Sunny Boy TL Series Arc Fault

My solar was installed 4 years ago and has worked perfectly up until this past Sunday when I got the dreaded Arc Fault Check DC Power Generator 4301 alarm. I have the TL 5000 SMA inverter. My system was under a 10 year warranty and was designed and warrantied by a company that has since went out of business. The electrical contractor that installed the system is still in business but so far getting in contact with them has been like pulling teeth. I have emailed, sent a web site inquiry, and called what appears to be a service that answers phones for them but so far have been unable to talk to anyone in 3 days. I'm going to assume that I have no recourse as far as the warranty goes and while I'm willing to pay to have it permanently fixed I have a lot of concern based on things I've read that the issue may keep returning. As far as basic troubleshooting I've so far look up on the roof and found a pigeons nest underneath the panels although it doesn't look as if there is any wiring or obvious issue near the nest. On the ground side I opened the box below the inverted and tried to connect individually my A and B array of panels, but I think maybe I would need to reset the fault for that test to have been valid? Everything inside this box looks clean. I've also opened the AC manual disconnect box and in here I actually do see some contacts that are somewhat black. My question is is it possible for an arc in the AC disconnect box to trip the inverter and give a DC Arc Fault? If anyone has any suggestions on how I might be able to troubleshoot this further I'd appreciate it. I'm willing to do anything from the utility panel up until the solar panels, but I don't want to have to lift and move around solar panels. Any suggestions also on what to look for if I hire someone outside the installer to come look at this as so far I can't get in contact with them?
Comments
I doubt the AC side could do this but why don't you just jump the contacts that look bad. There should be a breaker upstream that you can shut down for this test.
I have made a small fortune replacing arc fault PCBs and so this can be pretty common. Especially ABB types. Yes you need to reset the AFCI for each test.
SMA has had me replace a few for people who are out of business as there are few who want to travel up into the rurals where I live.
They pay about $300 and expenses so I think you can convince them to get someone. First you have to diagnose and prove it to them.
Your test idea is a good one on separating arrays. Do it again. That should prove it is not the wiring out to the array. Good Luck
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Dave when you said you replacing arc fault pcbs you are talking about the little device on the circuit board inside the inverter? How would I prove to them the PCB is the issue?
-Bill
If you see arcing/pitting on the major faces of the contacts--That could be an indication of poor/dirty AC connections and you could be getting an arc and arc fault from that...
Although, it does sound like the DC side is getting the arc fault (problem with electronics or real--hard to tell). But as Dave says--He has replaced more than a few ArcFault boards because of factory issues.
-Bill
I have made a small fortune changing AFD's up here in the mountains. I get hired because few companies will send repair folks to the places I frequent. It is a good deal for me as even if changing the AFD does not fix the problem, I get paid in advance. The company then pays me to change the inverter.
The companies that sell solar on the radio, often come up here, install it and forget it. AFD is always the weak link. Always!
I will not use it for my offgrid clients unless it is easily bypassed.
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