Power-One solar Inverter driving me NUTS!!!

[CapLeaker]

Awesome! Nice to see a success! I think this is another prime example of not giving up too early. AFAIK This is the first one of these Power One Aurora series being fixed on this GFI hard fault. Very well done guys.

[mitsu2k]

Tunnel vision is something that is hard to overcome on occasion I have also had it going down the wrong rabbit hole and when I discussed with my self then I would go down another rabbit hole until I found out what was exactly wrong with the device I was working on but by me saying that I also learned a lot about going down the wrong rabbit hole but the next I do not spend as much time down the wrong rabbit hole if I am not finding the answer that I need to find to figure out what wrong with the device I feel your pain

Thank you Sam, you are correct. This all comes with experience. I certainly learned a lot from this project and I take what I learned into the next project. So it’s all good. Another great thing is this matter has been well documented in this thread so that the next guy having this issue can hopefully find this site and this thread and get a jump start on the issue.

[sam_sam_sam]

Tunnel vision is something that is hard to overcome on occasion I have also had it going down the wrong rabbit hole and when I discussed with my self then I would go down another rabbit hole until I found out what was exactly wrong with the device I was working on but by me saying that I also learned a lot about going down the wrong rabbit hole but the next I do not spend as much time down the wrong rabbit hole if I am not finding the answer that I need to find to figure out what wrong with the device I feel your pain

[mitsu2k]

That is a lot that went wrong with this inverter wow

Yes the two burned components (one diode & one mosfet) were open. The rest of the components in the other side were shorted). I suspect something shorted and went down the line and fried everything else. It ran all day yesterday with no problems and still running good now.

[sam_sam_sam]

They were right next to the crystals. The parts I replaced were:

3 mosfets (SOT-23) One was burned and the other two were shorted.
4 shorted diodes (One was burned) (SOD-323)
3 zener diodes (should have been SOD-323 but I used through hole wire leads instead)

.

That is a lot that went wrong with this inverter wow

[mitsu2k]

Here are some photos. One is before removal of the components and the other is after I removed them and cleaned up the pads.

[mitsu2k]

the parts were in the area i suspected earlier on .i have never seen one of these units in front of me so i could only guess the general area like around an mcu. i should have said look for the clock crystal that's there in most cases next to them .would have been good to know what caused the damage whether it being bad design or bad quality parts etc etc . .

Yes Pete you kept asking for the model of the controller. I should have paid more attention but honestly that board intimidated me and I was too lazy to scrape off all the silicone they coated the board with. I should have listened to you earlier but I had tunnel vision and did not think the problem was on that board. Obviously I was wrong and I learned a lot from you and the other gentlemen. Next time I need to keep an open mind, get over my fear, and be more thorough with visual inspection.

[mitsu2k]

They were right next to the crystals. The parts I replaced were:

3 mosfets (SOT-23) One was burned and the other two were shorted.
4 shorted diodes (One was burned) (SOD-323)
3 zener diodes (should have been SOD-323 but I used through hole wire leads instead)

I had trouble with the zener diodes trying to figure out the marking whether it was "WI" or "W1". neither of these made any sense because my research showed the WI is 12v and W1 is 2.7v but when I found some good ones on the board and tested them, they measured 3.4v and 3.7v. So I had some 3.6v through hole zeners so I just bent the leads and soldered them to the pads. Looks like it did the trick.

[sam_sam_sam]

the parts were in the area i suspected earlier on .i have never seen one of these units in front of me so i could only guess the general area like around an mcu. i should have said look for the clock crystal that's there in most cases next to them .would have been good to know what caused the damage whether it being bad design or bad quality parts etc etc . .

I was wondering the same thing

[petehall347]

the parts were in the area i suspected earlier on .i have never seen one of these units in front of me so i could only guess the general area like around an mcu. i should have said look for the clock crystal that's there in most cases next to them .would have been good to know what caused the damage whether it being bad design or bad quality parts etc etc . .

[sam_sam_sam]

I glad you got it fixed
So what were all of the bad parts did you have to replace that was either burnt out or bad when tested
I am very lazy to go back and read all the posts that were written about this issue with this inverter

[petehall347]

glad you got it fixed .well done .

[mitsu2k]

SUCCESS!!! Replaced those burned components and a few more that were shorted on the logic board and this is the result. I want to give a big shout out and THANK YOU to CapLeaker, SAM_SAM_SAM and Petehall347 for all your help and dedication. You guys are absolutely amazing and I could not have done this without you. THANK YOU!!

[mitsu2k]

What is this component? Anyone know? I think it is a zener but it measures 1v. I cannot make sense whether that is a WI or W1

[petehall347]

2n might be RLSD32A361C tvs esd protection . might not as well . cant find any pics .

[mitsu2k]

Pete, I ordered both anyway one is 50v and the other is 30v. That's the biggest diff I can see.

Mouser order placed. Will arrive Tuesday. Never been so nervous. Lol

[petehall347]

here but its not reading the text now
https://lens.google.com/search?ep=cc...VsbCxbW11dXQ==

[mitsu2k]

But this photo looks like 8. Can you send me a link to what you googled please?
it is SOD-323

[petehall347]

looks like a B and google agrees with me .

[mitsu2k]

Is this an SB or S8?