[RE-wrenches] Trace 2548 intermittent power problem

[SunHarvest]

I have encountered a Trace 2548 in seemingly good working condition. I was called out to troubleshoot a Grid-tied, battery back-up system with the following problem:

- Upon loss of grid power there is about a 5 second lapse (no power to house) before the BB system engages. Power to the critical loads panel from the Trace is restored after the 5 second lapse.
- After another 5 seconds the Trace will disconnect power to the loads. This on-off cycle continues until grid power is restored.

After checking voltage & S.G. values, I determined that the 11 year old batteries needed to be replaced and I assumed this was the cause of the Trace on-off cycling.
I also found that half of his PV array had bad BP modules. BP replaced all of the modules under somewhat of a warranty. So, new modules, new batteries, and a new Outback FM60 charge controller. After all upgrades I ran through a simulated power outage again and the intermittent power problem persists!

He also has gen support enabled - connection to an Onan "RV Genset BGE NHE (??) - and when I start the genny from the inverter, by selecting "On" not "Auto", the genset fires right up but only stays on for about 30 seconds before it too shuts off and enters a cycling between auto-starting from the inverter and shutting down.

This behavior is beyond me. So, I'm seeking help from the pros. Anyone know what's going on here? The customer has another Trace 2548, unused, sitting in a box. So, if I needed to I could swap out the inverter and see if that makes a difference...?

Eric
SunHarvest
(530)798-3738
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