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T R I S T A R O P E R A T I O N
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M O R N I N G S T A R C O R P O R A T I O N
3.0
3.3 LED Indications
Valuable information can be provided by the three LEDs in the front cover.
Although there are many different LED indications, they have similar patterns
to make it easier to interpret each LED display. Consider as three groups of
indications: General Transitions // Battery or Load Status // Faults.
LED Display Explanation:
G = green LED is lit
Y = yellow LED is lit
R = red LED is lit
G/Y = Green and Yellow are both lit at the same time
G/Y - R = Green & Yellow both lit, then Red is lit alone
Sequencing (faults) has the LED pattern repeating until the fault is cleared
1. General Transitions:
• Controller start-up
G - Y - R (one cycle)
• Push-button transitions
blink all 3 LEDs 2 times
• Battery service is required
all 3 LEDs blinking until service is reset
2. Battery Status
• General state-of-charge
see battery SOC indications below
• PWM absorption
G blinking (1/2 second on / 1/2 second off)
• Equalization state
G fast blink (2 to 3 times per second)
• Float state
G slow blink (1 second on / 1 second off)
Battery State-of-Charge LED Indications
(when battery is charging):
• G on
80% to 95% SOC
• G/Y on
60% to 80% SOC
• Y on
35% to 60% SOC
• Y/R on
0% to 35% SOC
• R on
battery is discharging
Refer to the Specifications (Section 11.0) for the State-of-Charge voltages.
Another LED chart is provided at the end of this manual (Appendix 3) for
easier reference.
Note that because these State-of-Charge LED displays are for all battery
types and system designs, they are only approximate indications of the
battery charge state.
LOAD & LIGHTING CONTROL
2. Load Status
12V 24V 48V
LVD+ 0.60V 1.20V 2.40V
LVD+ 0.45V 0.90V 1.80V
LVD+ 0.30V 0.60V 1.20V
LVD+ 0.15V 0.30V 0.60V
LVD
The load status LEDs are determined by the LVD voltage plus the
specified transition voltages. As the battery voltage rises or falls, each
voltage transition will cause a change in the LEDs.
3. Faults & Alarms
• Short circuit - solar/load
R/G - Y sequencing
• Overload - solar/load
R/Y - G sequencing
• Over-temperature
R - Y sequencing
• High voltage disconnect
R - G sequencing
• Reverse polarity - battery
no LEDs are lighted
• Reverse polarity - solar
No fault indication
• DIP switch fault
R - Y - G sequencing
• Self-test faults
R - Y - G sequencing
• Temperature probe (RTS)
R/Y - G/Y sequencing
• Battery voltage sense
R/Y - G/Y sequencing
3.4 Protections and Fault Recovery
The TriStar protections and automatic recovery are important elements of the
operating system. The system operator should be familiar with the causes of
faults, controller protections, and any actions that may be required.
Some basic fault conditions are reviewed below:
Short circuit:
(R/G-Y sequencing) When a short circuit occurs, the FET switches are
opened in micro-seconds. The FETs will probably open before other protective
devices in the system can react, so the short circuit may remain
in the system. The TriStar will try to reconnect the FETs two times. If the
short circuit remains, the LEDs will continue sequencing.
After the short in the system is repaired, there are two ways to restart the
controller:
• Power should have been disconnected to repair the short. When power is
restored, the TriStar does a normal start-up and will reconnect the solar
input or load.
• The push-button can also be used to reconnect the FET switches (if there is
battery power to the TriStar).
NOTE: There will always be a 10 second delay between attempts to
reconnect the FET switches. Even if power is disconnected, the TriStar
will wait for the remainder of the 10 seconds when the power is
restored.
