Trace 812 inverter cuts out..

Our old Trace 812 has begun to cut out from time to time for no obvious reason... not hot necessarily hot, cold, low or high battery voltage.. restarts without the need for a double click. The incidents come and go, tend to cluster...
I am hoping for clues I can research, sources of tech info, already have the manual.
I would very much prefer to keep the thing inverting for a while. It is on a 12 volt battery system, way off grid, turned on only when in use to power internet uplink or small tools, since our lights are 12 volt.
Clues appreciated...

55.5 degrees north, buried in snow...

Comments

  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,433 admin
    Re: Trace 812 inverter cuts out..

    Check for loose connections in external and internal wiring/fuses (look for signs of "brown" from over heating). Look for cracked solder joints for components. Take a piece of hard plastic and tap various locations to see if it starts/stops.

    In the mean time, order one of these:

    wind-sun_2191_35480620Morningstar SureSine, 300 Watt Sine Wave Inverter 115VAC
    Price: $241.00


    If you need a larger inverter at times (powering an electric drill or something else), get a cheap MSW type inverter to connect for those random loads.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • 65DegN
    65DegN Solar Expert Posts: 109 ✭✭
    Re: Trace 812 inverter cuts out..

    Yea, sounds a lot like ring cracks in the solder connections around power devices.
  • Volvo Farmer
    Volvo Farmer Solar Expert Posts: 209 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Trace 812 inverter cuts out..

    I'll third that suggestion. The neighbors just had a Trace PS2512 go dead on them. Upon careful inspection of the AC board, I found a failed solder joint at the torroidal coil. After I re soldered it, it's ready for another dozen years of 24/7 service.
  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Trace 812 inverter cuts out..
    BB. wrote: »
    In the mean time, order one of these:

    wind-sun_2191_35480620Morningstar SureSine, 300 Watt Sine Wave Inverter 115VAC
    Price: $241.00


    If you need a larger inverter at times (powering an electric drill or something else), get a cheap MSW type inverter to connect for those random loads.

    -Bill
    This beautiful little inverter has no problems at all running standard 3/8 drills. I LOVE both of the ones I have :)
  • carilchasens
    carilchasens Registered Users Posts: 22 ✭✭
    Re: Trace 812 inverter cuts out..

    Thanks for your suggestions, folks, much appreciated.
    For the past few days the old Trace has been working ok, but of course intermittent
    problems tend to return.
    Any ideas where one could get wiring diagrams for the Trace, to help figure the thing out? The folks at Surrette, which bought Trace, aren't answering me.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,433 admin
    Re: Trace 812 inverter cuts out..

    You probably will not find any diagrams/schematics in the wild. Checking solder joints and any "plugs" onto the circuit board will probably be the only worth while checks/fixes anyway. If it is in the drive circuit, something will get mistimed or stuck on, causing the FETs to self destruct. Not many people have had long term success replacing pop FETs (timing is critical and 10-20 year old FETs that match what is available today from Digikey.com complicates the issues too).

    In the end, budget for repairs of your electronic equipment after 5 years and complete replacement after 10 years... It if lives longer--celebrate.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • Robin Gudgel
    Robin Gudgel Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 58 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Trace 812 inverter cuts out..

    It probably is not a power transistor solder joint. Those got inspected pretty well. Put a small fuse in the battery leg, put a small (10W) load on the inverter and start poking around with the eraser end of a pencil, or some other insulator. You are looking for a bad solder joint. Probably on a IC leg? There are so many points of failure, it is impossible to say. Make sure it isn't the cables or a defective battery or an AC connection. I find that the Trace inverters usually work or don't. Nothing inbetween. I think that inverter had a bunch of wires, right? Those are the most suspect. I hate wires. Tried to get rid of them on newer Trace, Xantrex and OutBack inverters. We used to drop the inverter on the test bench from a few inches up to test for bad solder joints. If that does not cause it to blink off, then it is probably not the inverter. Of course it could just be a defective part too? Try a heat gun blowing on components in that case to look for problems. Your problem may not be the inverter at all, so good luck trouble shooting. It is sometimes very difficult with intermittents. Good luck!