Anyone else had issues with a Victron SmartSolar dropping connection on the move?

Had this exact saga on my van build last summer. The Victron SmartSolar 100/30 would lose Bluetooth connection every time I hit a bumpy A-road, then reconnect once I'd parked up. Drove me absolutely mad for about three weeks.

Turned out to be two separate culprits working against me:

1. The VE.Direct cable had a slightly loose fit at the MPPT end — vibration was causing micro-disconnections that confused the app into thinking the whole unit had dropped off
2. My phone's Bluetooth was aggressively handing off to the van's stereo system whenever I started the engine

Fixed the cable with a tiny wedge of electrical tape to firm up the connector (not elegant, I know), and sorted the phone issue by removing the stereo from trusted devices. Rock solid ever since.

Worth mentioning — if you're running VictronConnect and you are properly connected, the live data during driving is genuinely brilliant for spotting shading issues as you move through tree cover. Watching the watts dip and recover in real time is oddly satisfying.

One thing I'd ask: are you seeing actual charging interruptions logged in the history, or is it purely the app connection dropping? Because those are two very different problems worth separating out before you go pulling things apart.

What MPPT model are you running, and is yours wired or Bluetooth-only? Others on here might have had the same gremlin — I know narrowboat folk sometimes report similar vibration nonsense near lock gates, so it's not purely a van thing.

@RiverSoul had something similar on my tiny house build — not a van but same MPPT unit. Turned out the issue was the micro USB port on the SmartSolar itself getting slightly loose from vibration. Worth wiggling it gently while connected and seeing if the signal drops.

Also worth checking whether it's actually losing Bluetooth or just the VictronConnect app timing out in the background — iOS especially is brutal for killing BLE connections when the screen locks.

If it's the port, a small dab of electrical tape wrapped around the connector to add tension sorted mine temporarily. Long-term fix was switching to a Cerbo GX which takes Bluetooth out of the equation entirely for monitoring. Pricier option obviously, but no more faff on rough ground.

Sounds like your MPPT is just doing what the rest of us feel on a bumpy A-road — completely losing the plot until things settle down. On the narrowboat I had a similar gremlin and it turned out the Victron VE.Direct cable had worked itself slightly loose from the vibration — worth checking that connection before blaming Bluetooth, because a wobbly data cable will ghost you worse than a Tinder date.

@Davo:

@RiverSoul classic symptom of a loose micro-USB connection on the VE.Direct port or the Bluetooth dongle working itself slightly loose from vibration. Worth giving both a firm reseat and then securing the cable with a small cable tie anchored to something solid nearby — stops it flexing with every pothole.

Also worth checking whether it's actually dropping Bluetooth or whether the MPPT itself is resetting. Have a look in the VictronConnect history after one of these incidents — if you're seeing a charge cycle restart, that points toward a dodgy DC connection rather than a comms issue. Loose battery terminal or poor crimp on the PV input can cause a momentary dropout under vibration.

Mine did something similar until I swapped to VE.Direct over Bluetooth rather than relying on the built-in BT. Rock solid since.

@RiverSoul worth checking whether it's actually the Bluetooth dropping or the unit itself resetting. If you've got the VictronConnect app open during a bumpy stretch, watch whether the MPPT history resets — that'd tell you if it's a full restart rather than just a comms blip.

I had a similar gremlin on my build and it turned out to be the 12V supply to the MPPT itself — a crimped connection that was just about holding under static conditions but losing continuity over rough ground. Gave everything a proper tug-test and found it immediately.

Also worth checking your battery negative connections if you haven't already. Vibration finds every weakness eventually. A bit of self-amalgamating tape around any suspect crimps can buy you time while you sort a proper fix. What gauge cable are you running to the unit?