Terrible Signature Solar / EG4 18Kpv Experience - Returning and Replaced with Sol-Ark 15k

[Watts Happening]

No worries. I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with the unit. That's my job with the videos. I need details that I can share with others. I also need to figure out if it's a manufacturing defect and how common those are.

Totally agree, what you're saying makes sense and this is certainly a scenario where I wish I had worn a GoPro from the moment the box was delivered. Akin to wishing you had a video of a traffic stop gone awry. I simply assumed it was all going to work and even threw the box away because it was trash day and I had no reason to believe it wasn't.

I have an idea: You and SS give me tests to run, I'll run them on video and we figure out the root cause. If I'm unable to, we'll ship the unit to you, we're as close as Nevadans can realistically be. You can then test the same unit under the same conditions and hopefully we either figure out the issue or decide I'm an idiot.

I'm happy to be the idiot here, I have no horse in this race. My experience is what it is, I only have what I've posted to go on and I hope to find out this thing works great. Sure, I'll be out time and money on the replacement Sol-Ark but I'd be happy to throw a worthless endorsement behind their product if we can figure it out as a community.

 

[Watts Happening]

I would hook it up to grid and a battery, and make a complete system by throwing some panels on the ground. Just a temporary system.

If you ever have any issues with any product ever, try to document everything you can about the actual device and what it's doing. I personally don't care what signature solar has to say. Is a person that should be responding to this thread is luxpower. If there was an issue with sol ark, I want them to respond. Because having these random distributors respond doesn't do a whole lot for us. Unless they know what the problem is. Fortress power is also selling this unit and I'm not concerned with them either. @Luxpower_Gilbert can you please help us figure out what's going on here

I'm more than happy to throw together the exact scenario you're explaining with their 'approval'. My only concern is hitting some "it's been too long to return" limit. I don't want to damage their product, I will treat it just as you would.

The solar aspect, I'm happy to replicate as you said, but I do want to make it clear this unit has never once had panels connected to it. None of my problems have been solar based. It's essentially been a battery backup system and maybe that's where I'm "breaking new ground" (I say that jokingly). Maybe their internal testing never included systems like this that were purely peak shaving without solar.

I certainly plan to use solar, but without the remote rapid disconnect I wasn't "allowed" to put solar panels on the roof. Temporary ground mount is absolutely something I am willing to do.

 

[Will Prowse]

Totally agree, what you're saying makes sense and this is certainly a scenario where I wish I had worn a GoPro from the moment the box was delivered. Akin to wishing you had a video of a traffic stop gone awry. I simply assumed it was all going to work and even threw the box away because it was trash day and I had no reason to believe it wasn't.

I have an idea: You and SS give me tests to run, I'll run them on video and we figure out the root cause. If I'm unable to, we'll ship the unit to you, we're as close as Nevadans can realistically be. You can then test the same unit under the same conditions and hopefully we either figure out the issue or decide I'm an idiot.

I'm happy to be the idiot here, I have no horse in this race. My experience is what it is, I only have what I've posted to go on and I hope to find out this thing works great. Sure, I'll be out time and money on the replacement Sol-Ark but I'd be happy to throw a worthless endorsement behind their product if we can figure it out as a community.

I think what we need to do is take apart the unit and look at the hardware and test the components individually. I assume that they have tried everything that they can with the software and that's not fixing it at all. I don't know what else they could possibly do unless they have the unit. I think they should send it straight to luxpower so they can find the issue with whoever designed the circuits. They should be able to troubleshoot and find the issue quickly. It would take me weeks to figure out every processor and how every single thing works in that thing. I also don't not have the tools for doing diagnostics on individual components. I would have to prototype just to do diagnostic procedures to each integrated circuit. What we could test is using the current transformers you have on a unit that works perfectly.

 

[Watts Happening]

I think what we need to do is take apart the unit and look at the hardware and test the components individually. I assume that they have tried everything that they can with the software and that's not fixing it at all. I don't know what else they could possibly do unless they have the unit. I think they should send it straight to luxpower so they can find the issue with whoever designed the circuits. They should be able to troubleshoot and find the issue quickly. It would take me weeks to figure out every processor and how every single thing works in that thing. I also don't not have the tools for doing diagnostics on individual components. I would have to prototype just to do diagnostic procedures to each integrated circuit. What we could test is using the current transformers you have on a unit that works perfectly.

Happy to do whatever makes sense to anyone.

Again, I wish they had mentioned any belief that it was a hardware issue.

If it were a hardware issue I’d expect similar issues to be persistent. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. I can’t imagine how CTs would cause battery consumption 5 hours before peak shaving is programmed. This is just an example, but you get the idea.

 

[Will Prowse]

My grid export and feed in is just perfect. Turns on in seconds and exports 0 otherwise. And I've had every firmware since the beginning. I have data for months:

 

[Watts Happening]

My grid export and feed in is just perfect. Turns on in seconds and exports 0 otherwise. And I've had every firmware since the beginning. I have data for months:

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View attachment 161169

Sounds great, love the idea. Would have saved me a lot of time and even money.

Hell, I wouldn’t be ignoring my wife to respond to this.

 

[Will Prowse]

Happy to do whatever makes sense to anyone.

Again, I wish they had mentioned any belief that it was a hardware issue.

If it were a hardware issue I’d expect similar issues to be persistent. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. I can’t imagine how CTs would cause battery consumption 5 hours before peak shaving is programmed. This is just an example, but you get the idea.

Intermittent issues caused by faulty hardware makes total sense. My dad uses a scope to find these issues all the time in car computers. Your unit has the same firmware as mine. If there is a software issue, I can usually find it in all units. If there is intermittent issues for absolutely no reason, I'm going with hardware.

 

[Watts Happening]

Intermittent issues caused by faulty hardware makes total sense. My dad uses a scope to find these issues all the time in car computers. Your unit has the same firmware as mine. If there is a software issue, I can usually find it in all units. If there is intermittent issues for absolutely no reason, I'm going with hardware.

I’d be happy to agree if Signature Solar themselves didn’t admit to an issue with their firmware.

Trust me, a hardware problem is the easiest solution for everyone, including me. But again, nobody mentioned it one time. If anyone at Signature Solar, or Luxpower for they matter disagree, please call me out now.

What conclusion would you draw with this email directly from the guy Markus put in charge of getting it figured out??

If this isn’t an admission of “guilt”, I don’t know what is?

 

[Will Prowse]

I’d be happy to agree if Signature Solar themselves didn’t admit to an issue with their firmware.

Trust me, a hardware problem is the easiest solution for everyone, including me. But again, nobody mentioned it one time. If anyone at Signature Solar, or Luxpower for they matter disagree, please call me out now.

What conclusion would you draw with this email directly from the guy Markus put in charge of getting it figured out??

If this isn’t an admission of “guilt”, I don’t know what is?

View attachment 161170

Haha I challenge them to recreate it and post it here. It would blow my mind. I personally doubt that they can. But I hope they can prove me wrong.

If no one can recreate the problem, there is a feedback loop that is not doing it's job, and I'm thinking it's caused by hardware considering how intermittent the issue is.

 

[Watts Happening]

Haha I challenge them to recreate it and post it here. It would blow my mind. I personally doubt that they can. But I hope they can prove me wrong.

If no one can recreate the problem, there is a feedback loop that is not doing it's job, and I'm thinking it's caused by hardware considering how intermittent the issue is.

At this point I’m not sure we can replicate it. After they admitted to messing it up, they made changes and I don’t know what they were. Thus I can’t prove anything scientifically.

That’s one of the main problems I have with remote changes. I’ve been pretty vocal about this in the 18k threads, I don’t like hidden settings. I completely understand them for the general public that has no idea what amps, volts and watts are. The same people that ask you how many solar panels they need to power their entire RV.

Unfortunately the reality is this unit has issues that multiple members have shared. Some have been relatively easy to assume are inexperience, but many have had similar issues, I’m not alone and while my unit may have some currently undiagnosed hardware issue, I’m not currently convinced it’s not software.

Take that with a grain of salt.

 

[Will Prowse]

At this point I’m not sure we can replicate it. After they admitted to messing it up, they made changes and I don’t know what they were. Thus I can’t prove anything scientifically.

That’s one of the main problems I have with remote changes. I’ve been pretty vocal about this in the 18k threads, I don’t like hidden settings. I completely understand them for the general public that has no idea what amps, volts and watts are. The same people that ask you how many solar panels they need to power their entire RV.

Unfortunately the reality is this unit has issues that multiple members have shared. Some have been relatively easy to assume are inexperience, but many have had similar issues, I’m not alone and while my unit may have some currently undiagnosed hardware issue, I’m not currently convinced it’s not software.

Take that with a grain of salt.

If it's a fault in the software, we absolutely can recreate the issue. We should all be able to recreate it.

There's not many settings. Why did you connect the Wi-Fi dongle? Why not leave it disconnected?

Yes the backfeed issue is being reported and I just learned of it 4 days ago. Pretty wild that a device on CEC list has that issue. I'm surprised third parties who check these devices wouldn't catch the issue. I'm waiting on feedback with the new firmware to see if it has solved the issue.

Why do you think it's a software issue? Can you instruct me on how to recreate these issues on my unit?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Not to make light of any of this, but I couldn't get past this...



THE HORROR!!!! The tears welling up in my eyes rendered me unable to continue reading.

(not really. I commend you on your courteous communication. I would have lost my shit half a dozen times).

 

[Watts Happening]

If it's a fault in the software, we absolutely can recreate the issue. We should all be able to recreate it.

There's not many settings. Why did you connect the Wi-Fi dongle? Why not leave it disconnected?

Yes the backfeed issue is being reported and I just learned of it 4 days ago. Pretty wild that a device on CEC list has that issue. I'm surprised third parties who check these devices wouldn't catch the issue. I'm waiting on feedback with the new firmware to see if it has solved the issue.

Why do you think it's a software issue? Can you instruct me on how to recreate these issues on my unit?

I understand how and why you’re questioning these things. You’re like me, inquisitive and wanting to find out why, not just that it happened. So trust me, I’m “on the same team” if you will.

I can do the digging, I’m happy to make it all scientific. I don’t know their firmware situation more than what has been presented.

To be honest I don’t know or care what firmware is what. I have emails saying “11.10” and others saying “10.10” (it’s 10:30pm and I’m operating off of memory at this point, if I’m off by a few digits please forgive me).

Typically it’s not normal to install older firmware once you’ve gone forward. Whether that is true here, I don’t know.

What I do know is that their own people (and the only person who had any semblance of making it work reliably) specifically told me that newer firmware causes backfeeding issues. That is EXACTLY why Gilbert did not update to the newest firmware. It’s not as though he thought I had a hardware issue, he knew on his own accord that the newer firmware versions caused backfeeding.

This was backed up by Markus asking Ty to handle my system because it had “old firmware”. As soon as Ty updated the firmware it started backfeeding. At that point Ty apologized and admitted the firmware caused issues, Markus apologized and offered to pay any fees associated and now here we are.

Again, this SCREAMS software to me. Start to finish it feels obvious.

That said, I find myself here at almost 11pm wondering why I even care? I still want to see it succeed but from a personal perspective, it doesn’t matter.

It didn’t work, they have clearly verified it didn’t work. There is no argument it has had repeated issues and the way Markus responded was crazy to me. If I’m wrong others can judge accordingly.

But here I am, with a Sol-Ark working perfectly. I suppose I now have no incentive to spend the time to prove anything. Hell, I don’t look forward to putting the thing in a box. A 100lb inverter isn’t fun to walk around with, but that’s what I have to do to receive a refund.

To sum it up, I understand the skepticism. I wanted to feel the same way. You have to drop that position and simply read their own words. It has issues.

I’m sure they will figure them out, I don’t think this unit is the magical key to the mystery but I hope it is.

If they desire my help, they’ll ask. That said I’m not willing to provide a $5,000 interest free loan to troubleshoot their hardware or software issues. I have far too many clients, a nonprofit I run and a son I love dearly to waste time proving myself online.

My experience is what it is. Hopefully I’m wrong and many customers are happy.

*edited to not sound more stupid than I have to*

 

[Watts Happening]

Not to make light of any of this, but I couldn't get past this...

View attachment 161175

THE HORROR!!!! The tears welling up in my eyes rendered me unable to continue reading.

(not really. I commend you on your courteous communication. I would have lost my shit half a dozen times).

TAKE A DEEP BREATH. That unit could be yours!!! I have yet to update the post, I’m no longer willing to trade (I caved and bought a 150/35 the same day as I posted it for sale lol).

I could ship you this thing tomorrow, when it arrives and does nothing you expect I’ll blame Victron and accuse you of wanting a discount.

Imagine how nice it would be at your house. Much better than collecting dust on top of my gun safe!

(shameless sales pitch) - https://diysolarforum.com/threads/victron-150-85-ve-can-for-sale-or-trade.66275/

 

[Watts Happening]

That is a good question James. It would be interesting to know how he is affiliated with Sol-Ark.

Unfortunately, the attitude and professionalism of the SS employees that provided customer service to Watts Happening on this issue was really bad. Markus got downright beligerent, unprovoked. That's the situation you should be looking into. Professionalism and good customer service starts at the top and works its way down.

I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know, nor really care what position he holds in the company, but if he worked for me, he’d be on thin ice, and I think that’s putting it nicely.

He’s a person, we all make mistakes but blatantly lying and accusing people of nonsense just isn’t a look anyone wants.

 

[houseofancients]

Constructive community issue solving, based on a constructive and in depth write up..

Well done to all


Just love this topic, even though I feel sorry for OP ( who now indeed does have a propper deye )

 

[Quattrohead]

@Will Prowse what is your firmware version ?

 

[Quattrohead]

It is 100% firmware issue.
The problem we are having is a lack of testing and consistency between versions due to rushed maybe even panicked fault finding and resolution by whomever is actually programming the firmware.
One version I had fixed the back feed but broke the timers, one supposedly better version was terrible for back feeding. One version was not meant to be available at all but I accidentally got it.
Luxpower and SS need to stop rushing, work together, gather up all the evidence and feature requests and do some proper long term testing in private before releasing any more firmware.

 

[Tulex]

It's wrong to say it can't be firmware. We have 2 identical CNC machines at my work place. We can't run the same firmware on both machines. Turns out that even though the hardware is the same, one of the machines, for some reason, won't run on the latest firmware. Talking to the tech that services these machines, he said our machines aren't the only ones. He said that hardware has a working range, and that the firmware is too tight. My understanding of that is that the firmware is asking for the hardware to respond at too close to it's limit. So, it's highly possible that this is what's happening with this inverter.

 

[rhino]

There's not many settings.

That's because the end user does not have access to all the settings and why LuxPower and SS "remote in" to change stuff that we don't have access to.