This patched firmware is now
obsolete. Please see the Firmware section of
the index post to find the latest patched firmware for your machine..
Here is the
Lead Acid Patch
[ Update: I'm not sure that the bug shows itself very often when using lead acid batteries. Perhaps this has something to do with lower maximum charge currents for lead acid. So this lead acid patch may not be necessary. ]
Actually, the name isn't great; it's really the patch to fix the
premature-float bug without any of the voltage threshold changes for LiFePO4. But these inverter-chargers were obviously designed with lead acid in mind, so I'm happy calling this the lead acid patch.
I'll repeat the instructions here, so readers don't have to refer to other posts too much.
NOTE: this patched firmware is intended for 48 V PIP-4048MS inverter chargers manufactured 2014 or later. If you are using a LiFePO4 battery, you should probably be using the other patch
here.
It should work on 2013 models (we tested the patch on a 2013 model) as long as you leave the utility (AC) maximum charge current setting (parameter 11) at 30 A or lower. NOTE: if you try this patched firmware on a 2013 model and don't keep the maximum utility charge setting at or under 30 A,
you will likely blow it up! Anything very recent (latter half of 2015) may be too new, and you will probably at least lose USB functionality.
To
install: you will need a Windows computer and a USB to serial adapter, or an older computer with a real serial port. Use the serial to RJ45 cable that came with your inverter-charger. Some serial adapters (or possibly the combination of serial adapter and Windows version) seem to be more suitable than others; see
earlier posts on this.
Power up your PIP inverter charger. You can use a battery or the mains. Use the inverter switch to turn it on, if necessary. Make sure that your computer has power that won't go off during the reflash process.
Find a suitable folder on your computer (perhaps create a new one under your downloads folder) and unzip the attached zip file. The zip file has no folder inside it; it will extract files to the current folder, so best to start with an empty folder. Make sure you are not running any software that could be using the serial port, in particular, exit the WatchPower application. Don't just close the application; it seems you have to use the right mouse button on the WatchPower system tray icon, usually at the bottom right of Windows:
The file name the reflash tool looks for is fixed, it's always "dsp.hex" in the same folder as the reflash tool. So you don't have to tell it what file to read, but you have to make sure that you have the right dsp.hex file. It's best to not trust any file named dsp.hex; make a copy of the relevant file with a meaningful name to dsp.hex just before you run the reflash tool.
Finally, double click on the ReflashTool_Xseries.exe icon. It should bring up the small reflash application. If necessary, change the serial port selection to the one that connects to your PIP. It won't give you the full name of the serial port (e.g. "Prolific USB-to-serial..."), just e.g. "COM4", so if necessary use another application (e.g. TeraTerm) to be sure you choose the right serial port.
Click on the Update button, and answer Yes to "Are you sure". Nothing will appear to happen for 10-20 seconds, so don't panic. Eventually, new text should start appearing in the box under the progress bar, saying that erasing has been successful and so on. It will take some 7.5 minutes to complete the flash programming. At the end, just click OK and exit the reflash application.
If you get an error to do with the serial port (e.g. invalid serial port, or the serial port doesn't appear in the drop down window), it's probably because you have something running that is keeping the serial port in use. Double check that you have exited WatchPower and any terminal emulation programs like Tera Term.
The standard instructions say you should revert all the settings to standard, then change them to suit your needs. As long as you had been running a recent firmware (52.30 or later), this should not be necessary. But if you were running an earlier firmware, or if the settings seem strange after the update, use WatchPower to reset to default settings, then change them to suit your needs.
The instructions say to turn off the inverter after the firmware update. This doesn't seem to be necessary.
That's it. To check that you have the patched version, scroll through the settings with the up or down button. In place of the U1 setting should be "Pb Cv PCH". It isn't possible to do a good "v" with seven segments, so it will look a bit like Cu (chemical formula for copper).
If something goes wrong, the original 72.40 firmware file is included in the zip file. To replace the patched firmware with this official firmware, first you need to do a little work with Windows. Open a file explorer at the folder where the contents of the zip file was extracted to. Find dsp.hex and rename it to something else, e.g. "dsp.hex.patched" (without the quotes). Then rename "dsp_original_72.40.hex" to "dsp.hex" (this is necessary, because the reflash tool won't let you choose a hex file to load). Now merely repeat the reflash process; this time it will reflash with the original firmware.
For convenience, I repost here the summary of the changes from the official firmware version 72.40:
1) An additional criterion is added for exiting from bulk/absorb to float. In addition to the charge current staying below the manufacturer's threshold for 50 seconds, the battery voltage has to equal or exceed (CV voltage setting minus 0.5 V). The manufacturer's current threshold is MAX(5 A per paralleled machine, maximum total charge current setting divided by 5). This is what fixes the bug where it would go straight to float mode without ever having gone near the absorb voltage.
2) The "R" characters render as lower case "r" now; it's a one byte patch that makes the display look so much better (in my opinion).
3) Version number changes to identify itself. Calls itself 72.42 in WatchPower or with the QVFW command, and shows "Pb Cv PCH" on the LCD display.
dsp_Pb_patch2b.zip
The attachment is about 1.4 MB.