Victron energy BMV-501 User manual

USER MANUAL
GEBRUIKSAANWIJZING
Battery monitor BMV-501
Batterij monitor BMV-501
victron energy
victron energyvictron energy
victron energy

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Copyrights © 1999, 2000 Victron Energy B.V.
All Rights Reserved
This publication or part thereoff, may not reproduced in any form by any
method, for any purpose.
VICTRON ENERGY B.V. MAKES NO WARRANTY, EITHER
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, REGARDING THESE VICTRON ENERGY
PRODUCTS AND MAKES SUCH VICTRON ENERGY PRODUCTS
AVAILABLE SOLELY ON AN “AS-IS” BASIS.
IN NO EVENT SHALL VICTRON ENERGY B.V. BE LIABLE TO
ANYONE FOR SPECIAL, COLLATERAL, INCIDENTAL, OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH OR ARISING
OUT OF PURCHASE OR USE OF THESE VICTRON ENERGY
PRODUCTS. THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE LIABILITY TO VICTRON
ENERGY B.V., REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, SHALL
NOT EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE VICTRON ENERGY
PRODUCTS DESCRIBED HERE IN.
For conditions of use and permission to use this manual for publication in
other than the English, Dutch, French or German language, contact
Victron Energy B.V.
Victron Energy B.V. reserves the right to revise and improve its products
as it sees fit. This publication describes the state of this product at the
time of its publication and may not reflect the product at all times in the
future.

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SECTIONS Page
English 4
Nederlands 25

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INTRODUCTION
Victron Energy has established an international reputation as a leading
designer and manufacturer of energy systems. Our R&D department is
the driving force behind this reputation. It is continually seeking new ways
of incorporating the latest technology in our products. Each step forward
results in value-added technical and economical features.
Our proven philosophy has resulted in a full range of state-of-the-art
equipment for the supply of electrical power. All our equipment meets the
most stringent requirements.
Victron Energy energy systems provide you with high quality AC supplies
at places where there are no permanent sources of mains power.
An automatic stand-alone power system can be created with a
configuration comprising of a Victron Energy inverter, battery charger and
last but not least, batteries with sufficient capacity.
Our equipment is suitable for countless situations in the field, on ships or
other places where a mobile 230 Volt
AC
power supply is indispensable.
Victron Energy has the ideal power source for all kinds of electrical
appliances used for household, technical and industrial purposes,
including instruments susceptible to interference. All of these applications
require a high quality power supply in order to function properly.
Victron Energy batterymonitor
This manual describes the functionality and operation of the BMV-501,
including its protective devices and other technical features.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. BATTERY MONITOR BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.1 Why should I monitor my battery? . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2 How does the BMV-501 work? . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2. SETTING UP THE BMV-501 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1 Precautions when working with batteries . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 Charge Efficiency Factor (CEF) . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Peukert’s exponent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4 Charged-parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.5 Synchronizing the BMV-501 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 Function overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3. GENERAL OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4. ADVANCED FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1 Historic data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.2 PC-link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3 Super-lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5. TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.1 Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6. TECHNICAL DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6.1 Declaration of conformity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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1. BATTERY MONITOR BASICS
1.1 Why should I monitor my battery?
Batteries are used in a wide variety of applications, mostly to store
energy for later use. But how do you know how much energy is stored in
your battery? No one can tell by just looking at it. Battery technology is
often oversimplified, but some basic battery knowledge and good
monitoring is essential if you want to enjoy maximum life from your
expensive batteries. The life time of batteries is dependent on many
factors. Battery life reduces by under-charging, over-charging,
excessively deep discharge, too fast a discharge and too high an
ambient temperature. By monitoring your battery with an advanced
battery monitor like the BMV-501, important feedback is given to the user
so that remedial measures can be taken when necessary. This way, by
extending battery life, the BMV-501 will quickly pay for itself.
1.2 How does the BMV-501 work?
The capacity of a battery is rated in Amphours (Ah). For example a
battery that can deliver a current of 5Amps for a period of 20hours is
rated at 100Ah (5 * 20 = 100). The BMV-501 continuously measures the
nett current flow in or out of the battery so it can calculate the amount of
energy removed from or added to the battery. But since battery age,
discharge current and temperature all influence the battery’s capacity,
you can’t rely simply on an Amp-hours reading. When the same 100Ah
battery is discharged completely in two hours, it will give you only 56Ah.
(because of the higher rate of discharge)
As you can see the battery’s capacity is almost halved. This
phenomenon is called Peukert efficiency (see also chapter 2.2). Also,
when the temperature of the battery is low, its capacity is decreased
even more. This is why simple Amphour counters or Voltmeters give you
far from an accurate state-of-charge indication.
The BMV-501 can display both Amphours removed (not compensated)
and actual state-of-charge (compensated by Peukert efficiency, charge
efficiency and temperature). Reading state-of-charge is the best way to
read your battery. This parameter is given in percent, where 100.0%
represents a fully charged battery and 0.0% a completely flat battery.
You can compare this with a fuel-gauge in a car.

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The BMV-501 also makes an estimation of the time the battery can
support the present load (time-to-go readout). This is actually the time
left till the battery needs to be charged again. If the battery load is
fluctuating heavily it’s best not to rely on this reading too much since it is
a momentary readout and must be used as a guide only. We always
encourage the use of the state-of-charge readout for accurate battery
monitoring.
Besides the main function of the BMV-501, displaying the actual battery
status, this monitor offers many other features. The readout of actual
battery voltage, current and temperature (with optional temperature
sensor), the ability to store historic data, the PC computer-link and the
Super-lock function are just a few features of the BMV-501. These
features are more specifically explained in the corresponding chapters of
this manual.

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2. SETTING UP THE BMV-501
Before proceeding with this chapter, please make sure your BMV-
501 is fully installed in accordance with to the enclosed installation
guide.
When your BMV-501 is installed it is time to adjust the battery monitor to
your battery system. But before discussing the functions in the setup
menu, four important items are explained first in the following chapters. It
is important that as a user of the BMV-501 you have having some insight
into these four items. The actual setup menu functions are explained in
chapter 2.5 ‘Function overview’.
2.1 Precautions when working with batteries
CAUTION
1. Working in vicinity of a lead acid battery is
dangerous. Batteries can generate explosive
gases during operation. Never smoke or allow a
spark or flame in the vicinity of a battery. Provide
sufficient ventilation around the battery.
2. Wear eye and clothing protection. Avoid touching
eyes while working near batteries. Wash your
hands when done.
3. If battery acid contacts skin or clothing, wash
immediately with soap and water. If acid enters
eye, immediately flood eye with running cold
water for at least 15 minutes and get medical
attention immediately.
4. Be careful when using metal tools in vicinity of
batteries. Dropping a metal tool onto a battery
might cause a short-circuit battery and, possibly
an explosion.
5. Remove personal metal items such as rings,
bracelets, necklaces, and watches when working
with a battery. A battery can produce a short-
circuit current high enough to melt a ring or the
like to metal, causing severe burns.

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2.2 Charge Efficiency Factor (CEF)
Not all energy transferred into the battery during battery charging, is
available during discharge of the battery. The charge efficiency of a
brand new battery is approximately 90%, meaning that 10Ah must be
transferred to the battery to get 9Ah actually stored in the battery. This
efficiency figure is called Charge-Efficiency-Factor (CEF) and will
decrease with battery age. The BMV-501 can automatically calculate the
CEF of the battery.
2.3 Peukert’s exponent
As mentioned earlier in chapter 1.2 the Peukert efficiency describes how
if you discharge a battery faster than the 20hr rating, it’s Amphour
capacity decreases. The amount of battery capacity reduction is called
‘Peukert exponent’ and can be adjusted from 1.00 to 1.50 in Function
F10. The higher the Peukert exponent the faster the battery size shrinks
with increasing discharge rate. An ideal (theoretical) battery has a
Peukert Exponent of 1.00 and doesn’t care how big the discharge current
is. Of course such batteries do not exist, and an F10 setting of 1.00 is
only implemented to bypass Peukert compensation in the BMV-501.
The default setting for the Peukert exponent is 1.25, and is an
acceptable average value for most lead acid type of batteries. However
for precise battery monitoring, entering the right Peukert exponent is
essential. If the Peukert exponent is not provided with your battery, you
can calculate it by using other specifications which must be provided with
your battery. The Peukert equation is stated below :
Cp = I
n
⋅t where Peukert exponent ‘n’ =
2log1log
1log2log
II
tt
−
−
The battery specifications needed for calculation of the Peukert
exponent, are the rated battery capacity (usually the 20hr discharge
rate
(1)
) and for example a 5hr discharge rate
(2)
. See the calculation
example below to define the Peukert exponent using these two
specifications :
5hr rating, C5 = 75Ah
→t1 = 5hr
→I1 = 75Ah/5hr = 15A

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20hr rating, C20 = 100Ah (rated capacity)
→t2 = 20hr
→I2 = 100Ah/20hr = 5A
Peukert exponent n =
5log15log
5log20log
−
−
= 1,26
(1)
Please note that the rated battery capacity can also be defined as
the 10hr or even 5hr discharge rate.
(2)
The 5hr discharge rate in this example is just arbitrary. Make sure
that besides the C20 rating (low discharge current) you choose a
second rating with a substantially higher discharge current.
When no ratings are given at all, you can measure your battery using a
‘constant load bank’. In this way a second rating can be obtained,
besides the 20hr rating which represents the rated battery capacity in
most cases
(1)
. This second rating can be defined by discharging a fully
charged battery with a constant current, until the battery reaches 1.75V
per cell (is 10.5V for a 12V battery or 21V for a 24V battery). a
calculation example is shown below :
A 200Ah battery is discharged with a constant current of 20A and after
8.5 hours 1.75V/cell is reached.
So, →t1 = 8.5hr
→I1 = 20A
20hr rating, C20 = 200Ah
→t2 = 20hr
→I2 = 200Ah/20hr = 10A
Peukert exponent n =
10log20log
5.8log20log
−
−
= 1,23
To calculate the Peukert exponent with the specifications above, you can
also use the Peukert calculator which can be downloaded from our
website at www.victronenergy.com, or is part of the optional PC-link
interface kit software. (see page 23 for article number)

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2.4 Charged-parameters
Based on increasing charge voltage and decreasing charge current, a
decision can be made whether the battery is fully charged or not. When
the battery voltage is above a certain level during a predefined period
while the charge current is below a certain level for the same period, the
battery can be considered fully charged. These voltage and current
levels, as well as the predefined period are called ‘charged-parameters’.
In general for a 12V lead acid battery, the voltage-charged-parameter is
13.2V and the current-charged-parameter is 2.0% of the total battery
capacity (e.g. 4A with a 200Ah battery). A charged-parameter-time of 4
minutes is sufficient for most battery systems. Please note that these
parameters are very important for correct operation of your BMV-501,
and must be set appropriately in the corresponding Functions.
2.5 Synchronizing the BMV-501
For a reliable readout of the state of charge of the battery, the battery
monitor has to be synchronized regularly with battery and charger. This
is accomplished by fully charging the battery. When the charger is
operating in the ‘float’ stage, the charger considers the battery full. At this
moment the BMV-501 must reckon the battery as full too, so that the
Amphour counting can be reset to zero and the state-of-charge reading
set to 100.0%. By precisely adjusting the charged-parameters in the
BMV-501, the battery monitor can automatically synchronize with the
charger when the ‘float’ stage is reached. The range of the charged-
parameters is wide enough to adjust the BMV-501 to most battery
charging methods.
When the BMV-501 can’t be adjusted to the charging algorithm of the
installed charger, the user can always synchronize the battery monitor
manually when the battery is fully charged. This is achieved by pressing
both < and > selection keys simultaneously for three seconds. By
manually synchronizing the battery monitor, the CEF will not be
calculated automatically. When the supply voltage to the BMV-501
has been interrupted, the battery monitor must always be
synchronized in order to operate correctly.
Please note that regularly (at least once per month) fully charging your
battery not only keeps it in sync with the BMV-501, but also prevent
substantial capacity loss of your battery that limits it’s life time.

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2.6 Function overview
The BMV-501 factory settings are suitable for an average 12V lead acid
battery system of 200Ah. So in most cases when monitoring a 12V
system, the only Function which possibly needs to be changed is the
battery capacity (F01). When using other types of batteries please
ensure that all the relevant specifications are known to properly setup the
BMV-501 Functions.
Users can fully adjust their BMV-501 with the help of twenty different
settings, called ‘Functions’. Before setting up the BMV-501, the user has
to activate the setup-mode first. The setup-mode can be activated by
pressing the SETUP key for three seconds. The display will blink to
indicate that the setup-mode is active. By repeatedly pressing the
SETUP key the desired Function can be selected. The selected Function
is represented as Fxx where xx indicates the Function number. The <
and > keys can be used to alter the value of the selected Function. By
pressing the SETUP key again, the next Function will be selected. To
save the changed settings to the BMV-501 memory, the SETUP key
must be pressed for three seconds until the display stops flashing and
the battery monitor jumps back to normal operating mode again. If the
BMV-501 operates in the setup-mode and no key is pressed for 90
seconds, the monitor will jump back to normal operating mode
automatically, without saving any altered settings.
The table below gives an overview of all BMV-501 Functions including a
short description. It is recommended not to change the Functions F04,
F05, F06, F09, F10, F11, F12, F13, F14, F16, F17 or F20 when in doubt.
For most battery systems, only adjusting the values of Functions F01,
F02, F03, F07 and F08 should be sufficient.

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F01 : Battery capacity in Amphours (Ah). This must be the capacity
at a 20h discharge rate and 20 °C.
Default : 200Ah
Range : 20 – 2000Ah
Stepsize : 1Ah
F02 : Voltage-charged-parameter. The battery voltage must be
above this voltage level to consider the battery as fully
charged. Make sure the voltage-charged-parameter is always
slightly below the voltage at which the charger finishes
charging the battery (usually 0.1V or 0.2V below the ‘float’
stage voltage of the charger).
Default : 13.2V
Range : 8.0 – 33.0V
Stepsize : 0.1V
F03 : Current-charged-parameter. When the charge current value is
below this percentage of the battery capacity (see F01), the
battery can be considered as fully charged. Make sure the
current-charged-parameter is always greater than the
minimum current at which the charger maintains the battery,
or stops charging.
Default : 2.0%
Range : 0.5 – 10.0%
Stepsize : 0.5%
F04 : Charged-parameter-time. This is the time the charged-
parameters (as described in F02 and F03) must be met, in
order to consider the battery as fully charged.
Default : 4 minutes
Range : 1 – 4 minutes
Stepsize : 1 minutes
F05 : Low-battery alarm ON (discharge floor). When the state-of-
charge percentage has fallen below this value, the alarm relay
will be activated and the CHARGE BATTERY indication will
flash on the display to indicate the battery must be charged.
The time-to-go calculation is also linked to this value. It is
recommended to keep this value at or around 50.0%.
Default : 50.0%
Range : 0.0 – 99.0%
Stepsize : 1.0%

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F06 : Low-battery alarm OFF. When the state-of-charge percentage
has risen above this value and the alarm relay is activated,
the alarm relay will be deactivated again. When FULL is
selected the alarm relay is deactivated when the charged-
parameters are met.
Default : 80.0%
Range : 0.0 – 100.0% / FULL
Stepsize : 1.0%
F07 : Undervoltage alarm. When the battery voltage falls below this
value, after 10 seconds the message Lo shall appear on the
display and the alarm relay will be activated.
Default : 10.5V
Range : OFF / 8.0 – 33.0V
Stepsize : 0.1V
F08 : Overvoltage alarm. When the battery voltage rises above this
value, after 5 seconds the message Hi shall appear on the
display and the alarm relay will be activated.
Default : 16.0V
Range : OFF / 10.0 – 35.0V
Stepsize : 0.1V
F09 : Charge-efficiency-factor (CEF). It is recommended to keep
this value at AU (automatic calculation). The value A90 resets
the automatic calculation to 90%. A manual setting is
represented by Uxx where xx is the charge-efficiency. (see
chapter 2.1 for more info about CEF)
Default : AU
Range : U50 – U99 / AU / A90
Stepsize : 1%
F10 : Peukert exponent (discharge efficiency). When unknown it is
recommended to keep this value at 1.25. A value of 1.00
disables the Peukert compensation. See chapter 2.2 for more
information and a calculation example to calculate your
battery’s Peukert exponent.
Default : 1.25
Range : 1.00 – 1.50
Stepsize : 0.01

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F11 : Battery temperature. In this Function the average battery
temperature can be adjusted. The value AU enables the
automatic temperature measurement provided that an
external temperature sensor is connected to the BMV-501.
Also the temperature readout in normal mode is enabled.
When AU is selected and the connection with the temperature
sensor is lost, four dashes (- - - -) are displayed and the
internal temperature compensation calculations are made
using the default 20 ° C value.
Default : 20 °C
Range : 0 – 50 / AU
Stepsize : 1 °C
F12 : Temperature coefficient. This is the percentage the battery
capacity changes with temperature. The unit of this value is
‘%cap/°C’ or percent capacity per degree Celsius. The default
setting is 0.5 %cap/°C, typical for most batteries. The setting
OFF disables temperature compensation.
Default : 0.5 %cap/ ° C
Range : OFF / 0.05 – 0.95 %cap/ ° C
Stepsize : 0.05 %cap/ ° C
F13 : Time-to-go averaging period. Specifies the time window in
minutes that the moving averaging filter works with. Selecting
the right time depends on your installation. A value of 0
disables the filter and gives you instantaneous (real-time)
readout, however the displayed values may fluctuate heavily.
Selecting the highest time (12 minutes) ensures that long
term load fluctuations are included in the time-to-go
calculations.
Default : 3 minutes
Range : 0 / 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 minutes
F14 : Current threshold. When the current measured falls below this
value it will be considered as zero Amps. With this function it
is possible to cancel out very small currents that can
negatively affect long term state-of-charge readout in noisy
environments. For example if an actual long term current is
+0.05A and due to injected noise or small offsets the battery
monitor measures –0.05A, on the long term the BMV-501 can
incorrectly indicate that the battery needs recharging. When in
this case Function 14 is set to 0.1, the BMV-501 calculates

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with 0.0A so that errors are eliminated. A setting of 0.0
disables this Function.
Default : 0.0A
Range : 0.0 – 2.0A
Stepsize : 0.1A
F15 : Reserved.
Default : ---
F16 : Voltage prescaler. This Function is only important when an
optional prescaler is installed in the battery voltage sense
input of the BMV-501. The voltage-charged-parameter,
undervoltage- and overvoltage alarm settings are linked with
this Function. Don’t change this value if you are not using a
prescaler!
Default : 1-1
Range : 1-1 / 1-5 / 1-10
F17 : Display (backlight) mode. Duration of backlight activation in
seconds after pressing a key on the BMV-501. Furthermore
settings can be made to leave the backlight always ON or
always OFF. In the setting AU the backlight will be activated
automatically when the charge/discharge current exceeds 1A
or when a key is pressed.
Default : 30 seconds
Range : OFF / 10 – 60 / ON / AU
Stepsize : 10 seconds
F18 : Reserved.
Default : ---
F19 : Firmware version. Displays the firmware version of the BMV-
501. No alterations can be made.
Default : 1.00
F20 : Setup lock. When this Function is ON, all functions (except
this one) are locked and can’t be altered.
Default : OFF
Range : OFF / ON
When all the necessary changes are made and double checked in the
setup-mode, it is time to jump back to the normal operating mode by
pressing the SETUP key for three seconds. Your BMV-501 is now ready
for use!

17
3. GENERAL OPERATION
In normal operating mode the BMV-501 can display the six most
important parameters of your DC system. Use the < and > selection keys
to select the desired parameter.
Battery voltage (V). This readout is useful to make a rough
estimation of the battery’s state-of-charge. A 12V battery is
considered empty when it can’t maintain a voltage of 10.5V
under load conditions.
Current (A) represents the actual current flowing in or out of
the battery. A discharge current is indicated as a negative
value (current flowing out of the battery). If for example a DC
to AC inverter draws 5Amps from the battery, it will be
displayed as –5.0A.
Consumed Amphours (Ah) displays the amount of Amphours
consumed from the battery. A fully charged battery sets this
readout to 0.0Ah (synchronized system). When for three
hours a current of 12Amps is drawn from the battery, this
readout gives –36.0Ah.
State-of-charge (%). This is the best way to monitor the actual
state of the battery. This readout represents the current
amount of energy left in the battery. A fully charged battery
sets this readout to 100.0% while a fully discharged battery is
represented as 0.0%.
Time-to-go (h) is an estimation of how long the battery can
support the present load, before it needs recharging. This
time will be represented in hours (above 100h) or in hh.mm
format (under 100h). A time-to-go of 15 hours and 45 minutes
will be represented as 15.45h.
Temperature (
°
C) displays the present battery temperature.
This readout is automatically activated when Function F11 is
set to AU and the optional temperature sensor is connected to
the BMV-501. When connection with the temperature sensor
is lost, the display will return four dashes (- - - -).

18
The BMV-501 also indicates when the battery needs to be recharged
again or when the battery is fully charged. These indications are made
using the CHARGE BATTERY FULL indicators at the bottom of the
display. In the table below the three possible combinations of these
indicators are explained.
CHARGE BATTERY (flashing). The state-of-
charge of the battery has dropped below the
adjusted ‘discharge floor’ (see Function F05). The
battery needs to be recharged as soon as
possible.
BATTERY FULL (flashing). The battery is fully
charged and the battery charger is probably
operates in the ‘float’ stage. The charger may be
turned off. The monitor is synchronized with the
battery!
CHARGE BATTERY FULL (flashing). Charge the
battery completely full! This indication will arise
when the BMV-501 decides that the monitor needs
to be synchronized with the battery (for example
after a number of charge/discharge cycles, after a
reset or immediately after power-up).

19
4. ADVANCED FEATURES
Besides the general functionality described in chapter 3, the BMV-501
offers additional advanced features too. These features are reviewed in
the next three chapters.
4.1 Historic data
The BMV-501 is able to store special events as historic data in it’s
memory. The following events are stored as historic data :
H01 : The charge-efficiency-factor (CEF) automatically calculated.
H02 : The average discharge. This value will be recalculated after
each synchronization.
H03 : The deepest discharge in Ah.
H04 : Number of charge/discharge cycles.
H05 : The number of ‘equalizations’. This is the number of times the
battery is fully charged meeting the charged-parameters
condition.
H06 : The number of full discharges (reaching a state-of-charge of
0.0%).
H07 : The number of undervoltage alarms.
H08 : The number of overvoltage alarms.
H09 : reserved
H10 : reserved
The information stated above can be recalled in the ‘history readout’.
This readout can be activated by pressing all three keys of the BMV-501
for five seconds. After this five seconds, a flashing ‘H01’ shall appear on
the display. With the < and > selection keys the value of H01 can be
displayed. By pressing the SETUP (next) key the next history event, in
this case ‘H02’, can be selected. To jump back to normal operating
mode, all three BMV-501 keys must be pressed for five seconds again.
4.2 PC-link
Each BMV-501 offers the possibility to communicate with a Personal
Computer. However, the optional external communications interface kit is
required for this feature. This communications interface only needs to be
connected when actually communicating with the BMV-501, to avoid
unnecessary power consumption. With the dedicated BMV-501 Windows
95/98/ME/2000/XP

software, the user can simultaneously display all

20
parameters. The BMV-501 can also be fully programmed via this link,
while the complete Function setup can be saved to disk. Furthermore
historic data can be readout, the BMV-501 can be tested and the super-
lock can be (de-)activated.
4.3 Super-lock
With the super-lock feature, the setup menu of the BMV-501 can be
completely locked and secured by a password. In super-lock mode the
historic data cannot be erased either. The normal operating mode is not
affected by the super-lock and the Functions in the setup menu can be
reviewed, but not altered. Only the user/installer knowing the password,
can unlock the BMV-501 via the PC-link.
The super-lock must not be confused with the setup-lock (Function F20).
The big difference between the two is that the setup-lock can be disabled
by anybody, even without communication between BMV-501 and PC.
The setup-lock is used to avoid accidental alteration of the Function
values. The super-lock, however, can only be (de-)activated via the PC-
link using a unique password. The super-lock feature is primarily meant
for warranty purposes.
5. TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE
PROBLEM REMEDY OR SUGGESTION
The monitor doesn’t operate (no
display)
- Check monitor- and battery
connections.
- Make sure the inline fuses are
installed and not blown.
- Check battery voltage. Battery
might be flat.
Vbatt must be >8VDC.
- Try to restart the monitor by
removing/placing the fuses
again.
Current readout gives wrong
polarity (positive current instead
of negative when discharging)
- Current sense leads from the
shunt are reversed. Check the
installation guide.
The monitor resets all the time - Check the wiring for corrosion
and/or loose contacts.
- Battery might be flat or
defective.