG4”, as soon as batteries reached 100%, 2P2 faulted to error #61. Since I remembered that this was the only value that I modified in 2P2, I went back and changed it to “USE”. As soon as I exited the program error 61 disappeared.
I remember something in one of Wills’ videos related to this “USE” setting but don’t remember if it was related to this error.
Anyway, Happy Earth’s day everyone!!!

 

[Adam De Lay]

I don’t know if this has been stated somewhere, but here it goes:
While testing installation of my second EG4 inverter, I went through each setting and made them the same values in the 2P2 as in the 2P1. After changing setting #5 to “EG4”, as soon as batteries reached 100%, 2P2 faulted to error #61. Since I remembered that this was the only value that I modified in 2P2, I went back and changed it to “USE”. As soon as I exited the program error 61 disappeared.
I remember something in one of Wills’ videos related to this “USE” setting but don’t remember if it was related to this error.
Anyway, Happy Earth’s day everyone!!!

Sounds like you have it all figured out, but yes. When using battery comms, 2p1 should be set to EG4 and 2p2 should be set to USE. The 2p1 inverter will handle all the actual comms.

 

[Hdez]

Sounds like you have it all figured out, but yes. When using battery comms, 2p1 should be set to EG4 and 2p2 should be set to USE. The 2p1 inverter will handle all the actual comms.

Thanks!!!

 

[jscusmcvet]

I am having this issue off and on at different times with the batteries no where near 100 soc. Will run fine for a couple of hours and then start the error 61. Sometimes it only flashes a few seconds and seems to correct itself without any intervention. Other times I can unplug the cable and plug it back in and it goes away for an hour or so. Hope you can find out the problem. Have Set both units to user mode for the time being until a definite solution is found.

Can you explain what you mean and how to set units to user mode?

Thanks
John

 

[Adam De Lay]

Can you explain what you mean and how to set units to user mode?

Thanks
John

You switch option 5 in the menu to USE. That will then allow you to set your bulk charge and float values on the inverter instead of using the batteries (EG4 mode) to set the values.

 

[jscusmcvet]

You switch option 5 in the menu to USE. That will then allow you to set your bulk charge and float values on the inverter instead of using the batteries (EG4 mode) to set the values.

Thanks.

 

[Wessss77]

@jimT - Do you have multiple batteries in a bank? Are they rack mounted? If yes & yes, can you check the tightness of each mounting screw to see if like others, you might have one looser than others? If you have no rack but do have multiple batteries, can you attach bonding wires to join the batteries' chassis? We're working on a theory that seems to work for at least two of us. (See post #15) Your reporting back would be most helpful. TIA!

Are you just bonding the batteries to each other or then also bonding to the inverter chassis? Thanks

 

[Wv lew]

Hello Everyone!

We've been seeing a few reports of people running into ERROR 61 on the 6500EX from EG4. We have determined that there are two times this error appears during normal operations. For a majority of users who are experiencing this error, we have a simple troubleshooting and fix which I will describe below. For others, we are currently working with the manufacturer on troubleshooting steps/solution currently.

Issue 1: After connecting the inverter to the battery, you either immediately see error 61, or after three minutes error 61 begins. In these instances, we have found so far in troubleshooting with users on the forum, and via email/phone calls that in 100% of the cases it is an issue with the cable that connects the inverter to the battery. When we originally were making the cables, we were only repinning 1 side to match with the other in the correct locations. It seems that for some reason, this causes an issue. We have since begun repinning both sides and only terminating the pins that are used for communications. If you are experiencing this error, and feel comfortable repinning a Cat5 cable, the correct pins are as follows:
Battery -------------------- Inverter
PIN1 -----------------------PIN3
PIN2 -----------------------PIN5

If not, you can contact us and we will send you a new cable with the correct PINS. Additionally - if you are running into this issue, please verify you have the correct end of the cable plugged in on each side. There is only ONE correct way. The side with PINS 1/2 should plug into the battery (look at the clear termination and it will be the one with both the wires to the edge). The side with PINS 3/5 should plug into the inverter (this will be the side with the small wires connected in the middle area of the termination).

Issue 2: In some rare cases, we are seeing some who have fixed the PIN issue (or never had it) and when charging the system is fine. However, when it reaches 100% of charge on the battery and goes into bypass, the system flashes error 61 until the battery discharges below 100%, at which time it goes away. This is an issue that we haven't seen frequently, but we are working to get this isolated and fixed. It's important to note that the inverter and battery are still operational during this issue, it seems to be something with the firmware. As soon as we have a permanent solution, we will update this post or make a new one depending on the circumstances.

If you are currently experiencing either of these issues, please let me know below. I also ask for you to contact Signature Solar to create a ticket - I am doing my best to keep up with the forums but I am getting a lot of PMs a day and messages on forum posts. I will always do everything I can, sometimes that means forwarding the information to another to help. I hope this answers a lot of questions, but if you have anything for me please let me know! Thanks everyone!

I got the fault 61 when I was programming the inverter yo tell it I had an eg4 battery. Then I got the fault. I powered off etc only to get it again.

I changed the battery type on the lcd setting back to default (AGN) and haven’t got the error since. My book shows My battery having 4 dio switches and I have 6, so I’m not sure what to change it to, so it sounds like the battery and inverter can’t talk. Similar you What you describe above maybe. The fault hasn’t happened and it’s been running about 30 minutes (longest I’ve gone without the fault so I think this was my issue anyway).

 

[rmharrington]

Hello Everyone!

We've been seeing a few reports of people running into ERROR 61 on the 6500EX from EG4. We have determined that there are two times this error appears during normal operations. For a majority of users who are experiencing this error, we have a simple troubleshooting and fix which I will describe below. For others, we are currently working with the manufacturer on troubleshooting steps/solution currently.

Issue 1: After connecting the inverter to the battery, you either immediately see error 61, or after three minutes error 61 begins. In these instances, we have found so far in troubleshooting with users on the forum, and via email/phone calls that in 100% of the cases it is an issue with the cable that connects the inverter to the battery. When we originally were making the cables, we were only repinning 1 side to match with the other in the correct locations. It seems that for some reason, this causes an issue. We have since begun repinning both sides and only terminating the pins that are used for communications. If you are experiencing this error, and feel comfortable repinning a Cat5 cable, the correct pins are as follows:
Battery -------------------- Inverter
PIN1 -----------------------PIN3
PIN2 -----------------------PIN5

If not, you can contact us and we will send you a new cable with the correct PINS. Additionally - if you are running into this issue, please verify you have the correct end of the cable plugged in on each side. There is only ONE correct way. The side with PINS 1/2 should plug into the battery (look at the clear termination and it will be the one with both the wires to the edge). The side with PINS 3/5 should plug into the inverter (this will be the side with the small wires connected in the middle area of the termination).

Issue 2: In some rare cases, we are seeing some who have fixed the PIN issue (or never had it) and when charging the system is fine. However, when it reaches 100% of charge on the battery and goes into bypass, the system flashes error 61 until the battery discharges below 100%, at which time it goes away. This is an issue that we haven't seen frequently, but we are working to get this isolated and fixed. It's important to note that the inverter and battery are still operational during this issue, it seems to be something with the firmware. As soon as we have a permanent solution, we will update this post or make a new one depending on the circumstances.

If you are currently experiencing either of these issues, please let me know below. I also ask for you to contact Signature Solar to create a ticket - I am doing my best to keep up with the forums but I am getting a lot of PMs a day and messages on forum posts. I will always do everything I can, sometimes that means forwarding the information to another to help. I hope this answers a lot of questions, but if you have anything for me please let me know! Thanks everyone!

Was experiencing this issue after one inverter went bad, and I changed everything over to use only the remaining battery. First off, I discovered that the eg4 label that was on one end of the cable is mislabeled. The pins on that end are actually 1 & 2 for the battery as identified above. However, that didn't resolve the issue. I only have two batteries, and as per SS instructions, I had run both sets of cables independently direct to the battery racks internal busbars.

So, I got to thinking. Even though the breaker to the dead inverter was off, perhaps those double cables were fooling the system. Thus I disconnected the currently unused cables. The solved the problem. Don't know what will happen if I ever get something worked out to replace or correct the dead EG4 6500 inverter. But for now, I,m making use of one unit for 120 electrical service, and the Error 61 is no more a problem.

Still having a hassle with the top battery charging 1/3 quicker than the bottom one. Working on it. Had hoped the cable disconnect would have also resolved that one.

 

[Bobindy]

Hello Everyone!

We've been seeing a few reports of people running into ERROR 61 on the 6500EX from EG4. We have determined that there are two times this error appears during normal operations. For a majority of users who are experiencing this error, we have a simple troubleshooting and fix which I will describe below. For others, we are currently working with the manufacturer on troubleshooting steps/solution currently.

Issue 1: After connecting the inverter to the battery, you either immediately see error 61, or after three minutes error 61 begins. In these instances, we have found so far in troubleshooting with users on the forum, and via email/phone calls that in 100% of the cases it is an issue with the cable that connects the inverter to the battery. When we originally were making the cables, we were only repinning 1 side to match with the other in the correct locations. It seems that for some reason, this causes an issue. We have since begun repinning both sides and only terminating the pins that are used for communications. If you are experiencing this error, and feel comfortable repinning a Cat5 cable, the correct pins are as follows:
Battery -------------------- Inverter
PIN1 -----------------------PIN3
PIN2 -----------------------PIN5

If not, you can contact us and we will send you a new cable with the correct PINS. Additionally - if you are running into this issue, please verify you have the correct end of the cable plugged in on each side. There is only ONE correct way. The side with PINS 1/2 should plug into the battery (look at the clear termination and it will be the one with both the wires to the edge). The side with PINS 3/5 should plug into the inverter (this will be the side with the small wires connected in the middle area of the termination).

Issue 2: In some rare cases, we are seeing some who have fixed the PIN issue (or never had it) and when charging the system is fine. However, when it reaches 100% of charge on the battery and goes into bypass, the system flashes error 61 until the battery discharges below 100%, at which time it goes away. This is an issue that we haven't seen frequently, but we are working to get this isolated and fixed. It's important to note that the inverter and battery are still operational during this issue, it seems to be something with the firmware. As soon as we have a permanent solution, we will update this post or make a new one depending on the circumstances.

If you are currently experiencing either of these issues, please let me know below. I also ask for you to contact Signature Solar to create a ticket - I am doing my best to keep up with the forums but I am getting a lot of PMs a day and messages on forum posts. I will always do everything I can, sometimes that means forwarding the information to another to help. I hope this answers a lot of questions, but if you have anything for me please let me know! Thanks everyone!

Wow! This post saved me I don't know how many hours of troubleshooting time after encountering error code 61. I knew what to look at I knew what to look for and had it fixed and functional within 10 minutes. Thank you very very much