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How to troubleshoot

🚨 IMPORTANT 🚨​

  • If you think it could be a bug and you did not already tested the nightly build, then install it and see if the error persists. See here how to install it.

  • If the logs don't give you enough valuable data, then change the logging from INFO to DEBUG in the config file. See here how to edit the config.ini.

How the driver works​

  1. During installation (execution of reinstall-local.sh) the installer script creates a configuration file (/data/conf/serial-starter.d/dbus-serialbattery.conf) for the serial starter. This allows the serial starter to create services for dbus-serialbattery, if a new serial adapter is connected. The serial starter service (/service/serial-starter) then creates a service (/service/dbus-serialbattery.*) for each found serial port.

    Additionally during installation a service (/service/dbus-blebattery.*) for each Bluetooth BMS is created.

  2. Each created service in /service/dbus-serialbattery.* or /service/dbus-serialbattery.* runs /opt/victronenergy/dbus-serialbattery/start-serialbattery.sh * where the * stands for the serial port.

    For example: The service /service/dbus-serialbattery.ttyUSB0 runs /opt/victronenergy/dbus-serialbattery/start-serialbattery.sh ttyUSB0

Driver log files​

Require root access

💡 If you are opening an issue or posting your logs somewhere please make sure you execute the complete commands to get the logs, including tai64nlocal. Without readable timestamps we cannot help you.

Check the log files on your GX device/Raspberry Pi. Connect to your Venus OS device using a SSH client like Putty or bash.

Serial BMS connection​

There are two log files that are relevant for the serial connection. Please check both.

  1. /data/log/serial-starter/current
  2. /data/log/dbus-serialbattery.ttyUSB*/current or /data/log/dbus-serialbattery.ttyAMA0/current

/data/log/serial-starter/current​

Serial starter will show, if the driver was started against a USB port.

Execute

💡 The tail command with the parameter -F does not quit automatically, since it waits for new log entries. You can exit by pressing CTRL + C.

tail -F -n 100 /data/log/serial-starter/current | grep dbus-serialbattery | tai64nlocal

Output

...
INFO: Create daemontools service dbus-serialbattery.ttyUSB0
INFO: Start service dbus-serialbattery.ttyUSB0 once
...

✅ This indicates, that the driver was successfully started against the USB0 port.

/data/log/dbus-serialbattery.ttyUSB*/current or /data/log/dbus-serialbattery.ttyAMA0/current​

Where * is the number of your USB port (e.g. ttyUSB0, ttyUSB1, ttyUSB2, ...) or ttyAMA0, if you are using a Raspberry Pi hat.

Execute

💡 The tail command with the parameter -F does not quit automatically, since it waits for new log entries. You can exit by pressing CTRL + C.

tail -F -n 100 /data/log/dbus-serialbattery.ttyUSB0/current | tai64nlocal

Output

...
INFO:SerialBattery:Starting dbus-serialbattery
INFO:SerialBattery:dbus-serialbattery v1.0.0
INFO:SerialBattery:Testing BMS_NAME
...
INFO:SerialBattery:Connection established to BMS_NAME
INFO:SerialBattery:Battery BMS_NAME connected to dbus from /dev/ttyUSB0
...
INFO:SerialBattery:DeviceInstance = 1
INFO:SerialBattery:com.victronenergy.battery.ttyUSB0
...

✅ This indicates, that your driver started successfully and connected to your BMS. You can see now the BMS in the GUI.

❌ If you see an error like below, then your battery is most likely connected to a different ttyUSB port.

ERROR:SerialBattery:ERROR >>> No battery connection at /dev/ttyUSB0

Bluetooth BMS connection​

/data/log/dbus-blebattery.*/current​

Where * is a unique number starting from 0.

Execute

💡 The tail command with the parameter -F does not quit automatically, since it waits for new log entries. You can exit by pressing CTRL + C.

tail -F -n 100 /data/log/dbus-blebattery.*/current | tai64nlocal

Output

...
INFO:SerialBattery:dbus-serialbattery v1.0.0
INFO:SerialBattery:init of BMS_NAME at BMS_MAC_ADDRESS
INFO:SerialBattery:test of BMS_NAME at BMS_MAC_ADDRESS
INFO:SerialBattery:BMS_NAME found!
INFO:SerialBattery:Connection established to BMS_NAME
INFO:SerialBattery:Battery BMS_NAME connected to dbus from BMS_MAC_ADDRESS
...
INFO:SerialBattery:DeviceInstance = 1
INFO:SerialBattery:com.victronenergy.battery.BMS_MAC_ADDRESS
...

✅ This indicates, that your driver started successfully and connected to your BMS. You can see now the BMS in the GUI.

❌ If you see an error like below, then your battery is not found.

INFO:SerialBattery:Starting dbus-serialbattery
INFO:SerialBattery:dbus-serialbattery v1.0.0
INFO:SerialBattery:init of BMS_NAME at BMS_MAC_ADDRESS
INFO:SerialBattery:test of BMS_NAME at BMS_MAC_ADDRESS
ERROR:SerialBattery:no BMS found at BMS_MAC_ADDRESS
ERROR:SerialBattery:ERROR >>> No battery connection at BMS_NAME

What to check, if it doesn't work​

The log file will tell you what the driver did and where it failed.

No log file​

If there is no log folder under /data/log/dbus-serialbattery.* then check:

  • Did the install have any error? Reinstall the driver, also trying an alternative method and version.

  • Is the connection picked up by serial-starter?

    💡 The tail command with the parameter -F does not quit automatically, since it waits for new log entries. You can exit by pressing CTRL + C.

    Use the command

    tail -F /data/log/serial-starter/current | tai64nlocal

    to show the last part of the log file as it updates. Plug your USB device in and out to see, if it's picked up and what ttyUSB port it uses.

    You can also check, which USB port it used by plugging out your USB device, wait some seconds, execute the command below, plug in your USB device, execute the command below again and compare which ttyUSB device appeared now.

    Execute

    ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*

    Example output (USB device unplugged)

    crw-rw----    1 root     dialout   188,   0 Jun 11 17:08 /dev/ttyUSB0

    Example output (USB device plugged)

    crw-rw----    1 root     dialout   188,   0 Jun 11 17:08 /dev/ttyUSB0
    crw-rw----    1 root     dialout   188,   1 Jun 11 17:08 /dev/ttyUSB1

  • Did the serial starter correctly assign the USB port to the correct service?

    If the content under ==> /data/var/lib/serial-starter/* <== shows sbattery then this USB port is assigned to the dbus-serialbattery driver.

    Execute

    head /data/var/lib/serial-starter/*

    Output

    ==> /data/var/lib/serial-starter/ttyACM0 <==
    gps

    ==> /data/var/lib/serial-starter/ttyUSB0 <==
    vedirect

    ==> /data/var/lib/serial-starter/ttyUSB1 <==
    sbattery

    ==> /data/var/lib/serial-starter/ttyUSB2 <==
    vedirect

    If the assignment is wrong you can reset all executing this command

    rm /data/var/lib/serial-starter/*

    and then reboot. You can also overwrite an assignment by executing the command below. Change the # with the number of your USB port before executing the command. Reboot after the change.

    echo "sbattery" > /data/var/lib/serial-starter/ttyUSB#

  • Check, if your BMS type is found (change to the ttyUSB* your device use)

    • For serial connected BMS

      💡 The tail command with the parameter -F does not quit automatically, since it waits for new log entries. You can exit by pressing CTRL + C.

      tail -F /data/log/dbus-serialbattery.ttyUSB0/current | tai64nlocal

      or

      tail -F /data/log/dbus-serialbattery.*/current | tai64nlocal

      to check all devices the serialstarter started.

    • For Bluetooth connected BMS

      💡 The tail command with the parameter -F does not quit automatically, since it waits for new log entries. You can exit by pressing CTRL + C.

      tail -F /data/log/dbus-blebattery.0/current | tai64nlocal

      or

      tail -F /data/log/dbus-blebattery.*/current | tai64nlocal

      to check all Bluetooth devices.

No reply in log file​

Check your cable connections, if the log file shows ERROR: No reply - returning from the battery.

The RX/TX lights should both flash as data is transfered. If only one flashes then your RX/TX might be swapped.

Driver runtime (stability check)​

Check for how long the driver is running without restart.

Execute

For serial connected BMS

svstat /service/dbus-serialbattery.tty*

For Bluetooth connected BMS

svstat /service/dbus-blebattery.*

Output

root@raspberrypi2:~# svstat /service/dbus-serialbattery.*
/service/dbus-serialbattery.ttyUSB0: up (pid 8136) 1128725 seconds

✅ If the seconds (runtime) have a high number (e.g. several days; 86400 seconds = 1 day) then this indicates, that your driver is stable.

❌ If the seconds (runtime) are low (e.g. 300 seconds) then this means your driver has (re)started 300 seconds ago. Check again in a few minutes, if the pid changed and if the runtime increased or reset. If that is the case, your driver is not stable and has a problem.

root@raspberrypi2:~# svstat /service/dbus-serialbattery.*
/service/dbus-serialbattery.ttyUSB0: up (pid 8136) 300 seconds

Additionally you can check the system uptime.

Execute

uptime

Output

10:08:14 up 8 days,  3:24,  load average: 1.52, 0.87, 0.79

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)​

Check the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for answers

Alarm logs (VRM Portal)​

Check your Alarm Logs in your VRM portal after selecting your device.

Advanced section (VRM Portal)​

Check your graphs in Advanced section in your VRM Portal after selectiong your device.

You can use the graphs to look at your values over time. This makes finding values that change much easier.

  • Battery SOC (State Of Charge)
  • Battery Summary
  • Battery Temperature Sensor
  • Battery Voltage and Current
  • BMS Charge and Discharge Limits
  • BMS Min/Max Cell Voltage

Forum and community help​

Forum thead discussions for this driver can be found at: