Xantrex SW5548 AC-IN led flashing and inverting for a short time

Hello, I installed a Xantrex SW5548 , but recently the unit stopped working and now I see this situation:
- AC-IN led is flashing when I put primary power supply.
- When I put the inverter to ON the inverting led turn on and then the bulk led turn on for a while and the the unit goes back to inverting.
- I checked the batteries, I connect 4 x 12v batteries making it 48vdc and I get 49.4 vdc on the reading.
Also when I put the unit for CHARGE MODE it does the same, the bulk led turn on and after 1 min the AC IN led goes flashing.
I am new to inverting , so can some have a sample configuration for this type of unit and what settings are suitable for my situation.
Thanks in advance for any help
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Whatever you do, need to get the battery bank charged backup >90% state of charge pretty soon. At less than 75% state of charge, the batteries (assuming lead acid) will begin to sulfate and die an early (and expensive) death.
Just a general debugging tip... Check the AC voltage at the input terminals to the AC inverter-charger system with a voltmeter and system under load (or blinking LED). Check all of the electrical connections from the main AC panel/breakers to the XW. Loose screws/wire nuts can happen. If you had water that got into a J-Box/electrical connection and got corrosion in the electrical connections.
Look for browning of insulation and copper wiring ends/terminal connections (overheating).
-Bill
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
Sounds like he could have an older SW 5548. No SCP or Combox for those models. I'm a bit curious about the battery bank. Can you describe your battery bank to us? All matching? All same age? Ah capacity?
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 700 ah @24 volt AGM battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
INVERTING (Yellow)
The inverter is operational and AC output is available. If this LED is blinking, the inverter is in the search
mode and is looking for an AC load greater than the SET SEARCH WATTS setting.
AC1 IN GOOD (Green)
Indicates that AC power is present at the AC HOT IN 1 and NEUTRAL IN 1 input terminals. This input is
intended for utility power. When an AC source is connected to the input terminals, it will start to blink slowly
(once a second) to show the AC voltage has been detected. After the inverter has connected to the AC
source, the LED will be solid. If the LED starts to blink during operation, utility power has been dropped.
AC2 IN GOOD (Green)
Indicates that AC power is present at the AC HOT IN 2 and NEUTRAL IN 2 input terminals. This input is
intended for generator power. When an AC source is connected to the input terminals, it will start to blink
slowly (once a second) to show the AC voltage has been detected. After the inverter has connected to the
AC source, the LED will be solid. If the LED starts to blink during operation, generator power may have been
dropped.
This LED will also blink slowly (once a second) when the automatic generator control system is enabled.
When the generator has started, it will continue to blink slowly until the generator has been connected. If the
generator does not successfully start, the AC 2 IN GOOD LED will stop blinking and the red ERROR LED will
turn on. The ERROR CAUSES (5) menu heading will indicate a GENERATOR SYNC ERROR condition.
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 700 ah @24 volt AGM battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
-Bill
johann..,
What was the source of these inverters? Do you know if they have been used on a grid-tied system that has the same voltage and frequency as your AC grid power system?
What is the exact model number? Do not know for certain your grid voltage and frequency. But in the USA, to produce and use 240 VAC (our standard Split-Phase power system), two units needed to be Series Stacked, with a special Series Stacking Cable. Perhaps for use in the rest of the world, a single unit might have been able to produce/use 230 (or so) Volts AC without stacking.
Have you connected any cables to the output terminals of either inverter?
Is the Error Led illuminated? There is an Error Causes Menu item.
Will try to look around on the Web for info on any models for non-USA customers.
More later, Vic
SW2612E SW4548AHC SW4548EPV SW2612A SW3048E
SW2612EHC SW4548EHC SW2612AHC SW3048AHC SW4548E3PH
SW3024E SW3048EHC SW3024E SW3048EPV SW3048E3PH
SW3048E SW3024AHC SW3024A SW3048APV SW4548APV
SW3048A SW3024EHC SW3048E SW4548E SW4548A
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 700 ah @24 volt AGM battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 700 ah @24 volt AGM battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
Thanks littleharbor, and johann,
OK, looking on the Web, it seems that your grid utility power is 120 VAC 60 Hz. And you will not be using any loads that are 240 VAC, is an assumption.
You will need to go through the menus to set the battery charge voltages, AC input currents for charging, etc.
If the Invert LED constantly flashes for a number of minutes, it would seem that the inverter sees a line voltage or frequency which is not within its required range.
It is surprising (to me), that your photo of one 5548 shows a 2007 date. Had thought that the SW+ replaced the SWs in 2004 or 2005 (this does not matter).
These inverters are reaching middle-age. Your country would seem to have its share of lightning, and perhaps other bad things happening to and on the power grid. Do you know, for certain, that these inverters did work at the time that you bought them? These days, there have been some owners of this line of inverters who have reported failures of the internal Transfer Relays, and a few who found. or believed that a small line-sensing transformer had failed.
If the seller can support/warranty these units as good, perhaps they can help.
Need to get back to work, later, Thanks for the added info, Vic
Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
Also see page 113, AC in good but led flashing, but will not start charging
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
Check neutral bonding, some countries supply a neutral on the utility side before the meter, if bonded after the meter in reverse of the utility this would cause issues, no idea how neutral is established in your case but worth checking.
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
IMO, using Search mode is not going to be useful, at this point, just turn that off.
Have asked this before, but have seen no response ...
Has the supplier of these inverters said that they were working units?
Has the supplier supplied any Warranty on them?
The Trace/Xantrex 5548s are solid, reliable inverters, and we have four 5548+es here that have been in-service for 13 years. But, they need high quality Surge Suppression on the AC inputs, and quite probably on the AC outputs (when permanently-installed). Do you know the history of these inverters?
When the grid is connected to AC1, after the AC1 LED stops blinking, do you hear the click (or clunk) of the internal transfer switch?
Thank you for answers to these questions! Vic