[RE-wrenches] SMA phantom arc faults

Sun Sep 15 20:54:52 EDT 2019

I did finally get it to clear using taps but it was a lot of tapping. 3 
taps after the second restart with blue light blinking did it - or maybe 
that was a coincidence - and it just decided to clear then.

Bill - I did try clearing it through the Data Manager M (EnnexOS) but 
there didn't appear to be any place to clear it - nor update the 
firmware either that I could find.

I was in the process of logging into the machine itself onsite when I 
tried the taps - good thing cause I misplaced the installer log-in! Next 
step was PUK - yuk!

And the "source" of the arc-fault was not wiring or connectors - it was 
I had turned on and off the DC disconnect as I was making sure Neurio 
worked - a guick on and off again inadvertently (changed my mind 
midstream as to which I wanted)  That was enough to trip the arc-fault!
SMA if you are listening - can't you make this a bit easier? Having to 
reset passwords by contacting SMA - that's a major on top of all the 
arc-fault pain we are feeling!

Thanks all,

Jeff

frenergy wrote on 9/15/19 8:38 PM:

> I've only had the "tapping" method work on SB-22 inverters, not on -40 
> inverters.  You gotta log on to the machine which I think you can only 
> do onsite.  Has anyone ever done a reset of the 8206 from the portal?
>
> Bill
>
> Feather River Solar Electric
> Bill Battagin, Owner
> 4291 Nelson St.
> Taylorsville, CA 95983
> 530.284.7849
> CA Lic 874049
> www.frenergy.net
> On 9/15/2019 12:36 PM, Jeff Clearwater wrote:
>> Hey Folks,
>>
>> How do you clear an 8206 from a SB7.7-US?  the manual says tap on the 
>> cover within 10 seconds of error message.  That's not working.
>>
>> Does that tap then set it up for the next restart or is it supposed 
>> to clear it right away - I've tried restarting again to no avail.
>>
>> When I tap right after the message appears it simply toggles to the 
>> next screen.
>>
>> Jeff Clearwater
>> Village Power Design
>>
>> Mac Lewis wrote on 9/6/19 7:14 AM:
>>
>>> Hello Wrenches,
>>>
>>> You may be aware of this but the -92R firmware supposedly has 
>>> addressed the arc fault issue for the US-40 inverters. See here for 
>>> the download: 
>>> https://www.sma-america.com/service-support/downloads.html  It fixed 
>>> an arc fault issue for me yesterday at least.  Bring a thumb drive, 
>>> the update process took about an hour to perform.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Sep 3, 2019 at 10:40 AM Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar 
>>> <offgridsolar at sti.net <mailto:offgridsolar at sti.net>> wrote:
>>>
>>>     Same up here in the southern sierra. I get calls from ABB and a
>>>     few from SMA to look at systems that people far away installed
>>>     and as a local 3rd party it can save some money. Whatever they
>>>     quote me I triple the price. 1/3 up front and the rest when it
>>>     is done. ABB is really slow with payment. I think they sold
>>>     their inverter business? Sunpower is a great panel but they have
>>>     had some bad runs. Probably why there are so many new/used
>>>     panels on the secondary market. They are great for Offgrid
>>>     ground arrays and no AFD.
>>>
>>>     On Tue, 3 Sep 2019 09:52:19 -0400, Dave Tedeyan
>>>     <dtedeyan at taitem.com <mailto:dtedeyan at taitem.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>     Chris,
>>>>     Sunpower has taken some responsibility on some of our older
>>>>     Sunpower systems that are arc faulting. We tell them that a
>>>>     system is arc faulting, and then they insist on sending up a
>>>>     3rd party contractor to inspect the system and potentially
>>>>     install what they call "Tigo Diodes". I am still not exactly
>>>>     sure what that is. It also seems to take them months to send
>>>>     anyone to upstate NY, as we have a bunch of customers that have
>>>>     been waiting months for the 3rd party contractor to come take a
>>>>     look. You likely could only follow this route though if the
>>>>     system was installed by a Sunpower dealer and you are a
>>>>     Sunpower dealer yourself. If the original system was from a
>>>>     Sunpower dealer, you can also have the customer call Sunpower
>>>>     directly.
>>>>     Cheers,
>>>>     Dave
>>>>     *Dave Tedeyan, PE*
>>>>     Senior Engineer | Taitem Engineering, PC
>>>>
>>>>     110 South Albany Street | Ithaca, NY 14850
>>>>     o. 607.277.1118 x121  f. 607.277.2119
>>>>     www.taitem.com <http://www.taitem.com>
>>>>
> Feather River Solar Electric
> Bill Battagin, Owner
> 4291 Nelson St.
> Taylorsville, CA 95983
> 530.284.7849
> CA Lic 874049
> www.frenergy.net
>
>
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