Updating the Firmware for EG4 6500 Inverters

[@AdamDeLay07]

Video Note: In this video I mention that there doesn't seem to be any specific order for updating the firmware between the inverter and the display. It turns out there's been a lot of Error 32 errors happening and the fix is to re-install the display firmware first and then install the inverter firmware. So the recommendation now is to always update your display firmware first, and then update the inverter firmware.

[@GavinStoneDIY]

I wouldn’t have had the first clue how to update those units. I appreciate you taking the time to document how to get it done.

[@AdamDeLay07]

Got to be pretty easy after the 3rd time…

[@GavinStoneDIY]

Lol. I’ll bet it did.

[@brentjohnson6654]

Another good video. I had to laugh at the end about powering it off and back on again. Like the British sitcom IT Group where they answer the phone “have you tried turning it off and back on again?” Good video. Hope to hear a good report running this new firmware.

[@stevenfontz9022]

FYI, I first tried using the single cable ( USB to cat5 ) that was supplied by signature solar to upgrade the firmware. I keep getting a failed error (the com port was open however there was an issue with communication to the unit ). So for kicks and giggles, I used the cables ( serial to cat5 and serial to USB by signature solar ) just as Adam in the video. Well, it all upgraded seamlessly. Both firmwares are loaded and so far no flickering LED's!! Thanks for your time in making these videos Adam, you are a great help!!

[@AdamDeLay07]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@gottagogood2588]

Really appreciate this comment. Was really struggling to get it to work and switched to that crazy cable and low and behold it worked!

[@hendersonsobers396]

Great video. Really glad to see that SS is releasing firmware updates to resolve issues.

[@juanalmanzar7546]

Hey Adam, excellent video. Without this it wouldn't have been possible for me to update the firmware. As many here know SS doesn't answer the phones; they put you on indefinite hold and then they promise to call back, but they don't. They sent me 2 of those RJ45 to USB cables and both were giving me errors every time I tried the updates. I saw the Serial to USB adapter that you showed in your video; ordered it from Amazon, got it in 4 hours, plugged it in and it worked like a charm. Thank you so much. Keep them videos coming. Very helpful!

[@AdamDeLay07]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@zaibervaireus]

As a software engineer I'm very technical but wanted to see the whole process beforehand since i run my house offgrid and didn't want to risk bricking anything. Your video was exactly what I needed to do this confidently and I was able to get it done pretty quickly. To your comment that you should've disabled AC IN and Solar before stating, I actually had 1 of my inverters shut down mid update because it was only on battery. To be able to get it through to the end, I had to enable AC IN. Thankfully, the screen didn't brick and I was able to just reflash, but it wasn't working when I restarted the unit. I'm not sure why it did this but my inverters are slightly difference because I had to get 1 replaced under warranty. They also had slightly different firmwares before updating them because I had never updated either, so maybe the turning off was a firmware issue. Either way, leaving AC IN on at least might be easier and less risky for some folks.

[@dubhaltaghohearcain2431]

Thanks for the videos. Just called Signature solar and just 2 weeks ago they have updated all EG4 6500 ex and 6000 ex with the firmware. So anyone buying these unit as of two weeks ago will not need to do a firmware update.

[@AdamDeLay07]

That's true, until they put out the next firmware update. 😁

[@dubhaltaghohearcain2431]

@@AdamDeLay07 We'll I just ordered two I'll let you know. Now to study all your bits and bobs that you have on your inverter board. Shunts, fuses breakers, more breakers. Lol.

[@ggardentracks2012]

For anyone looking for an updated PDF guide on Firmware Installation, BenFromSignatureSolar posted one on the diysolarforum that goes over both .exe files you have to run to update the inverter and MCU. It’s located in the thread titled “RESOLVED: EG4 6500EX and 6000EX Lights Flickering FIRMWARE”. If you search Bens posts for “Here is the update procedure. Follow this exactly and you should not have an issue”. EG4 still does not have this updated procedure on their website. You should be fine if you do it as it was shown in the video as the steps in the pdf are the same as what was done in the video. Thanks for the walkthrough!

[@tri2sbr]

Very helpful! SS should send you free stuff for making this video, especially since their documentation still needs to be updated.

[@AdamDeLay07]

Nah. Just glad to be able to help people out, especially when things aren’t really clear.

[@tri2sbr]

@@AdamDeLay07 You are! I'm also in IT and have applied too many firmware updates to count. Having clear, updated instructions is a must. SS needs to do better. Keep up the excellent work!

[@AdamDeLay07]

@@tri2sbr Appreciate it! Thought it might be a little long for a firmware update video but that’s what the fast forward buttons are for…😁. Better more detailed than not enough!

[@hendersonsobers396]

Totally agree.

[@jimmyg6215]

Upgraded my 3/2022 version. I never had it in production as still finishing my cabin. Been running on a Growatt 3000 so never really tested the light flickering issue. Sounds like the first production run may not have had the issue. Upgrade went fine and I connected a wifi shop light that has dimming and that’s seems fine. Dimmed down to 10% and no flickering. I did put my volt meter on and seems to be holding around 59.99Hz to 60Hz. My meter has a o-scope and I can see just the slightest bit of noise on the waveform, but it’s a somewhat cheap meter, so possible it is picking up other things. I need to get some solar into the PV to really be sure. Thanks for the video, was helpful. Fortunately I had a rs232 serial to USB adapter from another project as my inverter did not include that adapter since it was a first run production version.

[@kevinhamm9066]

Great video I did the update but didn't do both files thanks for clearing that up.

[@AdamDeLay07]

Glad to be able to help!

[@tjmooney4181]

Thanks so.much for all the eg4 6500 ex48 informative videos 🙏

[@AdamDeLay07]

Your welcome!

[@tjmooney4181]

@Adam De Lay I have been binge watching all your videos since I got my inverter. I feel much more comfortable with my system thanks to having access to them. Is there a way to send you a picture of my setup?

[@AdamDeLay07]

@@tjmooney4181 you can send it to my email. Should be on the about page of my channel.

[@tjmooney4181]

@@AdamDeLay07 will try to find it now thanks

[@xjchris4209]

Thanks Adam updates went smooth. Thanks

[@AdamDeLay07]

Glad to hear!

[@HeavenlyMetal]

Thank you adam!!! Love the play by play if i can see it.i can do it! Thank you

[@AdamDeLay07]

Glad to be able to help out! That’s how I learn as well!

[@DavidGetchel]

Perfect timing! We just installed a 6000ex and want to upgrade firmware. And I have my 6500ex's that I need to do as well.

[@AdamDeLay07]

Glad it helps!

[@PRVRT1]

I only found one update for the 6000ex.

[@AdamDeLay07]

@@PRVRT1 since the 6000 is a different inverter, it might have different update procedures. I would check for a Readme in the firmware download.

[@PRVRT1]

@@AdamDeLay07 I did, there is a guidebook and I did that procedure. I can see Primary CPU with the current FW. But the Secondary CPU shows a different one. Not aure if the update was intended for one of the CPUs

[@AdamDeLay07]

@@PRVRT1 From what I can see, when there's 2 updates, each update will change one of the CPU versions. In the case of the 6500s there's 2 updates that need to be run so both CPU versions are updated. I looked at the download file for the 6000s and like you said, there's only one file to be run, so that's probably why only one CPU version was updated. Not sure if this was an oversight or intentional. It may be due to the hardware differences, that only one CPU update was necessary.

[@UnkyjoesPlayhouse]

were you not having the issue with flickering lights before you returned these units, or am I confusing you with another chan? apologies if I am, I have seen so many "troubling" issues with these inverters and with Sig Solar that I have taken them both off my list, my Growatt 3000 24v is still doing well, but I am saving up now to buy some Victron gear to compare with, your are more patient than I am, I would have sent these back and contacted my card holder, I appeciate all the great videos you have made on your solar setup, and it was cool seeing your son help you. Cherish those moments, before too long he will be grabbbing the tools from you and fixing it himself :)

[@AdamDeLay07]

My issues with lights seem to be sporadic. Some are due to me trying to dim the lights, others I can’t pinpoint exactly what’s going on. Nothing as bad as I’ve seen on other channels. My flickering is so faint, it doesn’t get picked up well by a camera, but you can see it with your naked eye. While there are some issues, I look at it like I’m still better off than where I was with my 12v system. Plus I didn’t buy top of the line equipment. I got the budget models. So part of it is on me. SS is a whole other story… Appreciate the comments. Looking forward to seeing what you end up going with.

[@UnkyjoesPlayhouse]

@@AdamDeLay07 Good luck, with those EG's and wish me luck with my Growatt as well, as I have only powered my rack with that thing and it is well under 1KW, time will tell. Keep up the great videos and I will keep watching :)

[@AdamDeLay07]

@@UnkyjoesPlayhouse definitely! Good luck and have fun!

[@bigblockcutlass123]

That was pretty good video. Thanks

[@AdamDeLay07]

You bet

[@lambobuilder]

Great detailed video. Would you suggest killing solar input in addition to grid power during the update? Assume batteries were still connected.

[@AdamDeLay07]

Thanks! It might not be a bad idea. Especially since you’ll have to turn them all off anyways in order to do a full system reboot. Otherwise you’ll get stuck like I did at the end wondering why the inverters weren’t powered down. Yes the batteries were still connected.

[@jeffreysylvester905]

Thanks,got to do this. X4!

[@AdamDeLay07]

Hopefully it goes as smooth for you as it did for me!

[@stevenfontz9022]

Ty, great video for non-computer savoy persons, have you confirmed the flickering issue being resolved?

[@AdamDeLay07]

I've only tested the one light in my office so far, but it seems like it's still doing it's flickering. Now I will say that the forum post about the firmware update states that this update is for those "who are experiencing lights flickering when PV is charging the battery". I'm having some flickering when there is no PV. The problem is, it's so faint you really can't catch it on camera. I've tried. I look like an idiot talking about nothing because you can't see anything.... :D SS did tell me there's some cheaper bulbs that just will always flicker off-grid. I'm wondering if my flickering issue is just from junk bulbs? Can't be sure. I'm really waiting to see what other peoples experiences are on the forums.

[@ericbarzycki5141]

Im pretty sure i have a clone of this unit . My instructions look identical but everything in the instructions shows a bit rate of 2400. Your video shows 19260. Did you instructions also show 2400 and you justbhad to play with it until you found the right bit transfer

[@AdamDeLay07]

I don’t recall there being anything specific in the “instructions” I had, so I left things at the defaults. Granted it was a while ago when I last did the firmware updates, so I might have forgotten something.

[@ismail-dj1mn]

Thank you, but I am facing an error in the RS232 port and I could not solve it. Is it possible to communicate so that I can send you a video of the problem?

[@AdamDeLay07]

I haven't had that inverter running in quite some time. I might suggest recording a video, putting it on your KZbin account and then sharing it in the comments here for all to help.

[@artvandeleah9952]

hello, i got FAULT code 71 and Error code 61 after updating and putting BMS setting to "EG4" to communicate between 6500ex and 4 lifepower4 batteries. I did not get any errors while updating. Everything updated successfully. I put the inverter setting back to "USE" setting and it cleared both the FAULT and Error codes. Has anyone else had this issue ? how have you resolved the problem ?

[@AdamDeLay07]

Is this for a single inverter or multiple inverters?

[@user-sc3qd5kr9s]

So do you still have eg4 6500 or did you switch to victron

[@AdamDeLay07]

I still have them. Not sure what my plans are for them at the moment.

[@richardreese5377]

So the question of the day. Does it correct the flickering?

[@AdamDeLay07]

I've only tested the one light in my office so far, but it seems like it's still doing it's flickering. Now I will say that the forum post about the firmware update states that this update is for those "who are experiencing lights flickering when PV is charging the battery". I'm having some flickering when there is no PV. The problem is, it's so faint you really can't catch it on camera. I've tried. I look like an idiot talking about nothing because you can't see anything.... :D SS did tell me there's some cheaper bulbs that just will always flicker off-grid. I'm wondering if my flickering issue is just from junk bulbs? Can't be sure. I'm really waiting to see what other peoples experiences are on the forums.

[@richardreese5377]

@@AdamDeLay07 thanks for your reply. I don’t notice flickering when running on battery. There is some when solar charging. And it’s also very noticeable when running on grid bypass . Flickering seems t happen when there is little load. . If we turn on a large load. It instantly stops . Somedays are more pronounced than others. But we even notice incandescent lights flickering. As well as our doorbell transformer makes a weird buzzing noise. Installed in the fall . Not a great time of year here in upstate New York for solar. Hopefully as the days get longer things will improve. Thanks for your videos 👍

[@AdamDeLay07]

@@richardreese5377 I notice it more on battery. My office is really the only light that I notice flickering when solar is coming in, but that might be due to the fact that I’m in the office during the day… I have seen flickering on light loads and loads over 1kw. I have seen loads fix some flickering and other times it’s not affected. Very odd. I’ve noticed that in MI that as of Feb 1, I’ve started to see my production start going up. Sun seems to be sticking around a little bit more, which is really nice. Thanks for the comment!

[@glennwest4438]

I have a chromebook. No windows.

[@AdamDeLay07]

Yeah, unfortunately the only way to update the firmware is by a windows computer.

[@IraGer]

Chromebook sucks. Have Ubuntu 22.04 LTS on a decent Thinkpad. Have the Reflash Tool running in Wine. Next to figure out how to determine the port. Don't have a serial to USB cable. Just Cat5 to USB and Cat5 to Cat5 and Cat5 to serial. This is for the 6000.

[@AdamDeLay07]

Chromebooks have their place. I find they work best for those not technically savvy because there's not much too them. As far as figuring out the port, I'm not sure if the 6000s use the same program or not for firmware updates, but one of the programs for the 6500s was able to auto-detect the port. I know that I tried multiple times to make my own Cat-5 to USB cable for the 6500 and couldn't get it to work at all. There's some kind of special communication required and I just couldn't find the right USB cable needed for it (outside of just buying the one from Watts247). Let me know if you get it working in Wine! Good luck!

[@fasnuf]

Tried this and the firmware couldnt see my com even though my control panel sheowed their device on COM3. Tired of their junk

[@AdamDeLay07]

The windows device manager should just show that you have a USB to Serial device plugged in. If it does, there might be a problem with the serial to RJ45 that you plug into the inverter.

[@thedennys4049]

Why do you need to update firmware

[@AdamDeLay07]

There’s a lot of reasons from issues with the inverter to new features being released. With these inverters the former is usually the reason to update.

[@solarandwindinsouthtexasda1473]

Nice video but with the problem everybody’s having with those inverters I won’t have one

[@AdamDeLay07]

Guess it all depends on what your doing and how you’re doing it.

[@alirazafsd22]

Please share Voltrinic/Inverrex Aerox III 3.2 KW (2019) Firmware ...

[@AdamDeLay07]

I don't have that firmware. All I had access to was the EG4 6500 firmware.

[@erasmorodriguez3043]

Tendrán vídeo en español

[@AdamDeLay07]

Es posible que desee consultar el sitio web de Signature Solar para ver si tienen versiones en español. De lo contrario, podrías ver si los subtítulos se traducen al español.

[@sh839c]

Laptop can't find serial interface, great

[@AdamDeLay07]

There is a driver on the EG4 website for the serial cable that you might wana try installing. I've heard of newer computers having issues finding the serial cable.

[@sh839c]

@@AdamDeLay07 Thanks, I realized I needed one afterwards. Duh. All firmware updated flawlessly. Thanks for the tips.

[@kickgas7171]

A clear sign of a poorly engineered, Chinese made product that should be avoided, is the need for firmware updates.

[@AdamDeLay07]

I wouldn't say that the need for firmware updates means a product should be avoided. Even phones and TVs nowadays have firmware updates. But this process for these inverters is an old way of performing updates that was a pain.

[@chrissheehan9419]

There is a newish video (not that they post it is obvious places...) and the order does matter. Thanks for this one! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWavc4eKbr5shtE

[@AdamDeLay07]

Thanks! Yeah, they were seeing a lot of Error 32 messages, which require you to re-run the display firmware first to correct.

[@chrissheehan9419]

@@AdamDeLay07 I'm getting F80 errors whenever 2P1 exceeds 60 A charging, no resolution yet. Service is a bit hard to work with since they are overloaded.

[@AdamDeLay07]

@@chrissheehan9419 hmm. Can you tell me what your string configuration is for 2p1? If you set option 2 to 50, do you still have the problem?

[@chrissheehan9419]

I have 5 series strings to each of the 4 PV inputs, VOC max of 250 V, 2000 W, 10A. I did try that but never took my settings since using EG4 for setting 2. Switched to USE last night (they said not to use anything other than those two settings). I had tried Lib not knowing what it does and it seemed ok for one day but also had a rare super cloudy day. Failed yesterday and again trying USE and 56.4 and 54.4, left the 120A setting for today.

[@AdamDeLay07]

@@chrissheehan9419 Yeah, you have a whole lot of headroom only having 250v coming into each PV input. Can you break the split-phase configuration and go back to SIG mode during the time you would normally get the error? That would at least narrow down which inverter is the issue. I'm guessing it's gonna need to be replaced because of some problem with the MPPT board. Typically if there's a fault on one inverter when in split phase, both will shut down to prevent damaging anything. Keep in mind when you break the split phase configuration, you don't want to attempt to run any 240v loads you already have wired up.

[@cowboymcq6711]

I’ve witnessed every error and fault code on my 2. 6000ex EG4 inverters LOL And have wore my book out referencing the codes 🤮. With barely any help from Signature Solar sickening customer service 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼

[@AdamDeLay07]

I believe the latest firmware release for the 6000 is also supposed to help with the flickering lights. Have you been able to apply that to your inverters? I know you’ve had flickering light problems for a while now and your one of the guys I was really interested to hear if it fixed your issues.