Trace/Xantrex SW4024 repair/service manual

technovelisttechnovelist Registered Users Posts: 15 ✭✭
in General Solar Power Topics #1
Hi all,

I'm getting two SWRC panels that can be used to replace the display/control panel in my SW4024 inverters. To do that, I or an electrician I hire must take the cover off and I'm very reluctant to do that without a repair/service manual. Would anyone have a pointer to a pdf copy of such a manual, or even a printed copy if that's all that's available? Of course I have the user manual but that obviously doesn't tell you how to do such a repair.

Thanks!
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  • BB.BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 32,608 admin
    #2
    Unfortunately, it is very difficult to get hold of schematics, parts lists, and service manuals for AC inverters... The manufacturers do not want that information in the field. We have had lots of requests for service manuals--But I don't remember anybody finding the service manuals or schematics.. Sometimes you can find Youtube videos on how to take apart an inverter and replace major boards in the field.

    People with a lot of experience can debug and repair the hardware... If they have the parts available and not too much has been damaged by a failure (lots of current and energy flowing through an AC inverter--And some failures can take out not only major power transistors, but their drive components and other circuits too).

    Example (may or may not help you):



    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • technovelisttechnovelist Registered Users Posts: 15 ✭✭
    #3
    I understand why they wouldn't want to put the service manuals out for everyone, but I asked a repair person who works on this inverter and he said there wasn't one at all, even for authorized service personnel. I find that very odd, but I see no reason he would lie to me.
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  • BB.BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 32,608 admin
    #4
    Documentation costs money--And so does maintaining/updating. I would not be surprised at all that there is no service manual. Maybe a quick two pages on how to do a field board replacement (such as for a recall)--But not much more.

    In general, most electronics are supported by the manufacturer for 5 years after end of production (California does have a 10 year warranty requirement for those systems that have State Subsidies).

    Even for large computer systems--We did not have any sort of detailed repair manuals for the field... Just board level diagnostics and how to slide a board in/out. We did have engineering design/theory of operation documents--But they were not setup for factory/board level repairs. We had test fixtures and board level "bed of nails" testers for current production boards--But those were not kept once the system went out of production--And those testers were not used on the debug/warranty repair side of our factories... Those problem boards were just debugged and repaired by our techs (schematics, possibly a test setup and some basic diagnostic software). And believe me, there were "bone piles" of boards/systems that they could not repair and nobody knew what to do with them (scrapping was a hit on costs).

    One place I worked--As the "new design engineer" they gave me some systems from the bone yard to debug/failure analysis on... Found design flaws that showed up only on newer production product (faster clock driver, different PCB mfg, ringing clock lines). Another that was caused by the DC fan "H Bridge" circuit placing very short/high frequency short circuits on the DC power supply--The high current spikes and high frequency hash was playing havoc with the rest of the board's analog circuits. The fan worked (rotated/moved air).

    Once the equipment got a few years old--The techs either moved on, or have forgotten the old products--And the knowledge was lost. And the companies did not want to pay more $$$ to preserve/repair/document....

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • technovelisttechnovelist Registered Users Posts: 15 ✭✭
    #5
    Ok, you would know. Interestingly enough, the techs are still willing and able to repair these old inverters, but it's not practical for me to ship them out for repair, so I'll just have to see if I can do the control panel replacement myself with a local helper. I did get the steps needed from the repair person, so with any luck, I won't break anything in the process.
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