ABB Aurora inverter fault E031 improved fix / repair
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- Опубліковано 23 гру 2019
- An update on the E031 fault fix and improved soldering. Please see my Paypal and Patreon donation links on my channel page.
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My 13-year-old Aurora inverter suddenly showed error E031. While I was searching for a solution I found this video, took my inverter apart, found one of the relay pins had arced so I soldered it according to your instructions and the inverter has been working for a month without a problem. Thank you!
John, thanks for your donation, much appreciated. The solder problem stems from relay contact arcing, and this is initially caused by inverter overheating. I have further videos in this series, including the re setting of the relay contact gaps. You may find this interesting. To keep inverters cool it is helpful to install a small external fan, run on a time switch so it runs every day from (say) 10 am until 6 pm. Cheers
I never comment on youtube but your walkthrough was perfect, fixed my problem saved me $2000 on an inverter
Hi, there's a reason these fail, heat. See my video on extending inverter life to make yours last longer. I hope you have subscribed and you may wish to share your savings, cheers
We followed exactly, same contacts burnt, repaired like this, saved £1200 quoted. Thanks so much❤
Hi, see the rest of this video series, cleaning the contacts and setting the spring tension. Please support more videos, cheers
Hi Andy, I had the E031 fault. Here's the story of my experience and some thoughts about the fault. Solder joints were on the verge of failing. Re-soldered but still no good. A quick search of Ebay only turned up Zettler relays from China. As I preferred a genuine Zettler relay as opposed to a Chinese copy, I chased up a Zettler distributor. About AUD$4 each. Changed all 4 relays and it now works. Thanks for your videos. I have made a donation :) My thoughts about the fault... The hole for the relay's pin is oversize. This is good because it allows for easy removal of the relay, but it is bad because it adds more solder (electrical resistance) between pin and PCB. In my case only one relay pin was faulty and this pin had a small opening in the solder mask, reducing the cross sectional area of solder to conduct the current. I suspect that the joint failed because the current density was too high for the quantity of solder used. As per your suggestion I scraped away the solder mask to increase the CSA of the solder. In hindsight I should have wrapped a piece of tinned copper wire around the relay pin and soldered that to the PCB, as well as opening up the solder mask - just to get the resistance of the joint lower. I disassembled the faulty relay and found that when the contacts were manually closed there was no over-travel of the armature which is required to apply pressure to the relay's contacts. It looks like the hot solder joint allowed the internals of the relay to move due to being overheated. My suggestion is to change the relay regardless as it is almost certainly going to suffer some damage due to the hot joint. I wasn't looking forward to removing the relays as there were massive copper tracks around the relay pins and these tracks are great at sucking heat from the joint. I noticed you used a very large old iron. Not having one of those irons I used my JBC pencil style iron with a 1/4" (6mm) tip. The JBC has a peak power rating of about 170 watts and had no trouble melting the joints which were then attacked with a solder sucker. The over-size holes in the PCB made it easy to get all the solder out. Thanks again for your help.
Hi, thanks for your in depth analysis and for your very welcome donation. I think there are several contributing factors in this fault, several of which you highlighted. Beyond that there is siting of the inverter and cooling. I produced a video on this, extending inverter life. It's great you took the time to fix this inverter and we all learn something by it, subscribed? cheers
Was just at a friends house they’ve just bought and they showed me this fault on their inverter. A quick google and this video came up - whipped the unit off the wall and flipped the board over to find exactly these scorch marks. Easy fix - thanks for your time on posting this. 👍
That's grand, please see my video on cleaning and gapping the relay contacts. Hope you've subscribed, cheers
Andy - thanks for this. Just competed the fix and worked a treat. Just a note that might help others. When I first switched the inverter back on I got a similar but not the same error, which was E013-Wrong Mode). I have 2 solar strings on my setup running independently through the inverter. When I was doing the fix I must have inadvertently pushed the switch on the board from 'Ind' (Independent) to 'Par' (parallel). This switch is just beside the AC input block. Took me awhile to figure this out and thought the fix didn't work - so others might want to take note of the switch setting as they start the fix for their setup.
HI, thanks for your story, yes this has happened to me once, how on earth that little dip switch can get caught as it is protected by the mains terminal block I cannot figure out. However as proved it is possible. Pleased your fix has added to the long list of repaired inverters. Please see the "About" tab on my channel page to return the favour, Subscribed? cheers
Hi Andy, Watched your video after mine stopped working, followed your steps and resoldered like you said after scratching a bit of varnish around the terminals. Now working fine tuck under 2 hours to do the hole job, very pleased. Many Thanks
That's grand.Heat is your problem here. I have fitted external fans on several of my inverters, just a small fan run from a time switch from about 10am to 6pm. Just stops the build up and costs nothing. Snail fans from fan assist ovens work well and are free. Hope you have subscribed. Cheers
Please give this man a Cigar and a Crate of Beer 🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻
I watched his Video , took my Aurora Power 1 Inverter apart and there was the Fault as Advertised
Fantastic
You have saved me a Fortune
Thank You
Also thanks to the Queen for teaching me how to solder, eat your heart out Fairies !!
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks for your enthusiastic comment, I'm pleased you fixed it. Please see my channel page and then under "about" there are other ways to say thank-you as others have also done. It helps with producing more videos. Also please see my video on extending inverter lift and subscribe, cheers.
@@TheInfoworks Thaanks Dave interesting if I get E031.. my problem is that my inverter every few months is not generating, I cycle the power and it then generates, do have a theory to my problem? Best regards Ian
@@snagbuster occasional problems are the most difficult, could be a relay contact problem or general wiring. When it happens check AC in and DC in before you reset, that's a good start. I have found out new details about the Aurora relays, the video will be out soon, cheers
@@TheInfoworks thanks Andy for your reply. My gut feeling is a relay because when it is off line it is trying to connect the array. So the AC is present the DC voltage is present so I think it is a relay. Do you know of any suppliers for the replays please Andy.
@@snagbuster Have the relay covers off and bend the moving contact arm to make sure when the relay operates that the contacts make a good connection. Make sure there is a gap when the relay coil is NOT energized. There will be a video about this soon. I use a dremmel to cut the corners of the relay covers on an Aurora as the covers are glued in place, cheers
Thank you Andy. In one hour start to finish- disconnect, dismount from wall, in the shop, do the repair you illustrated, and back. The array is back on-line and my eleven year old investment is paying its way again without the expense of a new inverter. Thank you for the help!
Hi, that's grand, please see my video on extending inverter life, subscribed? cheers
Thank you so much for posting this. Just fixed my 8 yr old aurora with one new relay as it had burnt the board contacts. My soldering iron was a bit low powered to desolder all the relays so I stopped at one.
Ordered a new iron and will replace the rest next week.
Grand, hope you also have a solder sucker, let me know how you get on, cheers
Andy thanks for this video, saved me getting a new inverter. One resoldered pin and it's all good again.
Ben, thanks for the appreciation, several things: see the other videos in this series as the heat is caused by poor contacts, also see under "about" on my chancel page for other ways of sharing, cheers
Andy you're a champion. I watched your investigation video about 6 months ago and I only just found the motivation to have a crack at your fix. Worked a charm and was easier than I was expecting. Cheers mate
Brilliant, well done. I was hoping to show an easier process. Have you subscribed and seen my grid inverter extending working life video? cheers.
I have just fixed my dad's 11 year old Power One PVI3.6, after watching your (and others) videos.
All four relays were still switching perfectly fine, but one of the PTH holes on one of the relays appears to have burnt out, leading me to think that the fault lies with poor soldering and insufficient solder filling the thru-hole, which causes heating and eventually the solder joint goes high resistance and causes more heating, sometime leading to softening of the relay body around the pin.
I replaced all four relays anyway, and soldered a length of TCW (Tinned Copper Wire) between the two relay pins that are commoned together.
The relays fitted on this unit weren't the Zettler AZ2150W ones, but Omron G8P-1A4P-8G 12V, Zettler were obviously not the only standard fitment parts.
I used Hongfa HF165FD/12-HY1TF available from Rapid Electronics for £1.81 each (inc VAT) . These are actually rated for a greater number of switching cycles than the Zettler ones.
I would also expect the TE Connectivity T9AS1D12-12 to be a suitable replacement relay as well.
Thanks for your video.
Hi, thanks for your detailed comment. The heating starts I suspect from worn contacts arcing. Have you seem my video on resetting the contact gap? cheers
@@TheInfoworks I have, but none of the relays in this one had hi contact resistance, but had a pin completely disconnected from the track, by a burnt out via, so I think the heating occurs the other way round from solder joint up the pin, causing relay contact movement, and therefore increased arcing or non closure
Well done Andy ! When it was mine I put a bigger fan in it , and the housing on a thick alu plate !
Yes the internal fan is not up to the job and comes on too late, cheers
Dear Andy,
Great video, saved us a fortune. Our local solar man wanted to sell us a new inverter for about £1,700, but I followed your video with the resoldering and the E031 fault disappeared. I only had to purchase some Torx screwdrivers for a few pounds. The only problem I experienced, was that the Torx screws were hard to remove. I have subscribed. Thanks a lot.
Hi, thanks for the donation, certainly helps. Please see my other videos on these relays and one on extending inverter life with an external timed fan. I think they are in my solar grid inverter playlist, cheers
Great fix on the E013 fault. followed Andy's instructions, and all now working. Donated and subscribed.
John, that's great news, another inverter fixed. Thanks for the donation, see my video on extending inverter life, and coming up soon a video on the Aurora relay contacts, new info, cheers
Thank you so much for this guide, I did mine yesterday and worked a treat! Was quoted £900 for a replacement as mine was out of warranty
Heather thanks for your appreiation, please see the other videos in this series, including one on the resetting the relay contacts and extending inverter life through better cooling, and of course my paypal link, to say thanks, cheers
Thanks Andy for this video. Saved my 7 year old Aurora and is back up and running. Thank you.
Hi, that's good news, have you seen my video on extending inverter life? subscribed? cheers
Hi Andy - thanks for the video - fixed by resoldering the contacts, and now we're back in business. Cheers!
Andrew, that's grand, some of the heat comes from burn contact in the relay, seem my other videos on this subject and the one on extending inverter life. Hope you've subscribed, cheers
Like the others here, I want to add my sincere thanks for your really helpful video - I opened my inverter and it had identical PCB burn damage as you show on the video and replicated your repair. Everything back to normal and avoided a large replacement bill. I will attempt a donation to you.
Michael, thanks for your story and your donation, both much appreciated. Have you seem my video on extending inverter life, you may find that useful. I hope you enjoy my future uploads, Cheers, Andy
Great video, repair went as described and I am back up and running! Thank You!
Hi, well done, another saved, subscribed? cheers
Had the same problem on my 12 year old AURORA inverter. Slightly different internal set up but followed your guide lines and problem gone, Just saved me $3000 AUD....thanks mate, will buy you beer if you are ever down under..
Brilliant, see the other videos in this series, especially about resetting the relay contact gap. The heat is caused by a poor relay contact arcing. If you feel like sharing the joy, see my paypal link, cheers
Thanks Andy. My 2012 installed inverter was exactly the same with a slightly burnt connection to one pin of one relay. The solder in the connection had been running hot and had slowly oxidised. The burnt varnish scrapped off easily. I removed the old solder with a solder sucker and 60W soldering iron. I re-soldered with a thick layer of solder. All good now.
Jon, splendid, yet another inverter saved from the scrap. There are several reasons for this fault, see my other videos about these relays. I hope you have subscribed, cheers
Hi Andy, I have just repaired mine for a seccond time using your videos on both occaisions.
Thank you so much for posting. I'm now looking to install a solar powered fan below to assist with cooling.Graham, Perth Australia
Graham, just a mains powered plug in timer running a small mains fan will work well. I use the snail fans out of fan assist ovens as they are free, cheers
@@TheInfoworks Thanks Andy, I will source one and install , I have a spare timer, will let you know how it goes.
@@grahamturnbull3815 Grand, I've just fixed another using the relays from one of those Ginlong turbine inverters I investigated recently, cheers
Hi Andy, something to add to this, I have a number of these, I recently bought one with this fault, did the relay repair, and it didn't work. Swapped the board into a known good inverter and it worked. It turns out that the control/logic board had a failed transistor, which activates the relays. I plugged the two boards, set the multimeter for continuity, found the transistors/mosfets which activate the relays, one was shorted, replaced with a salvaged component from a parts board, and we're back in business at a cost of no pence. Happy days. Hope this is useful to someone. Regards
Hi, I think you were lucky, frequently I find there are other problems with blown transistors that caused the fault initially, cheers
I have 4 of these lying around with this fault, fixed the first one today after seeing this video thank you. There is copper tracks on both sides of the PCB to carry the current, adding some copper wire across the high current joints might help reduce the resistance.
Garry, thanks for your comment, I have a video on the relays giving some thoughts on the heat build up from poor connections of the relay contacts and the fix, cheers
Thank you. I have the same issue with my 5kw inverter. The internal is more simpler than than this one. Only one relay that was faulty. I re-soldered the relay that was faulty as well as the other one just for peace of mind. Put it back together and it worked 🎉. Thanks again for the video 👍.
Hi, another inverter saved, the heat can be caused by burnt relay contacts, please see my other videos on this subject and my channel funding options, cheers
another excellent video Andy
Cheers
Have two of these Andy, 3.2kw wind and 6kw solar inverters. Great info as always. On the solar inverter I have two fans one blowing at the heat sink and another extracting from the enclosure to dissipate heat which reaches over 50°C
Heat is the killer of electronics.
Happy holidays 🎄🎄🎄
Jim, yes the cooler the better and the fans run on a timer is very practical, cheers
I just checked mine (error started this morning) 20 minutes total including resoldering one terminal on the relay, self test is now error free... Many many thanks.
Brilliant, thanks for your note, I hope you have subscribed and liked, maybe buy one of my books, see my channel page, cheers
Thanks for the advice. Saved me replacing the inverter or paying someone else to repair it. Sent you a donation.
Matthew, that's brilliant that you fixed it and saved another inverter from the scrap. Many thanks for your appreciation and generous donation, it really makes a difference, I hope you keep safe, cheers
Thank you - fixed my 5 year old inverter at a time when its nearly impossible to get someone out.
Hi, that's grand, another fixed and energy saved, subscribed and liked? cheers
Big thank you for this video. You saved me $$$$
Shaun, that's grand, I hope you have subscribed and there are ways of returning the favour, cheers
Hello Andy, Very good job! I just purchase an Aurora Powerone and wanted to see what to expect. Hopefully this issue won't happen for a while, but if and when it does, I know how to fix the problem. It seems that these GT inverters are very well made otherwise. I'll only be running mine at about 60%, so hopefully it will stay a bit cooler. I very much appreciate your videos and the other Andy's comment about switching out the relays. I'll be watching some of your other videos on extending the life of grid inverters. CHEERS!
Hi, thanks for your encouraging words. About 60% is ideal for any inverter and mounted in a cool, well ventilated area (not in the loft). I hope you have subscribed, cheers
Thank you very much . Great helpful video. Hopefully saved me alot of money 💰👍🏻
Dave, there are other videos in this series and one about "tuning" the relay contacts. Also see video about extending inverter life and my paypal link, subscribed? cheers
Thank you!! Saved me £1500
Kirstein, brilliant news, another inverter saved. Please see my video on extending inverter life to keep you inverter working well. I hope you have liked and subscribed, if you wish you can share your positive experience on my Paypal button, cheers
Thank you Andy. I couldn't believe that with a simple soldering I could cancel E031. But it's true.
Hi, see my other videos on extending inverter life and setting the relay contacts. My recent on the Solis inverter has the same relays and gives more detail. Hope you have subscribed, cheers
Addendum to comment I posted 3 weeks ago that may be useful for repairers. During my repair, I also checked the operation of the 4 relays on the board while no power was connected. The coil resistance ranged from 120 - 130 ohms on my multimeter and this matched the specs I found on the web. I then applied 12 volts to the two small coil pins and make the relay click. I then clipped on my multimeter to the large contacter pins and got either open circuit with no 12 volts on the coil pins, or 0.2 ohms with 12 volts on the coil pins. One of the relays made the clicking noise but failed the 0.2 ohm test with contacts closed. I replaced this relay with exact replacement for $6 plus $5 postage. A second option was to hack in a 250 volt relay 12 volt coil with spade terminals that could be purchased at a local electronics store.
Thanks Jon, good extra info, cheers
Andy, thanks for the information - I think you just saved me a lot of time / money.
However, I'd like to throw in my 2 cents worth. Having repeatedly repaired the relay connections in Nissan window regulators it's worth taking the time to scrape the relay pins back to bare metal and re-tin them when you solder. Otherwise - as has been my experience - the resistance in the joint is still present, so it gets hot and the dry joint recurs. Cheers
Wayne
Wayne, thanks for your experience, i found increasing the contact area will reduce the resistance, but overall it is heat that is a problem. I uploaded a video about increasing inverter life where cooling is covered along with array size, see my solar inverter playlist, cheers
Sorted mine, thanks for the info. Just one burned through connection on mine, no evidence at this point of others showing stress.
David, a big "thanks" for your kind donation, much appreciated. Your fault may have been caused by the recent strong sunlight and heat. Please see my video on extending inverter life, all the best and hope you have subscribed, cheers, Andy
@@TheInfoworks you're most welcome and yes, I'll take a look at the video on extending. I was pleased to detect the failure today on the day of failure, rather than months later and lose FIT payments! :)
Thanks Andy .
Steve, hope you fixed it and watched my video on extending inverter life, cheers
Thanks Andy. Now going to investigate!
Grand, see all the videos in this series. The heat is generated from poor contacts in the relay, see my video about resetting the contact arm, cheers
@@TheInfoworks All fixed! Just waiting for some sun. I feel I owe you a drink, but I don't do Paypal. Any ideas please.
@@frankw8117 Frank, I have a patreon account or you could buy my books, see my channel page, cheers
Than you keep up the good work 👍
Hi, the heat comes from burnt relay contacts, change if in doubt, cheers
great, that worked!! :)
Splendid. The problem comes from poor inverter cooling, so keep it cool. See my video on extending inverter life and adjusting the relay contacts. Hope you have subscribed, cheers
Hi Andy. Thanks to your video my Aurora has stopped clicking and is now working again. You would think that with so may problems of the same type that the manufacturer would admit that there is a fundamenal design fault in their board layout and choice of relay used. It would be useful to know where to obtain a spare relay from just in case it does actually develop into a relay fault and not just an overheat and burn fault on the PCB track. Many thanks again. PS : you shuld really invest in a temperature controlled soldering iron and retire your welding chisel.
Those big irons have their place.
Hello Andy, Great video, thank you very much for helping and sharing. My question relates to the extent of the burnt contacts. My contacts are more significantly burnt than the ones you show, do you think it's OK to follow the same procedure?
Hi, I've created a video on changing the relays and one on adjusting the relay contacts, have a look at those. You may with to change the relay as the heat come mainly from arcing contacts. Also see my video on extending inverter life in my inverter playlist. Subscribed? cheers
I just repair my aurora pvi 5000 OUTD-S as you show
in video and save me from buying a new one. Thank you.....
Hi, that is good news, keep your inverter cool, maybe add an external fan controlled by a time switch. Did you see my Paypal link? cheesr
Hi Andy, I have an old Aurora PVI-5000-OUTD-AU 5KW solar inverter that I was hoping to repurpose. I was wondering if I could connect a battery to the PV in puts on the inverter. The battery can handle the load and the voltage is in the correct range for the inverter. The issue I see is controlling the current.
Hi, yes you are right to think about current flow but grid inverters need a mains signal to work so they won't start without a mains connection. If you wanted to put DC from a high voltage battery pack into one then some form of resistance would be needed to reduce the current flow and this would be wasteful. These cannot be used in a stand alone situation, cheers
Hi Andy. Fantastic job. I used it to fix three of the relays a year ago and it worked perfectly! Thank you!! However, the 4th one just blew and when I did the same thing, and hooked it back into the panels/grid, the screen is blank and nothing happens. Any thoughts? If I grab a DC powerpack from work could I safely check everything out in the workshop, without having to hang it back on the wall and attach to panels?
Jeff, Hi, Check out my other videos on extending inverter life and Aurora zettler contact repair. You will need a variable power supply that goes up to at least 150v DC to test a grid inverter, a high voltage battery will be dangerous and maybe allow too much current to flow, subscribed? cheers
@@TheInfoworks Thanks a lot Andy. I can get a DC power pack that goes up to 200volts. I can limit the current coming out too-what would be.a safe value do you think?
@@jeffbabon855 Hi, you won't need much to check the inverter is working, half an amp at 150 volts is 75 watts. I normally just work on voltage and adjust it when the inverter starts, cheers
Came home to E031 today, fixed in under an hour thanks so much. Now should I take my other one apart and redo the relay joints before it breaks?
Hi, thanks for your experience, the problem is cooling, have you seen my video on extending inverter life? Please see the "about" button on my channel page and see the links, Cheers
Hello, 3000 watt full sinus inverter fault light is on. When the inverter is turned on, a relay tripping sound is heard, then the fault light is on, what do you think could be the problem?
Hi, it's the relay contacts, look through my inverter playlist for a video about this, cheers
Hi Andy, im a solar technician. I will attempt to do this for costumers since there is a long wait of a back log from ABB. Did you have to replace the relay or just fixing the solder joints fixed it?
Ron, for your application I would replace the relays as some of the heat comes from damaged relay contacts, see my video on resetting the relay contacts. I hope you have subscribed, cheers
I've been seeing this error often . Did you try this method?
I was wondering if it was possibly the plate through holes in the circuit board, with the relay removed there is a large section of copper on both sides of the board that has to be connected to the relay pin that is getting hot, I was think that this plate through hole might be failing.
Hi, that may well be the case, some of the double sided tracks are parallel connections, flowing solder on to the tracks is definitely a good idea, as is de-tuning the unit and improving the cooling. See my video on extending inverter life, cheers
Hi, only one relay burnt and one connection burnt out soldered it but same fault! Tried adjusting relay connection by cutting off top part of relay while still on board. Still same? 031 fault..
Any suggestions thanks..
Max, try looking at the contacts on the other relays, seems to me one of them is not making good contact. Please let me know how you get on, cheers
Hello Andy
I have repaired my Aurora inverter (with the help of your videos). I removed and replaced the two relays that were the problem. I have opened one of the relays to find out why it failed. I observed the following, the contacts were not burned as I had expected. The pin that had overheated was the connection for the moving contact which is thermally speaking a long way from the contacts. My conclusion was that the internal electrical resistance of the copper spring (which carries the current) was the source of the heat. I believe that it is not if it will fail again but when will it fail again.
I have an idea that I would like you to comment on.
Replace each of the relays with two of the same type on a new circuit board mounted within the enclosure.
This circuit board could be 0.1 inch matrix stripboard (epoxy nor bonded paper), the solenoid pins will go through the holes but the holes for the contact pins will need to be opened up.
The solenoids are 12 volt rated and I measured 95mA when connected to a 12 volt power supply.
I would suggest that to minimise radiated interference that the relay contacts be connected using wires twisted together (a twisted pair) ( to the new circuit board) and that to equalise the current to the two relays that the wires on the pcb to the contacts be of equal length (this will equalise the resistance).
Reasons to consider not doing this modification
1/ Its messy, If you don't know what you are doing it is also dangerous (I am a retired electronic engineer)
2/ Is there enough drive capability in the control circuit to drive two relays (maybe four if the two original relay coils are connected together)
3/ Where do you fit it. I believe that a metal mounting plate could be made that fitts onto the bottom two screws of the plate holding the circuit board. (don't droll the box as that would have a negative effect on the waterproofing)
4/ Will it cause unexpected problems or cause permanent damage to the inverter
There are probably other negatives that I have not considered (I have not tried doing this yet, but I am bidding on a website for cheap inverters with E031).
If you would like to contact me directly I live near St Andrews in Fife and my phone no. is easy to find.
Regards
P.T. Bell
Peter, thanks for your comment, my thoughts are that this problem is caused by a combination of heat build up, design, and lead free solder. I see the forward is to use lead solder spread over the large and heavy track, to only use 3 Kw of panels, to mount the inverter in a well ventilated and cool area, and to add an external cooling fan controlled by a timer so it runs between (say) 11am and 5 pm. Cheers, Andy
Hello Andy
I don't believe that leaded solder would prevent the problem, (I have seen the same effect many years ago on equipment that I was maintaining, long before leadfree solder was introduced.)
I have made a youtube video on removing a relay, the title is "Removing a relay from an Aurora 3.6 KW inverter" I have also made a youtube video called "rectifier investigation" that you might find interesting. I am at the moment uploading "Aurora relay failure mode investigation" which will be available later today.
Regards
Peter
Hi Andy , I've got an Aurora 3.6, and it won't power on at all , just stopped working suddenly at noon . Do they have a main fuse on the board ? Or do you think something else will have blown ?
Well I took it to bits and it looks like one of the zettler relays pins has melted through the plastic insulating sheet and shorted onto the back panel. The main fuse in the fusebox had tripped, so I'm just wondering now whether I can get away with replacing the relay or whether it would have taken anything else with it.?
@@paulwcarr Paul, yes replace the relay and see my video on extending inverter life, cooling is very important, cheers
have you tried to add that heat sink tape turning the back plate into a heatsink?
Hi, the heat should not be there. It is a product of arcing contacts, see my video on re-setting the contact gaps, cheers
Fixed my cold solder on the relay. Just one little black burnt spot was arcing. Now I have a arc sensor failure. My arc sensor test always passed before I resoldered the relay.. any ideas?
Hi, I have a video in this playlist showing the cleaning and setting of the relay contacts. Damaged relay solder joint is caused by relay arcing which is caused by excess current, switching off at high power due to poor cooling, cheers
So I need to replace the relays? Or cut the tops off and clean the contacts? I'm leaning towards my wiring causing the arc . They were very tight in the conduit. May have caused a arc between wires
The relay pins are far enough apart so that there should be no solder spill. Try taking the tops off the relay with the burnt / melted solder and check the contacts as per my video, cheers@@robrocha420
Just tried the repair, including replacing one faulty relay. Now got an E-019 error which comes up more or less immediately (no sound of relays operating). Any clues on how to fix this? Thanks
Alistair, just check all those connections and makes sure all the spade connections are right. The ribbon can give problems, especially if you disconnected it both ends. I have a vague suspicion that it has to be the right way round. Also track damage around the replaced relay, especially the very fine coil connections, cheers
the control board will need the fet replaced that drives the relay
My aurora 5000 failed with E31 after 5 years and 9 months. Couldn't get a warranty repair on it, so I tracked down the relays and fixed it myself. My fix lasted exactly 4 years, but unfortunately this morning E31 has returned. Not sure if I'll fix it again, or just get a better inverter.
Hi, just a few thoughts: is there more than 5Kw of panels? and what is the inverter cooling like, if it is mounted in a place that gets warm this can have a significant effect. I always run inverters below spec. and make sure there is ample cooling, sometimes adding a supplementary fan, cheers
Andy and others, I have a problem! 031 errror.
Soldered up burnt solder, still error, then removed burnt relay and saw coil burnt inside. Also saw copper tracks coming away either side of board where burnt.
Replaced burnt relay and checked other 3 relays, all had same resistance on coil and made circuit when 12v currrnt passed, so only replaced one relay
As well as soldering in relay, I added copper wire jumpers to tracks.
Checked connections all good.
Sttill 031 error.
Any idead snyone?
Hi, I have had this before and traced it down to poor contacts in another relay. See my video on setting the contact gaps. I have several other videos covering this problem. I hope you will subscribe and remember me when you fix it. Cheers
@@TheInfoworks Thank you Andy. I have tested the 3 other relays in situ and the coils all have re same resistance as the new one. When I connect a 12v current to the coils I hear the contacts close and resistance across all contacts is virtually zero. Do you think that changing the he other 3 will do it? Or could there be something else?.....Steve
@@STEVEACER777 If his were mine I would remove the old relay covers, clean the contacts and adjust them to give good contact thrust. No point changing them if the fault is elsewhere. I think you may get no resistance but with a load this breaks down. Cheers
Thank you Andy, I have a lot of relays on the way, so I think I will change the lot and beef it up a bit at the same time. I know the inverter has been standing for quite a while so contacts could be bad. I am not as good as you with a Dremel so will change instead thanks for your help ..Steve
Andy, not got that one going yet, but have another that is dead apart from when the DC is contected there is a ticking sound like a clock. Any ideas?.....Steve Ps. When the DC is disconnected the ticking gets slower and slower before stopping.
Any advice for fault e010 and e012?
Hi, sorry I have not dealt with these codes. SAE group website has a list of the codes but they don't mean that much. Cheers.
saegroup.com.au/abb-power-one-aurora/
Thanks, you're a gent!
Hi, also see my videos on setting the relay gaps, replacing the relays, and extending inverter life, subscribed? cheers
Hi, i have this error "ABB Aurora inverter int error E033" cant find anywhere in internet how to fix it, any idea how to fix it?
Hi, sorry, not come across this, cheers
@@TheInfoworks its suposed to be temperature error
Hello Andy My inverta died yesterday with E031 messaging. It is a PVI-12.5-outd-AU 3 Phase unit. Will your fix be the same for my unit??
Kevin, as this is 3 phase there will be some differences, however it is commonly the DC relays that are a problem. Best thing to do is inspect all the relay connections and see where this takes you, subscribed? cheers
@@TheInfoworks Hello Andy. I followed your advice. The just soldering did not work so I sourced a new relay and replaced burnt one and the unit is back up and running perfectly. Thank you so much Andy!!!!. I have sent you a donation. Regards Kev
Kev, brilliant and well done, self reliance improved. I hope you have seen my video on extending inverter life (it's important to keep inverters cool) and thanks for the kind donation, much appreciated, cheers
Hi Andy would you be able to fix my inverter circuit board if i was to send to you and pay ?
Hi, sorry no but there was someone on Ebay UK that was offering this service, however there are at times working Aurora inverters on Ebay for about £120, cheers
Another take on repairing this inverter: ua-cam.com/video/NSEy6JwYGtw/v-deo.html
Hi, thanks for the heads up, those were bad relay faults caused by poor inverter installation creating over heating and switching off on full DC load. Interesting extra details, cheers
Sir how to repair abb inverter fault code-0035
Hi, I'm guessing here from a brief bit of research, your problem may be an isolation fault, meaning that there is some very small track to ground on the DC side. This can be a cable in a wet place and high voltage DC leaking to earth. This is just a guess so don't hold me to it, see my video on isolation faults, cheers
Hi, you dont happen to know the part number by any chance?
Hi, sorry no, never looked, but others have changed theirs so you may wish to contact them on their comment, cheers
Soldering fails due to relay failing and producing excessive heat on terminal. Always replace relays with a new ones. Relpol 40A relays are cheap and should last a lifetime.
HI, I agree that the heat is produced from the relay contacts but have found ways to reset these and their spring pressure, cheers
Code E027
Don't know
@@TheInfoworks Er 027