Solax Inverter & Battery problems after home move

whistlerpro

Hi we recently moved into a house that has a Solax inverter attached to a battery, and a Solis inverter attached to the PV system on the roof. Over the course of the first few days we were there the battery drained to 0% and ever since the inverter has been said "Waiting..." or kept in off mode.

We recently got internet in the house and new dataloggers for both inverters to connect them - we hoped that would resolve the situation, but so far has made no difference. 

Does anyone know how we can charge up the battery and get our solar PV system up and running as it should? Unfortunately the provider who installed the system have been pretty useless so far. Any help appreciated.

MikeHEQA

Need more info on the Solax inverter and battery type, earlier Solax inverters worked with LV 52volts later models HV batteries 115volts ie Type 5.8 HBat Master then additional Slave batteries up to 2 for Single Phase.

You need Work Mode to be Self Use for home and solar charging only. Check  inverter LCD screen.

To restart inverter by Soft Mode, Last Button on right below Inverter LCD screen 
Hold in (Touch Sensitive screen) Button until Message appears to Restart Yes or No

Can you use the phone app on Solax to see the inverter online, WiFi dongle under the inverter should be Solid Colour Red or Green (depending on age of dongle and type version 2 wire version 3 black to indicate Online.

 If not think you need to contact Solax UK to give serial number and address to see if the old WiFi dongles have been unbind from inverter to then accept the new WiFi dongles to view online.

Your Solax inverter could be Solax X1 AC xx model with battery system which is HV
high voltage, 

whistlerpro

Thanks for your response. The inverter is a X1-AC with a single battery/BMS labelled T-BAT-SYS-HV. Neither the battery or BMS show any lights at the moment.

The dongle is green and when we log in to solax cloud it shows power moving from the load/generator to the feed in, but not going anywhere near the solax inverter or battery. 

MikeHEQA

If the Main Battery is not showing any Green lights or Solid Green lights, 
check the Master Battery, top cover of Master Battery is White at ends are 2 screws undo them lift the top off.

You will see Silver Power button and 40 Amp breaker; is the Break switch On
if so press the Silver Powerbutton to see what the battery does; show any Status lights or S1or S2 side lights illuminating, 

Are all cables attached correctly you can undo screws for side covers to view.

on the phone app can you see the Solax inverter online; tap top Left icon on main screen,

MikeHEQA

“the battery drained to 0% and ever since the inverter has been said "Waiting..." or kept in off mode. ”

Is the Solax X1AC inverter LCD screen stating “OFF Mode” if so it will not Charge.

MikeHEQA

To  Change “Off Mode” setting on LCD inverter screen to “Normal Mode” working setting to supply power to home and Solar charge battery need to Check One Setting
on solax phone app:

Advanced setting>System Switch is:
”Enabled” 

this for turning off and on the inverter by the LCD screen of solax inverter especially if inverter is located in loft and hard to access.

On the inverter LCD screen is 4 buttons
Select the 4th last on right; Hold the button 
for 5 secs or until another message appears to State “Turn off or Turn On the inverter; Select Yes or No; Select Yes

the inverter will go into start up mode and do a Count down from 30 Secs then will state “Normal Mode” which ehat you want.

the battery has depleted into self protect and switched off in “Off Mode” I presume so until solar or use Force Time Use to charge the battery will ascertain if the battery will charge.

whistlerpro

MikeHEQA said:

To  Change “Off Mode” setting on LCD inverter screen to “Normal Mode” working setting to supply power to home and Solar charge battery need to Check One Setting
on solax phone app:

Advanced setting>System Switch is:
”Enabled” 

this for turning off and on the inverter by the LCD screen of solax inverter especially if inverter is located in loft and hard to access.

On the inverter LCD screen is 4 buttons
Select the 4th last on right; Hold the button 
for 5 secs or until another message appears to State “Turn off or Turn On the inverter; Select Yes or No; Select Yes

the inverter will go into start up mode and do a Count down from 30 Secs then will state “Normal Mode” which ehat you want.

the battery has depleted into self protect and switched off in “Off Mode” I presume so until solar or use Force Time Use to charge the battery will ascertain if the battery will charge.

Thanks, when we switch the inverter on it just says “Waiting” - I’ll try some of the things you suggest and report back.

 We’re unable to access advanced settings without the password though.

MikeHEQA

Do you TOU (Time Of Use) tariff with overnight cheap tariff like Octopus Go.

If so Change Work Mode from Self Use to 
Forced Time Use and enter tariff start and end times accordingly; to charge battery
(My Solax Master and Slave 2x 5.8kW batteries total 11.6kW charge up in my time settings to 100%)

whistlerpro

Managed to resolve the problem. In my case the battery had been totally depleted and was off, as was the Battery Management System (BMS, the box on top of the battery). I was unable to use 'Force Time Use' work mode while this was off.

The solution was to remove the 4 screw cover off top of the BMS at the top to reveal the on off switch and the two breakers. Switching all of these off and then on again brought the battery and the BMS back to life, causing the inverter to go back into 'Normal' mode, and I could use the 'Force Time Use' work mode to charge up the battery as you described. 

So yes, the solution was to turn it off and on again, but not the inverter, the BMS! 

Grandad2b

Great news. Thanks for posting.