Troubleshooting iTechworld Battery Monitors & Shunts

iTechworld Battery Monitors & Shunts Troubleshooting

Need help? We are happy to give you the support you need for your iTechworld battery monitor and shunt. Listed below are some of the most frequently seen troubleshooting issues. 

 

I'm not sure I have connected everything correctly.

  • Charge your battery/batteries to 100% fully charged before installing the iTECHBM500 with shunt. If you have a lithium battery/batteries, the voltage must be resting at 13.5v or higher to be considered 100% full.
  • Connect the 8-metre shielded wire to the shunt and the LCD interface. The shunt cannot connect directly to the LCD interface; you must use the 8-metre shielded wire to connect.
  • Insert the 1 metre 20AWG cable to the B+ housing of the shunt. Using a small flat head screwdriver, secure the cable in place. Connect the eyelet to the positive battery terminal.
  • Run a negative cable from B- on the shunt to the negative battery terminal. We do not supply this cable. Use a cable that can handle the maximum load/charge for the system. Example: Largest load/charger is a 3000 Watt inverter using 0AWG cable. The cable from B- to the battery has to be 0AWG.
  • P- on the shunt now becomes your negative battery terminal. Any negative cable that charges/discharges the battery must be connected to P-. If a negative cable from a device that charges or discharges the battery is connected to the battery rather than P-, there will be inconsistent readings on the LCD interface.
  • The LCD interface will now be active; to set the capacity at 100%, press them 🞂 for three seconds.
  • Press the SET button for three seconds to set the AH. Use the 🞀 🞂 buttons to increase and decrease the AH. Set the usable capacity of your battery/batteries. Refer to your user guide or the iTechworld website for information on the usable AH of your battery.

Please see the wiring diagram below which shows a standard 12v lithium battery system running through an iTECHBM500.

iTECHBM500 Wiring Diagram

 

How do I use the iTECHBM500?

 

Battery State Of Charge: The iTECHBM500's default screen shows the battery capacity as a %. If there is a load or charging going into the battery; a small triangle on the bottom left-hand side of the screen will appear. The triangle will have either a + or - symbol to indicate if there is power in + or power out -. If you are charging and discharging simultaneously, the monitor will aggregate and show you with a + or - if you have an abundance or deficit in power.

Battery voltage: On the default screen, press the 🞀 button once to see the battery voltage.

Current: Press the SET button once; the iTECHBM500 will display amps in/out.

Capacity: Press the set button twice.

 

The % reading does not match the voltage.

This indicates that either a charging method or load is connected directly to the battery rather than going through the shunt.

 

The voltage increases, but the % does not.

A charger charges the battery, but the negative cable is not connected to the iTECHBM500's shunt.

 

The voltage decreases, but the % does not.

A load is drawing from the battery, but the negative cable is not connected to the iTECHBM500's shunt.

 

Why do you not supply a cable from the shunt to the battery?

As all installations are different and require different lengths of cabling, we advise our customers to source this cable themselves.

 

My iTECHBM500 shows the battery icon to be empty even though there is a high voltage in the battery.

 

The voltage setting on the iTECHBM500 is set too high, please note this is the floor voltage setting and should be set to 0v.

 

My iTECHBM500's display is pulsing.

The iTECHBM500's screen will pulse when the battery is receiving a charge.

 

The voltage on my iTECHBM500 is increasing but my capacity/percentage is staying the same:

This indicates that there is a charging source connected to the battery that is not connected to the shunt. Ensure the negatives from all charging sources are connected to the ‘P- terminal’ on the shunt.

The voltage on my iTECHBM500 is decreasing but my capacity/percentage is staying the same:

This indicates that there is a load connected to the battery that is not connected to the shunt. Ensure the negatives from all loads are connected to the ‘P- terminal’ on the shunt.

The BM500 shows an empty battery icon despite being at a high voltage:

One or both voltage settings have not been set correctly. For lithium batteries, ensure the HIGH V setting has been set to 13.5v and the LOW V setting has been set to 10.5v. Then from the home screen, hold the UP ARROW button for a few seconds. You should see the battery icon fill up.

My iTECHBM500 is not lighting up:

  1. Ensure the battery it is connected to has a high enough voltage to light the monitor up (anything over 11v for lithium batteries).
  2. Ensure there is a solid connection between the shunt’s ‘B- terminal’ and the battery’s negative terminal.
  3. Ensure there is a solid connection between the positive ‘sense wire’ and the battery’s positive terminal.

My volt meter is not lighting up:

  • Ensure the connected battery has a high enough voltage to light the monitor up (anything over 11.5v).
  • Ensure there is a solid connection between both the positive wire (RED) and the positive terminal of the battery.
  • Ensure there is a solid connection between the negative wire (BLACK) and the negative terminal of the battery.

What do the different settings screens represent on my voltmeter:

How do I use the iTECHBM500 (Generation 2)?

  1. Ensure your battery bank is fully charged (13.5v if you have lithium batteries). 
  2. Connect the negative cables from all loads/chargers to the P- terminal of the shunt. 
  3. Connect the B- terminal of the shunt to the negative of your battery bank. This can be mounted directly or connected via a single cable.  
  4. Connect the positive ‘sense wire’ from the B+ terminal to the positive of your battery bank.  

Once these three connections have been made, your BM500 display should light up.  

  1. When on the home screen, hold down the OK button until the display changes. You should see the settings pop up and a flashing number. This is your capacity setting.  
  2. To alter this setting, click the OK button and the UP/DOWN arrows until you have your desired capacity. When you have the correct capacity number, click the TOP arrow button to lock it in place.  
  3. The arrow on the right side of the display should now be flashing. Click the DOWN arrow to go to the HIGH V setting. Click OK to enter this setting.  
  4. Using the OK button and UP/DOWN arrows to adjust (Set this to 13.5v if you have lithium batteries). Click the TOP arrow to lock it in place.  
  5. Once again, the arrow on the right side of the screen should start flashing. Click the DOWN arrow and OK to enter the LOW V setting.  
  6. Use the OK button and UP/DOWN arrows to adjust (Set this to 10.5v if you have lithium batteries). Click the TOP arrow to lock this in place.  
  7. Again, with the arrow on the right side of the screen flashing, click the Down arrow and OK to enter the ALARM setting. 
  8. Use the OK and UP/DOWN arrows to adjust. Click the TOP arrow to lock it in place. (This setting can be adjusted to your liking depending on how much leeway you would like between this alarm kicking in and your batteries running flat. We would recommend setting this to 10% of your total battery bank’s usable capacity. For example, 100ah battery bank – set alarm to 10ah, 480ah battery bank – set alarm to 48ah). 
  9. The final step for this set up is to adjust the Percentage. To do this you will need to be on the home screen. Simply click the TOP arrow to return to the home screen.  

Once on this screen, hold the UP arrow button for a few seconds. You should see the percentage climb to 100% and battery symbol fill up. 

 

 

How do I use the iTECHBM500 (Generation 1)?

 

Follow these instructions to set the ‘Cut Off Voltage’:

  1. Click the LEFT arrow. This will bring up the voltage.
  2. Hold down the SET button until the voltage starts to flash.
  3. Hold down the LEFT arrow to drop the voltage as low as possible. It should go all the way down to 1v.
  4. Hold down the SET button again to lock it in place.

Follow these instructions to set the ‘Amp hour capacity’:

  1. Click the SET button. This will bring up a live reading of how many amps are coming in or going out of the battery.
  2. Click the SET button again. This will now bring up the available amp hours.
  3. When on this screen, hold down the SET button until the ah starts to flash.
  4. Use the LEFT and RIGHT arrow to change the available amp hours.
  5. When you have the correct amp hours on the display, hold down the SET button again to lock it in place.

Follow these instructions set the percentage and sync everything:

  1. Charge your battery to 13.5v (100%).
  2. Click the RIGHT arrow so the percentage pops up on the display.
  3. Hold down the RIGHT arrow and the percentage should now spike up to 100%.

 How do I set up my voltmeter for lithium batteries:

  1. Ensure you have a secure connection to a charged battery.
  2. Press and hold the ‘’SET” button.
  3. You will see 1P and 00 blinking.
  4. Quick press “SET” 2 times until you see 3F and 00 blinking.
  5. Quick press “SET again.
  6. You will see 3 yellow zeros on the left and 3 white zeros on the right.
  7. Press the “POWER” button to increase the value.
  8. Press and hold the “POWER” button for 2 seconds to move to the next column.
  9. Set the left-hand value (3 yellow zeros) to be 10.5 and the right-hand value (3 white zeros) to be 13.5. This lets the monitor know the 0% voltage of the battery and 100% voltage of the battery.
  10. Press set to save.

 

Still having issues? Please email service@itechworld.com.au

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