SOK Owner / Operator Manual: Chapter 4 – Growatt Communication

When communication has been established, the Growatt Inverter can re-configure its charging voltage, current, and battery discharge cut-off voltage according to the battery’s parameters. If parameters are outside of a safe range, the inverter can start or stop in order to protect the batteries.

Cables

Some Growatt inverters require a special cable that must be used, particularly the SPF 3000TL LVM-ES. This cable can either be purchased already made or can be created by following the pinout table below. Pre-Purchased cables must be checked upon receipt to ensure they are labeled as “Growatt”, otherwise an incorrect cable can lead to difficulty communicating.

Other models, such as the SPF 5000 LVM use a standard RJ45 / CAT5e Ethernet Cable. This varies on a case by case basis. If you are using our custom cable and having trouble, we recommend testing a standard cable as well.

The following table depicts the pinouts used on the Growatt SPF 3000TL LVM-ES inverter, as well as the CAN port of the SK48v100. When hand-making cables, we highly recommend confirming the pin configurations, as mistakes can lead to very difficult-to-troubleshoot problems.

Growatt SPF 3000TL LVM-ES / SK48v100 Pinout Table
Function Growatt SK48v100
GND Pin 6 Pin 2
CAN-L Pin 5 Pin 5
CAN-H Pin 4 Pin 4

If you wish to use your own cable, do so with caution; the following pinout table creates a cable that is bidirectional, meaning either end can be plugged into the Growatt inverter or the battery while still preserving full functionality. When using competitor’s cables, they may require certain ends be plugged into corresponding devices.

Connector #1 Connector #2
Pin 1 Pin 1
Pin 2 Pin 2
Pin 3 Pin 3
Pin 4 Pin 4
Pin 5 Pin 5
Pin 6 Pin 6
Pin 7 Pin 7
Pin 8 Pin 8

Connection port & Procedure

The communication cable plugs into the CAN port of the inverter (Note: If none of the ports are marked CAN, the port is sometimes marked as “BMS”).

The communication cable plug marked “SK48V100” plugs into the “CAN” port of the master battery. Verify the DIP switches of the master battery are set to address #1, ON-OFF-OFF-OFF as described previously and slave batteries are set to unique address as designated here.

Ensure all batteries are in the “BMS-OFF” state prior to installing the cable(s. After the cable(s) have been installed, power up the system making sure to follow the proper start-up procedure.

Growatt Settings

Disclaimer: The following menu options described were determined based on the Growatt SPF 3000TL LVM-ES. Different models may have slightly different menu options. If you notice a discrepancy, please contact us so that we can provide an addendum to this section.

Two important settings must be changed in the Growatt inverter in order to establish communications.

  1. Press & hold the “⏎” key for approximately 3 seconds to enter the main menu.
  2. Using the up and down arrows, navigate to setting #5. Press the “⏎” key to change the setting. Using the up and down arrows, adjust the setting parameter until “LI” is shown. Press the “⏎” key one more to save the setting.
  3. After adjusting setting 5, as described in step 2, the menu should automatically change to setting #36. Change the value of setting #36 to “L52”. Press the “⏎” key one more to save the setting.
  4. Press the ESC button to exit the menu and save settings.

Note: If any faults are displayed, power off the inverter & battery. If any errors persist, please contact SOK Customer Service.

MPP Solar Communications
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