A problem I have seen during my work with SiE is getting the "tray" covers on without pinching a wire, if one of the black plastic bolt guards was left off or lost, it could pinch, but they seem water-tight.
I haven't run into any fault problems with SiE, but I see the possibilities. Keep me informed if you can. I have 3 11kW systems using SiE modules coming up this summer so I'm interested in where this is occurring. Jesse Sent from my iPad!!! On May 22, 2012, at 9:36 PM, "Bob Clark" <bcl...@solar-wind.us> wrote: > Wrenches: > > Sorry to bring up this situation again, but I could not find a previous > discussion thread that talked about step-by-step procedures for tracking down > ground faults (I believe it was John Berdner who provided the bulk of the > writing in that regard and it related to high voltage strings—not that 75-85 > volts per string is all that low). > > We have an Outback FLEXpower Two system with 8, 3-module strings (Silicon > Energy 190W, 25.3Vmp, 7.5 Imp) combined in a Midnite Solar MNPV12 combiner > with breakers. The cables from the array are routed to two different Wiley > 4-string pass-through boxes (located under the two center strings) and then > off of the roof and into the PV combiner. > > Up until this week the system has seen several weeks of awesome power > production. Yesterday, the rains came and the GFDI breaker tripped. Every > time it rains, the little green breaker on the GFDI trips off. That tells me > that the ground fault is occurring in a place where at least one of the > conductors on one of the strings (possibly more) is getting wet and > conducting current to ground. > > It would seem to me that the most likely place for moisture to cause a ground > fault to occur in this system would be in the pass-through boxes. This would > mean removing the central modules to access the pass-through boxes. > > Any of you who have mounted the Silicon Energy modules know that the cables > are contained in trays along the side of the modules until they are routed > through conduit to the pass-through boxes. So, if there is current going to > ground from any of these cables, it could even be occurring in any of the 9 > trays along side of the modules. I do not like the idea of tracking down a > ground fault in one of these trays as they are all interconnected. > > How best (and safely) to track down where the ground fault is occurring? Any > advice as to the best and safest way to track down the ground fault(s) would > be greatly appreciated. > > Bob Clark > SolarWind Energy Systems, LLC > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Home Power magazine > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Options & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org >
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