Yet Another Carthago CBE PC180ca panel fail

[jongood]

No tried that one
new panel now fitted

Do you have Solar? If so could it be that the solar reg loses its settings and then the panel is trying to get going with not enough voltage and the solar input bangs too high a voltage into it and fries it? probably one for the techies but I have heard of control panel issues being caused by solar regs playing up.

 

[jongood]

I don't want to tempt fate, but ditto here on our 2006 N+B Flair CBE panel.


That might be worth a try Steve.

Cheers,

Jock.

Have you checked your PCB battery Jock? Mine was starting to leak when I looked.

 

[Steve and Denise]

Do you have Solar? If so could it be that the solar reg loses its settings and then the panel is trying to get going with not enough voltage and the solar input bangs too high a voltage into it and fries it? probably one for the techies but I have heard of control panel issues being caused by solar regs playing up.

Yes Victron but keeps all settings and I can check voltage history on the app, a bit like a graph but electronic on a phone records max voltage.

 

[JockandRita]

Have you checked your PCB battery Jock? Mine was starting to leak when I looked.

TBH Jon, I keep forgetting to look.

Is it soldered in, or can remove if easily?

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[TheBig1]

the older ones had a small Ni-cad cell soldered to the board, but they swell up and die. If I am correct that this is firmware, the settings get stored to memory, but it doesn't get locked to allow later updates. Then if the power is lost the memory gets deleted and can only be recovered with the correct software and settings. CBE supply the manufacturer, who then plug it in with the supplied computer connected writer and upload their settings for that model of van before it's installed. Think of it like the hard disc or SSD on a laptop, but much much smaller and less memory. But there is no recovery disc supplied with the panels when the settings get corrupted. In theory it still works but is unable to start as the firmware is missing

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[jongood]

TBH Jon, I keep forgetting to look.

Is it soldered in, or can remove if easily?

Cheers,

Jock.

Its soldered in so not easy to change but a really good idea to check its not leaking.

 

[JockandRita]

Its soldered in so not easy to change but a really good idea to check its not leaking.

Yep, will do thanks Jon.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Pausim]

the older ones had a small Ni-cad cell soldered to the board, but they swell up and die. If I am correct that this is firmware, the settings get stored to memory, but it doesn't get locked to allow later updates. Then if the power is lost the memory gets deleted and can only be recovered with the correct software and settings. CBE supply the manufacturer, who then plug it in with the supplied computer connected writer and upload their settings for that model of van before it's installed. Think of it like the hard disc or SSD on a laptop, but much much smaller and less memory. But there is no recovery disc supplied with the panels when the settings get corrupted. In theory it still works but is unable to start as the firmware is missing

Does this mean an unconnected spare panel has a limited shelf before the battery will go flat and the stored data will be lost?

 

[Lenny HB]

Does this mean an unconnected spare panel has a limited shelf before the battery will go flat and the stored data will be lost?

Probably.
If changing the battery do you need to make sure you have a battery connected all the time or is there a capacitor that holds the voltage up for a few minutes?

 

[jongood]

Does this mean an unconnected spare panel has a limited shelf before the battery will go flat and the stored data will be lost?

It does make me wonder if they would last longer kept connected? Not such an issue if stored outside with solar

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[AdrianChen]

Probably.
If changing the battery do you need to make sure you have a battery connected all the time or is there a capacitor that holds the voltage up for a few minutes?

Wow - so if I isolate the leisure batteries, how long before the firmware backup battery is depleted and the panel bricked?

Understand that the variable settings might be held in Vram (as in a PC and its CMOS battery), but you would have thought they would not allow the main firmware to go phut.....

Then at least you could put the variables back in via the Power & Prog button combo that gets into the dealer menu.

 

[TheBig1]

Does this mean an unconnected spare panel has a limited shelf before the battery will go flat and the stored data will be lost?

That is a possibility, but more likely the way it is wired in a van, if the battery is isolated with a circuit left on it might flatten the tiny battery backup on the panel

 

[AdrianChen]

Couldn't see an accessible battery on the board, but one may be out of sight on the "hidden" screen side