Hi, Not sure if you have got this resolved by now but I had a similar issue and have just managed to resolve it today. Posting this info here to try to help you (if you still need it) and so others with similar issues may find the info if they find your post on a search.
My basic issue was:
Batteries not taking any charge (stopped on the day there was a grid power cut, but don’t know if that was coincidental). That happened in Jaunary but I didn’t notice for quite a while.
Givenergy support non-existent and original installer couldn’t work out what was wrong and gave up (system was installed 2022 so is now outside of their install warranty period anyway).
In trying to get the batteries back up and running, the inverter also stopped working (red and green flashing lights indicating fault) so not even any PV generation to the house or grid. I think a failed firmware update “broke” the inverter and I thing it failed because the batteries were in low voltage hibernation (if that what it is called) and updating battery firmware was part of the inverter firmware update (so it couldn’t complete because the batteries were off).
Anyway, here is how I fixed things:
DISCLAIMER:
- I am not a solar engineer or qualified electrician, just a user. PROCEED ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU ARE NOT COMPETENT/COMFORTABLE WORKING WITH ELECTRICS, GET A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN TO DO IT (but hopefully you’ll at least have something to show him about how to proceed).
- Remember to isolate everything as described in the video(s) and turn everything off and on in the correct sequence (e.g. see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeR_Pv5hbQo )
- I am describing what worked for me. Double check you have the same system/equipment or search for your kit in the Givenergy Youtube videos. There may also be better ways of doing it (e.g. maybe I could have put the battery firmware on the inverter dongle) but this is what I did and it worked for me.
- I won’t be able to answer any specific questions about your system because See 1 above and because I won’t be online here (I’ve only come here to post this to try to help others after searching here for help when my system went down). But hopefully there is enough detail here to get you back up and running.
Here we go:
Inverter was fixed by this method:
I first did a manual reinstall of firmware to the inverter following this video:
As he says in the video, make sure you are looking at the correct video for your inverter. If that isn’t your inverter you should be able to find equivalent video within GivEnergy Youtube videos.
Most Givenergy Inverter Firmware can be found here: https://givenergy2025.zohodesk.eu/portal/en/kb/articles/firmware-files-inverters
but there is nothing there for Gen 1 Hybrid Inverter (presumably because there have been no updates?) so I used the firmware provided by “The Dragon” on 5th April (“A453- RTCL Function added.zip”) in the link in this discussion:
That fixed the inverter so at least I was now getting to use solar generation again.
This is how I fixed the batteries:
I first did a manual reinstall of firmware to the batteries (I have 2, so I did both) following this video:
I got my battery firmware from:
https://givenergy2025.zohodesk.eu/portal/en/kb/articles/firmware-files-batteries (make sure you get the correct firmware for your battery)
NB I found that the USB drives were glued in with a red “paste” so had to scrape that off carefully with a small screwdriver (cue sharp intake of breath from electricians).
This put the firmware file on the USB ready for when the batteries were charged up and switched back on.
I then followed this Installer guide to get the batteries back up and running.
NB
- You might want to consider getting a qualified electrician in for this bit!
- I bought the exact same DC power supply shown in the PDF from Amazon (it’s still on sale) for about £60 (a snip compared to the £6,000 quoted for a replacement Fox system).
- If you think the DC Power supply is not working when you get to the part in the PDF where it says to “switch on the DC Power supply” you may just need to press the Output button.
- The PDF says to disconnect the cables between the batteries and to the inverter. On my system, these just wouldn’t come loose, despite following the correct sequence of moving red tabs and pressing various parts of the connector) so in the end I just had to leave them connected (but all isolators off and battery DC MCB off) and it worked OK.
I charged each battery up separately to the 50V.
Once the battery covers were back on, I then restarted the whole system (switching everything on in the recommended sequence) and went on the Givenergy portal and in My Inverter > Settings > Timed Charge set the battery to charge between 00:00 and 23:59 to get them fully charged up straight away. I’ll adjust things to suit my tariff and use once I know the batteries are definitely fixed (they currently at 80%).
Hope this helps you (or anyone with similar problems)