Check your cables

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Customer's Solar Energy system.

Not a Mi-Grid! Not our design. We helped out a local customer with an older competitive system from an out of business company. It is a Sunny Island system (2011) about equal to a Mi-Grid 2000, but no generator and the battery bank uses cheaper AGM batteries. The homeowner had the batteries replaced about a year ago. This past week was one of the first times they needed the backup power - And it did not perform! Look at one of the problems!

Lots of other issues as well, mostly wrong breakers and undersized wiring! And there were NO WIRING DIAGRAMS or instruction manuals!

If your battery cables are loose and melting the battery terminals, you have a problem! Yes, that is melted lead on both sides of the terminal...

masraum · 05-31-2017, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red-beard

Lots of other issues as well, mostly wrong breakers and undersized wiring! And there were NO WIRING DIAGRAMS or instruction manuals!

Bah, men need no instructions!!

Quote:

If your battery cables are loose and melting the battery terminals, you have a problem! Yes, that is melted lead on both sides of the terminal...

No, no, no, that's one of those high tech self soldering connections, and now look, you've broken it.

Yeah, no great surprise there. Many (dare I say most) folks that do work for other people, automotive, carpentry, plumbing, electric, HVAC, etc... are hacks that do the work half-assed because most of the folks that they are doing it for don't look at it and wouldn't know if it was right or wrong if they did. Sad but true. And finding the people that do know what they are doing and take pride in there work is darned difficult.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

When troubleshooting wiring, especially wring that disappears down a conduit, you need an idea of what goes where. Next time I'm out there, hopefully to install a generator, I'm taking a label maker!

I drew one-line diagrams and wiring schematics. It really needs a wiring table and fully labeled schematic.

stealthn · 05-31-2017, 06:04 PM

James, when are you guys going to come to Alberta? Perfect time with the downturn in fossil fuels and everyone looking to go green.

Cooper911SC · 05-31-2017, 07:00 PM

Red Beard, kind of you to help this customer out!

I have a small grid tied system from 2003. It "came with" my grandparents home when I bought it.

A year ago the inverter died. NONE of the solar companies I contacted were willing to send out electritians to verify it was just the inverter and that the cells were still ok... Most told me sorry, "obsolete tiny system. We use panels with micro inverters and don't want your headache"

One PCA buddy of mine is an electrician and gave it a look...but he didn't really know how to check the individual cells for shorts.

I can find an inverter online, but am hesitant to drop $2k and swap it in only to find out there are gremlins elsewhere in the system.

Could be a business out there for some electricians just learning solar and servicing these aging systems.

Cooper

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Do you have a volt meter?

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Micro inverters have a serious advantage in priduction. Each panel can produce separately and if shaded, not screw up the rest of the string.

If the panels are still hooked up, you can check the string voltages to see if the string still works.

Cooper911SC · 05-31-2017, 08:50 PM

Yes I have a voltmeter. The Electritian and I pulled the covers off of the disconnects and inverter.

The AC side disconnect showed 240V on the "output" side. and the DC side showed flow in from the panels. (Can't remember exact voltage now)

The inverter is a Sunnyboy and was suspect as it had blown the GDFI fuse. We replaced that fuse and...nothing. New fuse didn't pop, and no voltage there.
There are 3 led "trouble lights" on the front of the unit. All were dead...I looked up the install and tech manuals on the net. They gave scenarios for why each may be on/off/blinking etc, but no scenario for all off.

I agree with you on the micro inverter advantage! I am really torn about just throwing $2k at new inverter or $$$$ at a new system. I think our system now is like 1.4kw. Tiny... but we aren't heavy AC/appliance users.

I have such an awesome patio cover I could expand onto too...~700sf facing SE. Sees direct sun almost the entire day.
It's a permitted engineered structure too so would be easy to do a fully legal install on.

Thanks for your feedback.

Cooper

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

If there is voltage on the DC (PV panel) side and you see 240AC on the output side, I would use a clamp-on ammeter to check both sides if there is current flowing. If yes, the display board is dead but the unit is working. In my recent work with the Sunny Island and Sunny Boy units, it seems that it takes a few minutes for the units to start operating after turning them on.

If you want to upgrade your system, just try to get similar looking solar panels and keep what you have. No need to rip them out. And you can mix a string inverter with micro-inverters.

DanielDudley · 06-01-2017, 03:14 AM

I rented an electric lift for working on the siding of my house. It would fail in operation until I fixed the connections. I had to climb down from altitude once.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

Back in the stone ages when I was dating I met a new female friend at a restaurant for dinner. We came from different parts of the city so we met at the restaurant. At dinner she mentioned she had stopped and had to get a new battery for her car and how expensive it was. When were leaving I was a nice guy and waited to see her car start and get going. It didn't. I looked at the battery and the terminals were not even finger tight. The mechanic just shoved the cables on over the post and was done. Glen the hero got out a 13 mm wrench and tightened the cables and fixed her car. I was rewarded later that evening and I always was thankful for that lazy mechanic.