ABB / Power One Aurora Solar Inverter Faults and Repairs

Oct. 28, 2024

ABB / Power One Aurora Solar Inverter Faults and Repairs

NB: "E031 - Error Read V" or "Int.Error E031" This is a common error found with Power One Aurora solar inverters. This is an error inside the solar inverter relating to damaged external relays. This error is often accompanied by a humming noise when the solar inverter tries to start up and presents itself just before you would typically expect the solar inverter to connect to the grid and start generating. Damaged relays can be replaced, however, given the age of the units that usually demonstrate this fault and the comparitively low cost of a replacement, when Power One Aurora units are out of warranty and have E031 relay failures, we recommend that the solar inverter is replaced.

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As a result of their popularity we have become very familiar with diagnosing faults with Power One solar Inverters. Power One Aurora solar inverters, both single phase (Uno) and three phase (Trio) have an LCD display on the front of the chassis. Identifying error codes shown on the display (assuming the display is working) is usually the best place to start in diagnosing the fault and getting systems using Power One solar inverters up and running again.

Power One, at one point were the second ranked solar PV inverter manufacturer in the world and there are many Power One Aurora solar Inverters installed in the UK. The most popular models being the Uno PVI-3.0-TL-OUTD and the Uno PVI-3.6-TL-OUTD. Power One was purchased by electrical equipment giants ABB in . As part of their purchase ABB took over the guarantee responsibilities from Power One.

Some of the advice we give related to identifying, confirming and or resolving some of the faults detailed below, starts with safely shutting down and restarting the solar inverter and the solar PV system. This is something that nearly all solar PV systems installed in the UK would have been designed to be carried out safely by the solar PV system owner. However, paperwork, schematics and manuals are not always clear or available, so if you have any concerns about how to do this, Contact us and we will be pleased to talk you through the process over the at no charge.

If the restart is succesful a green light will come on, sometimes flashing at first but once connected to the mains/AC supply remaining permenantly on. The LCD display will show how much power the solar PV system is generating. The solar PV system can be verified as working at the solar generation / Feed in Tariff (FIT) meter which will count on the display, the red light will pulse as it counts.

This will restart the solar inverter, on the display it might show you progress during it's startup procedure. During startup is when the solar inverter carries out all of the tests needed before being able to connect the solar supply to the electrical system. If errors are found during testing they will be displayed on the screen or an indication light might come on. Make a note of any warning messages, warning lights and fault codes.

When all of the lights on the solar inverter have gone out, reintroduce the AC/mains power supply by turning the AC isolator 'on'. Introduce the DC supply by turning all DC isolators 'on'.

Near to and or built into the solar inverter will be a method of isolating the solar (DC) supply from the solar inverter. Often these are black and grey and will be labelled 'DC isolator' or similar. There might be two or more of these if the system is fed by multiple strings. If there isn't a seperate DC isolation device, there will be a way to isolate the DC supply built-in to the solar inverter itself (often a rotary style switch underneath), turn this 'off'.

Leave everything near the supply meters turned on. At the solar inverter there will be an AC isolator, this is used to isolate the mains/grid supply from the solar inverter and to prevent the solar inverter from feeding solar power into the electrical system. Switch the AC isolator 'off', if the solar inverter is running correctly you will hear a clunk inside the machine and after a while a 'no-grid', 'missing grid' warning or similar on the LCD display.

No or very low DC voltage would suggest a problem with the solar panels, measuring the expected voltage at the isolator terminals and or the DC inputs, although additional testing should be carried out, would suggest a problem with the solar inverter. Contact us to discuss the next steps.

If you have the correct tools and are comfortable in doing so, isolate the AC and DC power supplies from the solar inverter and confirm that the incoming DC voltages are as expected by measuring between the positive and negative incoming terminals in DC isolators (if avalable) and or at the DC solar inverter inputs. Light conditions and the type of solar panel will affect voltages but as a rule of thumb anywhere from 30V-60V per panel x the number of panels connected in series in the string would be a reasonable voltage estimate.

ABB / PowerOne solar inverters are powered by the solar panels (the DC supply) and will startup at sunrise each day and shutdown at night. If you find the solar inverter with no lights or display working during the day, there is either a problem with the solar panels or with the solar inverter. Follow the shutdown and restart procedure outlined above and if the problem persists Contact us to discuss the next steps.

ABB / Power One Aurora Solar Inverter Fault Codes and Explanations:

* W001 - Sun Low - The solar inverter is measuring low DC voltage that it believes is due to low solar irradiance. Low irradiance (sunlight) is to be expected in the mornings and evenings, if solar panels are in shade and on very cloudy days, if the fault passes on it's own relatively quickly the solar inverter might simply be responding to external conditions like this.

However should there be plenty of sunlight and assuming that this is an existing installation that has been specified correctly, no changes near the installation area have been made that might have caused damage or induced shading, and the system has operated before without problems. This could indicate either a problem with the solar panels or with the solar inverter. If you are concerned and or the fault doesn't clear itself, then we would advise that you book a solar repair engineer to test the DC side of the system including and excluding the solar inverter.

* W002 - Input UV - The solar inverter is measuring low DC voltage. Assuming that this is an existing installation that has been specified correctly, no changes near the installation area have been carried out and the system has operated before without problems. Anything other than a brief warning on the display at startup or shutown with this error code could indicate either a problem with the solar panels or with the solar inverter. If you are concerned and or the fault doesn't clear itself, then we would advise that you book a solar repair engineer to test the DC side of the system including and excluding the solar inverter.

* W003 - Grid Fail - The solar inverter is measuring grid (mains power) characteristics outside of it's pre-set safe operating parameters. If the situation persits then the solar inverter will not startup.

Check fuses, isolators, Miniture Circuit Breakers (MCBs) and Residual Current Devices (RCDs) in and around consumer units, around the solar generation and mains/grid supply meters and see if anything marked 'solar PV' or you can see is related to the solar PV system is switched 'off'. The solar generation meter draws it's power from the mains so if this isn't on, this would be a strong indication that something heading toward the incoming grid/mains power supply has tripped off.

RCD

MCB

An RCD has a test button and is twice the width or a circuit breaker. An RCD that's switched itself 'off' is an indication that it has picked up an earth fault somewhere on the circuit that it protects, this fault could be anywhere on the circuit and might have been temporary.

- If an RCD has switched itself 'off' it's ok to try to turn it back 'on' again. If you meet with instant and strong resistance to closing the switch, leave it 'off'. If it stays on for a short while and switches off when the solar PV system has warmed up and begun to feed in power, there's most likely a problem with the solar PV system somewhere, leave the RCD turned 'off' and contact us to discuss the next steps.

If the RCD remains on for a few hours, weeks or days and then switches itself off, faults like these are often weather related. Damp cables and wet or windy conditions will often expose faults both physical and in design, with AC and DC cabling, connectors, solar panels and RCDs. Contact us to discuss the next steps.

If the RCD stays on, the solar inverter starts up and everything works fine in all conditions - all good.

- If a circuit breaker has switched 'off' this is an indication of either a short circuit, most likely a serious failure either within the solar inverter or with the solar inverter supply cable. Or for some other reason the circuit breaker has picked up a fault and isolated the circuit to prevent the solar inverter supply cable from becoming overloaded.

Turn on circuit breakers at your own risk, there is the potential to cause damage and only do so when you are able to access and inspect the solar inverter and all isolation equipment whilst it's in operation. If you meet instant and strong resistance, leave the circuit breaker 'off' and turn everything to do with the solar PV system 'off' remembering to also safely isolate the DC circuits.

If the circuit breakers stays on and then switches itself off after a few minutes, this is reasonably strong indication that the solar inverter has a serious internal fault. Turn off everything to do with the solar PV system including the DC isolators and contact us to discuss the next steps.

If the circuit breaker stays on, the solar PV inverter starts up and feeds power into the electrical system through the circuit breaker; although the circuit breaker will continue to protect the circuit, ideally a physical inspection and electrical test of the supply circuit including all isolators, circuit breakers, RCDs and electrical connections would also be carried out.

- Everything's 'on' but the error remains and the solar inverter won't start. If everything on the grid/mains power supply side including the solar generation meter is switched 'on', this would be an indication that there is either an internal fault within the solar inverter or there's a problem with the mains power supply. Contact us to discuss the next steps.

* W010 - Fan Broken - This error indicates an internal fan failure within the solar inverter.

* W011 - Bulk UV - The solar inverter is measuring under voltage. Assuming that this is an existing installation that has been specified correctly and has operated before without problems. This could mean either a problem with the solar panels or with the solar inverter. We would advise that you book a solar repair engineer to test the DC side of the system including and excluding the solar inverter.

* W012 - Batt. Flat - The solar inverter is stating that the buffer battery inside the inverter is flat i.e. is not charging due to either a faulty battery or an internal charging error. To ensure that this is the case safely isolate the solar inverter and then restart it, if the time and date has reset itself to it's factory default time, reset the date and time to the correct date, then restart the system again. If the time again resets to the factory default time and date then there is either an issue with the battery which should be replaced or an internal fault within the solar inverter preventing the battery from being charged. Contact us to discuss how to proceed with this fault.

* E001 - Input OC - The solar inverter is measuring too much current from the solar panels. Assuming that this is an existing installation that has been specified correctly, hasn't recently been changed or added to and has operated before without problems. This could mean either a problem with the solar panels or with the solar inverter. We would advise that you book a solar repair engineer to test the DC side of the system including and excluding the solar inverter.

* E002 - Input OV - The solar inverter is measuring too much voltage from the solar panels. Assuming that this is an existing installation that has been specified correctly, hasn't recently been changed or added to and has operated before without problems. This could mean either a problem with the solar panels or with the solar inverter. We would advise that you book a solar repair engineer to test the DC side of the system including and excluding the solar inverter.

* E003 - No Parameters - This is an internal error related to the main microcontroller and communications within the solar inverter. If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists then contact us.

* E004 - Bulk Overvoltage - The solar inverter is measuring too much voltage from either the solar panels or the mains. Assuming that this is an existing installation that has been specified correctly, hasn't recently been changed or added to and has operated before without problems. This could mean either a problem with the solar panels, the mains or with the solar inverter. We would advise that you book a solar repair engineer to test the whole system AC and DC as well as the solar inverter.

* E005 - Comms. Error - There is a communications error within the solar inverter. If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists then contact us.

* E006 - Output OC - Output Overcurrent, this fault/warning occurs when the output current exceeds the threshold that the solar inverter has been designed for. Assuming that this is an existing installation that has been specified correctly, hasn't recently been changed or added to and has operated before without problems. This fault would suggest that there is a fault within the solar inverter. We would advise that you book a solar repair engineer to test the DC side of the system including and excluding the solar inverter.

* E007 - IGBT SAT - This fault is an indication that the IGBT components within the solar inverter have become saturated. There are many factors that could contribute to this such as rapidly changing AC voltages from the grid or changing DC voltages from the solar panels. If the fault doesn't clear itself and the measured (excluding the solar inverter) conditions are stable it would most likely indicate an internal fault within the solar inverter. If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists then contact us.

* E009 - Internal Error - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E010 - Bulk Low - The solar inverter is measuring low voltage. Assuming that this is an existing installation that has been specified correctly and has operated before without problems. This could mean either a problem with the solar panels or with the solar inverter. We would advise that Contact us to discuss how to proceed with this fault.

* E011 - Ramp Low - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E012 - DcDc Fail - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit ABB.

* E014 - Over Temp - The temperature inside the solar inverter is too hot, over the safe 60 degree limit. This could be due to a number of factors, for example 1) If the solar inverter is exposed to direct sunlight 2) If the solar inverter has been installed without adequate ventilation around the chassis which would allow excess heat to dissipate 3) The solar inverters components are getting too hot due to an internal component fault. If the unit isn't running hot and if after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists then contact us

* E015 - Bulk Cap Fail - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E016 - Inverter Fail - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E017 - Start Timeout - This error might present itself when startup voltages are hovering around the threshold required to fully start the solar inverter in conditions of low irradiance. Low irradiance (sunlight) is to be expected in the mornings and evenings and on cloudy days, if the fault passes on it's own relatively quickly might simply be acknowledging that power is present but not at a level sufficient enough to fully power the solar inverter.

* E018 - Ground Fault - This error is generated when during normal operation of the solar inverter, a leakage current to ground/earth is detected on the DC side of the system. Although it is also possible that the solar inverter generates this alarm message due to AC leakage currents connected to the capacitive nature of the solar panels compared to ground/earth or there could be a problem with the solar inverter itself.

For as long as the situation persits then the solar inverter will not startup. Earth / Ground Faults (also called Insulation or Isolation Faults) often present themselves when it is raining or at times of high humidity when moisture can enter the solar PV system through damaged solar panels, connectors or cabling. These faults often clear when weather conditions improve but they will not get better by themselves, most often degrading and becoming more dangerous over time.

We would advise that you book a solar repair engineer's visit in order to carry out a full solar system test, identify the source and rectify the fault. We've written more about how to identify and repair ground faults here: Ground Faults, Isolation (ISO) Faults, RISO Low Faults and Insulation Resistance Faults with Solar PV Systems

* E019 - Ileak.sense Fail - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E020 - Self Test Error 1 - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E021 - Self Test Error 2 - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E022 - Self Test Error 4 - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E023 - DC In Error - Rapidly changing DC voltages due to rapidly fluctuating irradiance levels or possibly grid disturbances might be the likely cause of an E023 error. If the fault doesn't clear itself and the measured (excluding the solar inverter) conditions are stable it would most likely indicate an internal fault within the solar inverter. If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists contact us.

* E024 - Internal Error - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E025 - Riso Low - This error is generated when during normal operation of the solar inverter, a leakage current to ground/earth is detected on the DC side of the system. Although it is also possible that the solar inverter generates this alarm message due to AC leakage currents connected to the capacitive nature of the solar panels compared to ground/earth or there could be a problem with the solar inverter itself.

* E026 - Vref Error - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E027 - Error Meas V - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E028 - Error Meas F - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E029 - Mid Bulk OV - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E030 - IError Meas Ileak - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E031 - Error Read V - This is an internal error within the solar inverter. If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists then contact us. (NB: Please see the note about this error in the introduction at the top of the page)

* E032 - Error Read I - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E033 - UTH - The ambient temperature outside the inverter is too cold, under the safe -25 degree limit. If the unit isn't in such a cold environment and if after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists then contact us.

* E034 - Interlock Fail - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E036 - V Out Avg Error - The grid voltage as measured by the inverter is too high. This may be caused by too high a grid impedance. In the final stage of the timeout, the inverter limits the power to check whether the grid voltage has stabilised into regular parameters. If the situation persits then the inverter will not startup. We would advise that you book a solar repair engineer's visit who will be able to identify whether the issue is with the inverter or with the grid/mains power supply.

* E049 - AC FF Error - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

* E057 - Vbulk Reading Error - The inverter is measuring too much voltage from the solar panels. Assuming that this is an existing installation that has been specified correctly, hasn't recently been changed or added to and has operated before without problems. This could mean either a problem with the solar panels or with the inverter. We would advise that you book a solar repair engineer to test the DC side of the system including the inverter.

* E058 - Pin Vs Pout Check Error - If after the system has been safely shutdown and restarted this condition persists the inverter has a fatal error and should be replaced. There are a few ways that we can help with this: Solar Inverter Replacement

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