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    Troubleshooting

    Debug Dashboard (Insights)

    The debug dashboard provides real-time insight into your battery control system’s decision-making process, without having to scroll through Home Assistant and Node-RED. Use it to understand why your system behaves a certain way or to diagnose issues.

    Note: more an insights tool than a debug tool

    It shows known issues, but is not a full debug tool. Unforeseen crashes still require inspection via Node-RED. Also de Node-RED logs can be useful, e.g. http://homeassistant.local:8123/hassio/addon/******_nodered/logs

    How to Use Debug Mode

    1. Activate: Navigate to the Debug tab in your Home Assistant dashboard and toggle Debug Mode on via the chip in the top
    2. Monitor: The system will immediately start logging detailed information about:
      • Which strategy flows are executing and in what order
      • How long each flow takes to complete (in seconds)
      • Why batteries are being charged, discharged, skipped, or stopped
      • Price comparisons for dynamic strategies
      • PID controller calculations and decisions
    3. Disable: when done or to review the state in calm and quiet.
    4. Auto-disable: Debug mode automatically turns off after 5 minutes to prevent performance degradation.

    What You’ll See

    Flow Trace (Execution Timeline)

    • Shows which Node-RED flows executed, in order, with timestamps (HH:MM:SS.mmm)
    • Displays total execution time at the bottom
    • Use this to verify your strategy is executing as expected

    Log Messages (Detailed Explanations)

    • Color-coded by severity: 🔧 Log (green), ℹ️ Info (teal), ⚠️ Warning (orange), ❌ Error (red)
    • Shows up to 100 recent log entries
    • Each entry includes: timestamp, flow name, node name, and explanation

    Common Troubleshooting Scenarios

    “Why isn’t my battery charging/discharging?”

    • Enable debug mode and wait for one execution cycle
    • Check the log for messages about your specific battery (e.g., “Battery M1”)
    • Look for skip reasons: SoC limits reached, RS485 not enabled, or strategy conditions not met

    “Why did the strategy switch?”

    • Check the log for strategy switching messages
    • For dynamic strategy: look for price delta comparisons showing whether the threshold was met
    • For timed strategy: verify current time falls within configured periods

    “System seems slow or unresponsive”

    • Check the Flow Trace total execution time
    • Normal execution: < 0.5 seconds
    • Slow execution: 0.5 - 1.0 seconds (review system load)
    • Very slow: > 1.0 seconds (check Node-RED CPU usage and network connectivity)
      • Or lower the rate limit on the Home Battery Start flow using the msg/s nodes in the Rate Limit group

    “PID controller acting erratically”

    • Enable debug mode during active control
    • Review PID-related log entries showing input error, P-term, I-term, D-term values
    • Check for messages about deadband or hysteresis affecting behavior
    • Verify grid power sensor is updating correctly (check timestamps, the interval should be regular steps of > 0.5 sec.)

    Other Common Issues

    The controller barely responds and (dis)charges only with a few Watts

    Answer: Check if the P1 input is in Watt and not in kW.

    I get an error "HomeAssistantError: Invalid value for input_number.house_battery_control_pid_output: 16743 (range -15000.0 - 15000.0)"

    Answer:

    • Check battery max (dis)charge values. Are these correct?
    • If your converter/batteries allows over 15kW of charging, adjust the limits in home assistant\input_numbers\input_number_house_battery_control.yaml

    Modbus error function code: 0x3 exception: 2 (or similar)

    When connecting LilyGo or similar to Marstek Venus V3 Answer:

    • Update the latest firmware on your battery

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