Electrical noise coming in from the utility side can also cause an arc fault code.
At 07:32 AM 11/11/2016, you wrote:
This array is a ground mount, so not on a roof, and no radio towers nearby. As for grounding, The array and the shed with the interconnection point are in the same area. There are a couple ground rods there, which everything on the AC side is connected to, including a #6 wire from each inverter. there is just a #10 ground coming from the array to the inverters. The house is a couple hundred feet away and has its own grounding electrode system. Jerry, The inverters are new (replaced 2 months ago), but it is a good idea to check firmware. As for AC loads, nothing stands out as the types of things you mentioned, although there may be a well pump. They also do have a large water storage tank for heating, but they say that they have not needed to use it yet this year. Then there is also the generator... Thanks for your recommendations. -Dave -- Dave Tedeyan Project Engineer Taitem Engineering, PC 109 S. Albany Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 Voice: (607) 277-1118 x121 <http://www.taitem.com/>www.taitem.com On Thu, Nov 10, 2016 at 9:51 PM, Jerry Shafer <<mailto:jerrysgarag...@gmail.com>jerrysgarag...@gmail.com> wrote: Dave. We have many TL-22 in the field and they will detect faults even when they are normal contactor faults, have you made sure the SW is the latest, last I checked it is 2.65.3R and it may have a patch in there, you can turn off the feature for testing only and see if you melt something down but if you do please be on site as a arc may happen. Do you have a well, AC system with contacts, welders, compressors, anything that has a dry contacts that brakes under load, this is another place I would look. Every time we have had a code out it was real weather from something normal or a wire issue. Not to brag but we have hundreds in the field from the 3's to the 24's and as much as I dread getting a call with this issue I can usually find the problem and it can be either AC or DC. Jerry On Thu, Nov 10, 2016 at 8:14 AM, Dave Tedeyan <<mailto:dtede...@taitem.com>dtede...@taitem.com> wrote: Hi All, Maybe someone will have some ideas for why a couple inverters keep arc faulting: -There are two SB7000TL-22 inverters, Sunpower branded. -3 Strings of 7 SPR-327's to each inverter. Kept separate until the inverter. -Ground mount about 50' from the shed where the inverters are located (indoors) -Simple grid connected system, no batteries. -There is a whole house generator co-located in the shed. -We interconnect by using piercing taps on the line side of the generator transfer switch -There has been only one power outage there since the system was installed in April, but the generator fires up weekly. -The arc faults have been happening on both inverters. Sometimes only one at a time, sometimes both will go within a day of each other. -The events have been approximately one a month, but sometimes more, sometimes less. -We have already checked every single connection in the system twice, by two different people. -We have replaced the underground wires (and they looked just fine) -We have replaced all home runs. -We have replaced both inverters. -Arc faults are still happening. -Arc faults are not always on the same day/time of the week. I am wondering if this can be caused by the generator? Has anyone run into a situation like this or something similar? Thanks for your help, Dave -- Dave Tedeyan Project Engineer Taitem Engineering, PC 109 S. Albany Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 Voice: (607) 277-1118 x121 <http://www.taitem.com/>www.taitem.com _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: <mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org>http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html>http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: <http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm>www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: <http://www.members.re-wrenches.org>www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: <mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org>http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html>http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: <http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm>www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: <http://www.members.re-wrenches.org>www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
--- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
_______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
