[RE-wrenches] Failed Enphase End Cap

[Jason Szumlanski]

It looks like it melted from arcing. When we have a service call for a
branch circuit down in an Enphase system we go straight to the end cap or
field wireable connectors. Some solar installers don't follow directions or
are careless when installing them (both M-series and IQ series).

I recently had a new hire that I was observing on his first day. He just
cut the Enphase IQ cable off and stuck it in the end cap. I asked why he
didn't split it down the middle first, and follow the manufacturer's
instructions. He looked at me in astonishment and said his previous
employer never taught him how to do that, and that he had installed
hundreds of string terminators that way! I laughed and said he would likely
be going back to many of them and getting paid to fix his own mistake since
we are one of the few contractors around here that is willing to service
systems installed by others.

Jason Szumlanski
Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group
NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)
Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956
Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208


On Thu, Jun 13, 2024 at 9:54 AM Christopher Warfel via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> I don't know if of interest, but we had 2 subarrays, with one having a
> hard bolted fault it appeared. It occurred around the same time the
> customer's meter enclosure fell apart. The second subarray continued to
> operate as expected after meter enclosure replaced.  Did all trouble
> shooting I could think of from the ground and the conclusion was it was on
> the roof. This was found before we removed any modules. Shorted through the
> cap (lower hole in cap).  The system operated very well for four years.
>
>
> Chris
>
>
>                                                                       🙁
> --
>        Christopher Warfel
>           ENTECH Engineering Inc.
>    PO Box 871, Block Island, RI 02807
>                   401-477-5773
> [image: EE Logo] <https://entech-engineering.com/Home/default.php>
>
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