Connecting Home Battery BMS to Victron Cerbo GX and Linking Multiple Batteries

Steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Victron and BMS cables introduction and purpose

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   The battery can work completely stand-alone, but the Cerbo can also communicate with it to request the state of charge, charge limits, and voltage settings. There are many different cables that look identical with an internet port connector, including BMS type A and type B.

2. 2

   Step 2: Connecting the cable to the Cerbo GX

   The battery can work completely stand-alone, but the Cerbo can also communicate with it to request the state of charge, charge limits, and voltage settings. There are many different cables that look identical with an internet port connector, including BMS type A and type B. For my JKESS batteries, I need the battery BMS-side type A cable which has a Victron VE-Can end and a BMS end.

   I take the Victron VE-Can end and push it into the VE-Can port of the Cerbo.

   What I used

   Item	Amount	Notes
   Battery BMS-side type A cable	1	Used to connect the battery BMS to the Cerbo
   Victron Cerbo GX	1	System monitor and communication center

3. 3

   Step 3: Connecting the cable to the battery and setting the protocol

   I take the other end of the cable and plug it into the CAN port of the battery BMS. On the BMS settings, I check the CAN protocol and make sure it is set to the Victron CAN-bus BMS protocol so both devices speak the same language. When I check the console in VRM under settings and devices, my battery appears as JKGSS1, proving the Cerbo can communicate with the JK-BMS.

   I can now read the battery percentage, voltage, current, internal temperatures, state of health, and see the JK-SS battery directly on the dashboard alongside a shunt.

   What I used

   Item	Amount	Notes
   JK-BMS	1	Battery management system

4. 4

   Step 4: Configuring unique addresses for multiple batteries

   Since I have multiple batteries and want all three to communicate with the Cerbo, I only need one physical CAN connection to the first battery. We use a technique called Daisy Chain to connect from one battery to the next, but every battery must get a unique address using dipswitches. In computer technology, we always start counting at zero, so the first battery has all dipswitches turned off as address zero.

   The second battery has only dipswitch one turned on for address one, and the third battery has only dipswitches two turned on.

   What I used

   Item	Amount	Notes
   Dipswitches	3	Used on each battery to set unique addresses starting at zero

5. 5

   Step 5: Linking the first two batteries together

   The first battery connected to the Cerbo is the master and has a capacity of 314 amp-hours. JKESS enclosures come with a small blue cable used to link batteries together. I check the settings to make sure the RS-85 protocol Modbus V1 is selected on all batteries.

   The battery has a CAN input on the left and an RS485-2 communication port on the right. I plug the short blue cable into the right port of the first battery and the right port of the second battery, specifically going from the right port of the first to the left port of the second. Now the master battery shows a combined capacity of 628 amp-hours, and under packs, I can view the individual specifications, voltages, and state of charge for both pack zero and pack one.

   What I used

   Item	Amount	Notes
   Short blue cable	1	Used to link batteries together via RS485 ports
   JKESS battery enclosures	2	Linked together in a daisy chain

6. 6

   Step 6: Adding a third battery to the chain

   To add a third battery, I plug a cable into the right port of the second battery and continue to the left port of the third battery. Looking at the display of the master battery connected to the Cerbo, the total capacity increases from 628 to 942 amp-hours. Under packs at the bottom of the display, I can now see that three packs are linked to the system.

   All three battery packs work together as one single battery and send their combined state of charge and information to the Cerbo.

   What I used

   Item	Amount	Notes
   JKESS battery enclosure	1	Added as the third battery pack

7. 7

   Step 7: Closing remarks and invitation for viewer comments

   I hope this information was leerzaam. If you have more questions, drop them in the comments so I can show or explain it to you. I keep a close eye on the chat after every video and try to reply everywhere.

8. 8

   Step 8: Takeaways

   • Use the correct type A BMS cable to connect JKESS batteries to a Victron Cerbo GX.

   • Set the CAN protocol on the BMS to the Victron CAN-bus BMS protocol for communication.

   • Use a daisy chain technique with the RS485 ports to connect multiple batteries.

   • Assign unique addresses to each battery using dipswitches starting at zero.

   • The master battery combines the total capacity of all linked battery packs for the Cerbo.