strange phenomena is PV output

1 Posts
Feb 9, 2015 07:18 am
strange phenomena is PV output

Hi,
I have 16 sunpower 318 panels connected to sma smc5000a (inTL) inverter (2 strings of 8 panels each).
Each panel has also Tigo optimizer. Tree weeks ago, my inverter started issuing "MPP/insulation warning messages", and the red light (ground fault indication) was turned on. At the same time exactly, I strated to witness a decrease in the output of the system - a strange phenomena could be seen in the Tigo monitoring:
In both strings, roughly speaking, the last panels are producing significantly smaller output then the first panels.
Yesterday, the positive grounding kit of the inverter was replaced, and indeed the red light is off, and no more warning messages are issued by the inverter.
However, the output of the system, as shown by the Tigo monitoring, shows exactly the same strange phenomena. Needless to say - the phenomena is seen in completely unshaded conditions for all panels.
Does anyone has any idea what happend in my system?
Thanks.
Jonathan
 
462 Posts
Feb 12, 2015 12:23 pm
Re: strange phenomena is PV output

Not totally sure what is meant by an insulation warning, but my first guess was a bad ground, which you fixed within the inverter. You may want to check connections between panels for exposed wiring which may be interfering with the ground. Best to go old school and pull out that multimeter and check the voltage on each string first, then narrow it down to hopefully an individual panel that may have a fault.
 

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