WS500 Tips, Tricks and support

Support Group for the WakeSpeed WS500 Smart Alternator Regulator

63 Topics 1 Followers

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WS500 Field Stuck High
8/10/25, 7:53 PM • Hans 8/24/25, 1:48 AM

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Ben
8/24/25, 1:48 AM

If you do any bench testing, measurments on the field wire, always have a load connected to the b...
Cerbo GX wakespeed WS-500 VRM Remote - "Remote Charging = NO" always when using WS-500 running fw 2.6.1 - but still charges ok
6/3/25, 2:04 PM • Bill C. 6/13/25, 7:48 PM

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Peter
6/13/25, 7:48 PM

On the Victron Community Venus OS beta thread, if you are testing these then it is worth keeping ...
Cerbo GX wakespeed How to fix 0% WS-500 Field Drive reporting on Cerbo GX when charging?
5/9/25, 1:43 PM • Bill C. 5/29/25, 2:42 PM

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Peter
5/29/25, 2:42 PM

Victron recently confirmed that this was waiting for updated WS500 firmware when I reported it.
REC Q BMS CAN Cerbo GX Which Alternate CAN / BMS protocol are people using? LFP batt using Cerbo GX, Wakespeed WS-500 and the REC-BMS
5/9/25, 8:46 PM • Bill C. 5/16/25, 11:09 AM

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Bill C.
5/16/25, 11:09 AM

I'm using 3 as well. Everything seems to be working. Thanks!
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WS500 and Cerbo BMS-CAN vs VE-CAN when using a non-Victron BMS
5/5/23, 6:27 PM • Rick 1/14/25, 12:47 PM

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Rick
1/14/25, 12:47 PM

UPDATE January 2025 With recent updates to both the Cerbo and new REC 2Q series we...
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WS500 data display on Raymarine Axiom (marine use)
1/6/25, 5:59 PM • Keith 1/9/25, 7:30 PM

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Keith
1/9/25, 7:30 PM

@panagiotis Thanks for the reply. I don't need to hunt for the data because I know it's there, it...
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WS500 Pro unable to connect to ABMS
12/21/24, 11:05 PM • Rance 12/27/24, 6:53 PM

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Al
12/27/24, 6:53 PM

@Rance great to hear. Thanks for the confirmation, yes, the fix will be in the next releas...
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WS500 with 48v Rec BMS
8/12/22, 7:44 AM • Chris 12/25/24, 5:50 PM

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Thomas
12/25/24, 5:50 PM

@Arkom Did you succeed in driving the MG1 with the Wakespeed after all?Thinking about the same fo...
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Permanent USB Hack for WS500
4/21/24, 7:26 PM • Bill 11/28/24, 8:16 AM

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Bill
11/28/24, 8:16 AM

@Bo I leave the USB cable connected starting the engine without any problem. The engine sta...
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WS500-REC_ABMS-Cerbo Feature in - force float
3/16/24, 9:19 AM • Sturla 3/31/24, 8:05 PM

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239
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Al
3/31/24, 8:05 PM

@sturla Hello. Thanks for the reply, makes sense -- holding the SOC when desired. ...
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WS500 Feature In Wire (non Reversed)
1/26/24, 1:24 PM • Ryan 1/29/24, 11:40 AM

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Peter
1/29/24, 11:40 AM

I can not think of any way to do this in the settings. The only way would be a normally closed re...
WS500 resources
1/27/24, 7:45 PM • Bill C. 1/28/24, 8:23 AM

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Rick
1/28/24, 8:23 AM

Nice! That should help people :)
Wakespeed 201: Advanced Alternator Regulator Training Seminar for the WS500 just posted to Wakespeed YouTube channel
12/23/23, 2:35 PM • Bill C. 1/27/24, 2:57 PM

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Bill C.
1/27/24, 2:57 PM

I pulled the WS500 pinout dirgram from another post on the site and have added in the cross-refer...
Upgrading Prestolite with "W" terminal to Balmar 6 Series and WS500
12/10/23, 1:45 AM • Bill C. 12/23/23, 2:33 PM

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496
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Bill C.
12/23/23, 2:33 PM

@Peter, thanks for the help and insigts. Very useful!
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WS500 / Cerbo GX / BMV-712 / Alternator Shunt
12/15/23, 9:06 AM • Ryan 12/15/23, 2:51 PM

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Peter
12/15/23, 2:51 PM

I can not specifically answer this as I am in the same position, Ibhave the kit ready but will pr...
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Wakespeed Terminator DIY
12/11/23, 9:45 AM • Ryan 12/12/23, 8:27 AM

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175
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Rick
12/12/23, 8:27 AM

Sure, it should go across pins 1 and 2. A 120 ohm 1/4 watt should do the trick. Here is a ...
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Stator signal from DC Power XP280/Nations alternator
12/8/23, 4:53 PM • Jim 12/10/23, 7:52 AM

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Jim
12/10/23, 7:52 AM

I think the definitions are kind of sketchy sometimes, as they are with a lot of things. My...
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Low Temperature Charging Prevented (Wakespeed 500+Cerbo+REC Q)
11/29/23, 12:51 PM • Nathaniel 12/5/23, 5:41 PM

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Al
12/5/23, 5:41 PM

@Nathaniel CPF vs CPB, lol .. no worries! Yes, when the WS500 is in 'Sl...
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Spiking/Pulsing Charging
1/10/23, 3:49 AM • Dave 10/24/23, 5:17 PM

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Al
10/24/23, 5:17 PM

Hello. <Disclaimer: Al with Wakespeed> In 2.5.0 we indeed 'tightened things u...
WS App Putty "Newbie" question re different tools for communicating with the WS500
10/7/23, 1:54 PM • Bill C. 10/16/23, 9:36 AM

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Rick
10/16/23, 9:36 AM

Bill, you are correct, the Android app offer a good Q&A approach and will do 90% of customers...
normalized "Newbie question" re "normalized 12v 500Ah battery" comments in Comms manual
10/7/23, 2:03 PM • Bill C. 10/16/23, 9:33 AM

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Rick
10/16/23, 9:33 AM

normalized simply means that the system parameters are all based on a 12V system, with 12V being ...
newbie new user Add a "Newbie Boot Camp" section to the forum
10/7/23, 1:50 PM • Bill C. 10/7/23, 2:04 PM

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Bill C.
10/7/23, 2:04 PM

another post to push this topic to the top of the list
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WS500 giving Error #43
9/23/23, 3:11 PM • Trond 9/26/23, 6:08 AM

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Trond
9/26/23, 6:08 AM

Hi. You were all correct, there WAS an bad connection on the solid red wire. It was impossible ...
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WS500 Troubles - Not Sensing Alternator, Blinking Red But No Error Code on Victron Cerbo
9/5/23, 1:53 PM • Jamie 9/20/23, 3:27 PM

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Jamie
9/20/23, 3:27 PM

Just checked the WS500 dip switches and you are correct, the small alternator mode dip switch was...
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alternator, solar charging system A real mystery, no one can figure out why we are not able to charge from the alternators anymore.
6/4/23, 5:27 PM • Jay 8/12/23, 10:01 AM

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Jay
8/12/23, 10:01 AM

Closing the loop on this thread .... many thanks Ben. The problem was finally diagnosed by ...
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Alternator Failed offshore
4/23/23, 7:03 PM • Ross 4/25/23, 6:00 PM

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Ross
4/25/23, 6:00 PM

@Rick nope, turned out to be just a simple power input issue! Thats why it was off. All better now.
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How does the WS500 work on a dual alternator setup?
8/14/19, 11:09 AM • Richard 2/16/23, 11:42 AM

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Richard
2/16/23, 11:42 AM

This is good information Al, thanks for jumping in. And to confirm yes, REC BMS does support a 4...
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Alternator shunt spurious invalid current reported
1/3/23, 3:15 AM • David 1/11/23, 4:59 AM

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David
1/11/23, 4:59 AM

Just to close the loop, I trimmed the sense wires and ran them away from high current lines. I al...
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converting harness from p type to n type
1/5/23, 6:49 AM • Neil 1/6/23, 7:53 AM

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Richard
1/6/23, 7:53 AM

Both Trond and Ben make a very good point. To switch an alternator is usually as easy as finding...
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Engine speed, engine not running
12/21/22, 9:18 AM • Michael 12/21/22, 9:18 AM

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Michael
12/21/22, 9:18 AM

Hi all Just doing my final build of my lithium battery bank, alternator, Cerbo, Multiplus 2, e...
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WS500 sensors & REC BMS
10/20/22, 5:40 PM • Adam 10/21/22, 2:45 PM

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Richard
10/21/22, 2:45 PM

In my opinion, you can allow the BMS to push out the battery temp but I would hardwire the curren...
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WS500 firmware update problems with STM drivers
8/25/22, 4:12 PM • Richard 10/16/22, 10:28 AM

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Al
10/16/22, 10:28 AM

Wonderful, glad to hear. That is how it is intended to work. Nice and Simple. -al-
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Current pulsing
9/19/22, 10:06 AM • Michael 9/20/22, 4:46 AM

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Richard
9/20/22, 4:46 AM

If you use the graph on the first page of the ws500 config tool you can click on any one of the 4...
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Is there much need for Current Sensing with LiFEPO4 profiles?
9/12/22, 5:00 AM • Paul 9/15/22, 2:08 AM

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Ben
9/15/22, 2:08 AM

If you charge relatively high amps compare to battery bank, amps sense is more important. If y...
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Charging voltages
9/6/22, 8:11 AM • Michael 9/6/22, 8:11 AM

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Michael
9/6/22, 8:11 AM

Hi, thanks for all the help last week, I now have a working unit which is great news, including t...
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Alternator not charging.
8/30/22, 3:50 AM • Michael 9/2/22, 12:05 AM

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Michael
9/2/22, 12:05 AM

Quote from Trond Arvid Røsvik on September 2, 2022, 1:06 am Yes, probably your cable is meant ...
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Twin engine installation with 2 WS500
6/21/21, 2:15 AM • Neil 8/29/22, 11:39 AM

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gregory
8/29/22, 11:39 AM

thanks, I should have rephrased all that about the alternators. My guess is, they are putting in ...
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WS500 switches to float early
6/11/22, 10:30 AM • Jon 8/29/22, 11:29 AM

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gregory
8/29/22, 11:29 AM

Thanks Al, I will upgrade the sw today.
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Couple of WS500 questions
7/31/22, 9:37 AM • Matthew 8/3/22, 11:18 AM

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Matthew
8/3/22, 11:18 AM

Thanks Rick, somehow missed the mention of the configuration mode. I have the crossover cable and...
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My Documentation of Wakespeed Configuration and Testing
7/4/22, 8:48 AM • Nathaniel 7/5/22, 4:39 PM

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Nathaniel
7/5/22, 4:39 PM

Thats only for if it loses CAN communication/BMS is not working (super conservative - might chang...

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WS500 Tips, Tricks and support

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Lowering REC BMS charge voltage settings to prolong battery life challenges

Integration of ABMS with WS500 and LFP with FLA auxiliary battery

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Integration of ABMS with WS500 and LFP with FLA auxiliary battery

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Lowering REC BMS charge voltage settings to prolong battery life challenges

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Integration of ABMS with WS500 and LFP with FLA auxiliary battery

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