[RE-wrenches] Troubleshooting Xanbus

[Maverick Brown]

Just to be clear the 8-pin RJ 45 cables are not Ethernet. They are Xanbus which is a version of Canbus, a type of serial communication. 

I’ve had some trouble shooting of Xanbus where the AGS was intermittent. I happen to have just finished a Radian job and had a bunch of green cables with me. I used those to replace the white cables and never had a problem afterwards. In other cases, I  have also made custom cables some very short and I made sure to terminate the last Xanbus connection and I usually use a long wound up cable at the termination point. 

I also started putting silicone jelly on all connections and that seems to help with longevity. 

A Canbus protocol analyzer or maybe an active Ethernet tester could help investigate extra difficulty. 

Good luck! 

Maverick


> On Jan 31, 2020, at 12:19 PM, Jeff Clearwater <jeffc at villagepowerdesign.com> wrote:
> 
>  Hi Mac and William,
> 
> This is interesting because I was having an issue of the Xanbus network not seeing the Battery Monitor until I replaced an ethernet cable.  My present theory is that the white ethernet cables being supplied by Schnieder are marginal.  
> 
> Given that many of our systems locate the monitoring components close to the main battery DC Inverter cables and that the EMF noisy PV charge controls with their medium voltage DC are also nearby -  especially going through the tight quarters of a MidNite E-panel or equivalent - it strikes me that inductive currents or EMF noise could be the culprit.
> 
> I'm wondering if for future installs I should just make up my own cables from shielded CAT6 as a standard practice for all ethernet-based comm systems?  That said I've never had a problem with SMA - only Schnieder.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Jeff
> 
> William Miller wrote on 1/31/20 8:15 AM:
>> Mac:
>>  
>> 1.   We have had this issue for years.  Specifically this affects AGS units.  We were told that bus cables had to be a minimum of 6’ to avoid “ringing.”  Later (after we purchased and replaced cables) we were told there was no foundation for this claim.
>> 2.   Some Fluke advanced testers we have looked at have a “bus health” test function.  I think this is in the 125B Scope Meter and I see reference to the function with a BHT190 break out adapter.  The literature indicates applications on the following bus architectures:  Profibus, Foundation, Modbus, CAN-bus, AS-i bus and RS-485.  I will leave it to you to research if this function would be helpful.   BTW, the Scopemeter is about $3K and hard to get in a hurry.  You could probably rent one.
>>  
>> I wish you good luck in resolving your issue.
>>  
>> William
>>  
>> Miller Solar
>> 17395 Oak Road, Atascadero, CA 93422
>> 805-438-5600
>> www.millersolar.com
>> CA Lic. 773985
>>  
>> From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Mac Lewis
>> Sent: Friday, January 31, 2020 6:19 AM
>> To: RE-wrenches
>> Subject: [RE-wrenches] Troubleshooting Xanbus
>>  
>> Hi Wrenches,
>>  
>> Does anyone have a good way to locate intermittent Xanbus issues with Schneider equipment?  We have a site that has been giving us a lot of issues.  It seems like the AGS might be dropping in and out and defaulting to "Off".  It works flawlessly when we are there of course.  Cables are testing fine.  No other device seems to have these issues.  All of these cables are factory made.
>>  
>> Maybe there is another explanation for the AGS defaulting to "Off".
>>  
>> Thanks in advance for your help
>>  
>> --
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> Mac Lewis
>> 
>> "Yo solo sé que no sé nada." -Sócrates
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> 
> -- 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~
> Jeff Clearwater
> Village Power Design
> linkedin 
> www.villagepowerdesign.com
> cell - 413-559-9763
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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