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** UPDATE**Signature Solar Disappoints- Commissioned a 18Kpv still having issues

AZG

New Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2023
Messages
33
Location
Arizona
Current update 12/22: power has not gone out since settings were changed, all is well and system is performing as it should. Thanks again to all of you for your help and support!

Thank you all for you input and feedback. I finally did get a call from Signature solar today and they attempted some settings changes to resolve the issue. Sorry I didn't respond right away, I've got 3 kiddos (oldest 9yo), wife, job and it's busy over here lol. Thanks again!


So finally I got my EG4 18kpv installed. Had my electrician do the final wiring to the electrical panel. CTs that came with the unit were damaged and to their credit, Signature Solar sent those right out and a few days later I started up my system. It seemed to be working as intended, and we left town for Thanksgiving. While gone we had guest staying at our house and they called saying the power kept going out. I had to have my electrician come out right away to bypass the system entirely. Had my electrician out again when I returned Dec 2nd to start it back up, but continue to have the problem of my power going out in the evening 1x and coming back on a few seconds later, but in the am when the sun is peeking, it goes off and on like a dozen or more times each morning. One of my ceiling fans no longer works, a little weather station no longer works that I had plugged in, I had a surge protector power strip fail and had a burning smell once in my garage. I have emailed and called signature solar almost daily with them telling me that the ticket is priority and someone will be in touch "soon". What a joke. Anyone have any idea what the problem may be? I think it's possibly a relay of some kind. I have no battery and have the grid wired in to the inverter. I have a 400 amp main service panel on my guest house and a 200 amp "sub panel" on my main home, currently I have the 18k pv in-between both and only feeding my main home with grid supporting the system as needed. It appears to be functioning as intended outside of my sun-up/sundown power disconnection problems.
 

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I can’t quite figure out what that wiring is doing, you were spliced in between one and half of a 400 amp panel and the grid? You’ve got a Polaris connector with two neutrals that go to the 18 KPV, but I can’t tell if they’re connected to neutral?
 
It could have been done a little neater and white is not the correct color for ground. But as far as I can tell, it's wired correctly.

I'm going to guess that it's a settings issue. Because it's switching back and forth when PV starts to work in the morning, and as it falls below the range in the evening.
It's prioritizing solar, more than it should.
 
I was pretty sure we got to a point where we are NOT recommending backup without batteries. will review
Slightly different to know that and objectively put that in documentation for folks to be able to clearly see, and just subjectively recommending in some round about fashion that you probably don’t want to do that…because it won’t work…
 
Sparky Mcresistance III, Bubba the plumbers brother from another mother.

Damn…yer talking about half my community…🤣

Good ole boys , but a bit sketchy sometimes after you have already paid them…
But still , pretty good ole boys,..
 
It could have been done a little neater and white is not the correct color for ground. But as far as I can tell, it's wired correctly.

I'm going to guess that it's a settings issue. Because it's switching back and forth when PV starts to work in the morning, and as it falls below the range in the evening.
It's prioritizing solar, more than it should.
There is no battery! Of course its cranky! 🤪
 
So finally I got my EG4 18kpv installed. Had my electrician do the final wiring to the electrical panel. CTs that came with the unit were damaged and to their credit, Signature Solar sent those right out and a few days later I started up my system. It seemed to be working as intended, and we left town for Thanksgiving. While gone we had guest staying at our house and they called saying the power kept going out. I had to have my electrician come out right away to bypass the system entirely. Had my electrician out again when I returned Dec 2nd to start it back up, but continue to have the problem of my power going out in the evening 1x and coming back on a few seconds later, but in the am when the sun is peeking, it goes off and on like a dozen or more times each morning. One of my ceiling fans no longer works, a little weather station no longer works that I had plugged in, I had a surge protector power strip fail and had a burning smell once in my garage. I have emailed and called signature solar almost daily with them telling me that the ticket is priority and someone will be in touch "soon". What a joke. Anyone have any idea what the problem may be? I think it's possibly a relay of some kind. I have no battery and have the grid wired in to the inverter. I have a 400 amp main service panel on my guest house and a 200 amp "sub panel" on my main home, currently I have the 18k pv in-between both and only feeding my main home with grid supporting the system as needed. It appears to be functioning as intended outside of my sun-up/sundown power disconnection problems.
I turned off my battery to do some work on it, and it pretty much worked like you describe for anything connected to the load terminals. Multiple on-off-on events in under 10 minutes until I threw the transfer switch to bypass, and learned to always have the battery connected.

Do you have no-battery set in the options? I have zero idea if it will make a difference but it might change how it acts when there is no battery.
 
We don't know why it was set up this way and what the settings are but it does sound like a recipe for the reaction he is getting. There is no way the inverter can swap back and forth between low PV input and grid with no interruption without some kind of battery buffer.
I am more disappointed by the installation than by Signature Solar.
And yes a properly licensed and worthwhile electrician is not going to use white wires for the PE.
 
We don't know why it was set up this way and what the settings are but it does sound like a recipe for the reaction he is getting. There is no way the inverter can swap back and forth between low PV input and grid with no interruption without some kind of battery buffer.
My on-grid inverter works fine without battery. Tell me how that happens if it's impossible?
 

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