-
Ask a question and get free supportUnlock new privileges and see hidden discussionsWin prizes and earn reputation
-
Question of the day ~ How often do you braai?
-
Afristay giveaway.Win a 2-night stay for two people at an establishment of your choice with R1,000 in spending money. Enter here.
Sign up with GoogleTshwane prepaid meters online / remote access
- Thread starter Mobus
- Start date
Cactus
Expert Member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2015
- Messages
- 1,959
Life lesson 1: Never wait until close to zero before you buy top-up electricity. As far as I know, most of the devices have a sim card in them so it might be that the meter has no connection to wherever it needs to.
I've had a couple of times where my meter would simply not work and then it works again the next day.
Herr der Verboten
Honorary Master
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Messages
- 22,535
I get that on weekends and public holidays where it works in the early morning but not for the rest of the day/weekend. However, none of this during normal week days.
Hi Yembo
Did you manage to load new units yet?
Here's my Tshwane prepaid meter problem / fault finding checklist (assuming the power is out/off/units ran out):
* If the power is off, the keypad will power from its own batteries, and display an open switch icon. Make sure the keypad batteries are fresh and have enough juice to get the communication signal all the way to the meter.
* NB: If you are running a generator or backup inverter, make sure to disconnect from your backup power, and have everything set as you would for normal munipical power usage. Changeover switches should be on mains power etc.
* NB: all trip switches and circuitbreakers in your DB must be set in the normal up/on positions.
* NB: plug the battery powered keypad into a wall socket as close to your DB box as possible. Make sure the socket switch is in the on position.
Above three tips are CRITICAL to ensure an uninterrupted AC wire connection between the KY124 keypad and PCR421 meter outside, even and especially when there is no power. The keypad uses Power Line Communication (PLC), piggy backing its high frequency comms signal on top of the 240V AC wiring in your house, all the way to the actaul meter/relay unit outside your house.
Now test the KY124 keypad using the following codes:
* press 007
It should state "PLC" (usually only on first try).
Then "Connect", then give the unit balance 0.00 kWh.
If it says "Error" or "Null" it means the keypad is unable to communicate with the pcr421 meter unit. Double check the above three tips. Also read PLC lock-up below.
* Press 009. Should show "connect" then the current date. The date is being read from the meter and is a good indication that the PLC comms between the keypad and meter are working.
* Press 005 or 008 which gives your pcma serial number (I.e. pairing between keypad and meter still in place). This is read from the keypad memory only and should work even if the keypad is plugged out. An error here might indicate a faulty keypad or that the keypad needs to be re-paired with the meter.
Also go check your PCR421 meter outside too:
* With everything running normal, the pcr421 is flashing red the pulse led whilst the relay and alarm leds are off. I suspect if the units run out the relay will switch off the mains and turn the relay led amber.
* All LEDs/LCDs off probably means no mains power is feeding the meter (upstream problem). Check your neighbours and log a call with Tshwane.
* Alarm LED on means either some alarm threshold has been reached (though I don't think this facility works with the Tshwane meters) or perhaps the tamper protection has been tripped.
* The PCR421 actaully has a small oval grey push button next to the right of the barcodes. You can press this button safely and cycle between different data registers. If there is no power from the street, the meter has a small battery and pushing the button will momentarily enable the screen, allowing you to cycle between date/time/total usage. If there is street power to the meter, the screen will be on already and pushing the button will also light up the screen. Additional info accessible include pcma serial number (register # 96.1.1 and .2)/unit balance (coin icon, register # 19.0.0)/incoming mains voltage (register # 32.7.0)/immediate current consumption (register # 91.7.0) / current power consumption (register # 1.7.0). The latter two should be near zero if your house isn't drawing any power. If the meter doesn't respond or any of these registers seem unusual, your meter unit might be faulty.
* PLC lock-up: in some cases, the power line communication between your keypad and meter can lock-up during loadshedding or switching of the meter relay (e.g. when your units run out). You can try power cycling your keypad by opening and closing the battery compartment. At least in my case the meter had to be reset or power cycled, which is best done by a Tshwane technician or might happen automatically on the next loadshedding cycle. Supposedly Tshwane can also do a remote reset/restart of the meter (see below).
* Tamper mode or upstream comms lock-out: At least once after loadshedding, my meter also locked up like above (i.e. the keypad and meter would not communicate) but it remained off even after a loadshedding "restart". On the meter LCD, there is a indicator that normally looks like this ●─·─● (closed switch), which changed and looked almost like this ●─┘┌─● (open switch). Note: this is on the PCR421 meter outside, not the keypad LCD which has a similar indicator (but different meaning). On the PCR421 I think this means the meter cannot communicate upstream to Tshwane or has for whatever reason engaged the relay (failsafe or tamper) and interrupted supply even if you have credit or not. An overhead power technician (admittedly not an expert on the prepaid meters) looked at that indicator and said my meter is in tamper condition, and that it happens sometimes due to loadshedding. She phoned in and requested a remote reset or something. She said if that does not work, the meter technician would have to come out. A few minutes later the switch indicator closed and my keypad could communicated / load new vouchers again.
TL;DR: if your PCR421 has an open switch indicator, it might be worth logging a call here with the following 50 character comment "PCR421 prepay meter open switch icon. Remote reset"
Last edited:
so it wouldn't make sense to have the keypad as close to the meter outside in the council box?
Nope. Since it uses PLC (not RF/wireless) you want to keep the physical wire length (from wall socket to meter) as short as possible. All normal wall sockets will be wired to your DB first (for protection via CB and EL), then DB wired to meter in meter box.
Thank you for your detailed guidance Mobus. I had an issue recharging my account after not realising the units were done.Just plugged the keypad in at the closest plug point from th DB box and I could successfully recharge.
Off-The-Chart
Expert Member
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2010
- Messages
- 1,581
was greeted Saturday with a call from home saying that the elec people showed up and they are going to install a meter
was the first time we heard about it
now we on pre-paid so now the worry on usage begins
R2000 for our first 738 units
was the first time we heard about it
now we on pre-paid so now the worry on usage begins
R2000 for our first 738 units
they don't have to come into your house at all? That correct?was greeted Saturday with a call from home saying that the elec people showed up and they are going to install a meter
was the first time we heard about it
now we on pre-paid so now the worry on usage begins
R2000 for our first 738 units
Speedster
Honorary Master
- Joined
- May 2, 2006
- Messages
- 21,684
Depends where your current meter is located.
Off-The-Chart
Expert Member
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2010
- Messages
- 1,581
our meter box is inside the premises
and ofc the people who were home at the time, didn't want to go through the hassles that may have ensued if they tried to decline it....
so, here we are
sad on 1 hand, but glad on the other since now we can do some proper usage tracking (with the little remote monitoring thing)
had some elec problems a week or 2 back and from there, decided to get db just a bit updated (not full house re-wire, just the db and breakers more organized)
will be putting geyser and pool on timers as the geyser was basically run 24/7 and pool had some long run hrs also
Why the worry? I purchase R1700 of electricity on the 1st of the month and then topup with R100 or R200 near the end of the month to get me to the 1st of the next month.
Hi i have same problem please share phone number of technician.
Hi pkease share phone number of tech ,I have same problem
You are unlikely to get a phone number for the tech. This is a tshwane technician who only works on job cards assigned to them. Best you log calls on http://tshwane.webhop.org/tshwanesms/NewCall and on e-tshwane, as well as phone the callcentre. The webhop site will give you a reference number immediately which you can then quote in all other communications with Tshwane.
ThePatrician
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2022
- Messages
- 1
I also learned the hard way not to let the meter run out to zero.
I want to set up a warning or alarm for when I reach a certain number of units, to remind me to reload. I think it is code 050 or 100 (Threshold 1 and 2 respectively) if I read the codes right.
Can anybody help with setting up such a threshold? It is near impossible to find a user manual, so any help would be greatly appreciated!
Unfortunately I have never been able to set an alarm like that.
The best manual I have seen was available via alibaba for the OEM Topscomm prepaid TC103 Consumer Interface Unit (CIU) for which @DA-LION-619 posted a link on page 1 of this forum.
Unfortunately that item has been delisted from Alibaba and I can't seem to find the manual anywhere else. @DA-LION-619 did you save a copy by any chance?