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  • 1.  Photovoltaic Clicking Sound

    ASES Life Member
    Posted 03-12-2021 03:00 PM
    I have an Aurora power one PVI 3.6 OUTD-S-US synchronous inverter with 14 Canadian panels for 3.8kW of power.  Every morning when the sun rises,  the inverter starts clicking LOUDLY at about 1 second intervals.  Either it gets quieter or the background noise gets louder, but there just the faintest hint of it once the sun is up and hitting the panels at a better angle.

    Is that my imagination?  Does anyone know what is going on?  My understanding of solar angles and Architecture is pretty good.  My understanding of the quirks of particular pieces of equipment is nil.

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    Marc Schiler
    Professor
    marcs@usc.edu
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  • 2.  RE: Photovoltaic Clicking Sound

    ASES Life Member
    Posted 03-15-2021 08:35 AM
    I have Outback Power charge controllers that do the same thing in the morning when they're "waking up".  My understanding is there's a mechanical relay inside that disconnects your solar array from the inverter part of your equipment when the sun goes down, and in the morning when the "solar detection" part of your inverter senses voltage coming in, it tries to close the relay (click!).  If there's inadequate sunlight then voltage and current flow will drop when the connection is made (loads being fed from your inverter will cause this), causing the relay to drop out (click!).  This cycling will continue until there's enough solar input to keep voltage and current at sufficiently high levels to stay connected to the inverter half of your Aurora device.


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    Mike Curran
    Retired from (dare I say it?) Fossil Plant Mgt.
    joacchim57@gmail.com
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  • 3.  RE: Photovoltaic Clicking Sound

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-15-2021 08:57 AM
    I have the same inverter but the win version. Company long gone... now ABB and no support for any Aurora "stuff" My Wind inverter used to click like that. I found there seemed to be a temperature relationship. When the inverter was cold and power was low. Do you notice a relationship with yours regarding the actual temperature of the inverter and the clicking?

    .....Bill

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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
    fcfcfc@ptd.net
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  • 4.  RE: Photovoltaic Clicking Sound

    ASES Life Member
    Posted 03-22-2021 10:34 AM
    Yes, that's true.  I'll have to start paying more attention to that.

    What concerns me is that anything that is clicking that loudly is going to wear out, eventually.  As you have noted, there is no support for this device.  Ripping out a part of a system is... basically impossible.  No one around here will touch it.  They'll sell me a new one or add onto this one (actually just bypassing it) but no one is interested in figuring anything out.  And even if the solenoid were replaceable, it would be nearly impossible to find unless it is an off-the-shelf piece that Aurora used.


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    Marc Schiler
    Professor
    marcs@usc.edu
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Photovoltaic Clicking Sound

    ASES Life Member
    Posted 03-23-2021 10:19 AM
    If I recall from one I installed many years ago, the setup includes an option to switch between two channels in order to reduce wear and tear of only running on one channel if setup with feeding in on a single string...
    If the frequency of switching is a new development, I would wonder if there has been a reduction in the string voltage from the original install. If the voltage drop is small I believe it would be more noticable at times of reduced sunlight and early/late in day...
    Even though the original installer and company is gone, you still should be able to find a professional (NABCEP certified?) to check equipment voltages at various points along a string and  compare to the posted signage and specs left with the original installation....
    Did you save the operating manual?

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    Gail Burrington
    proprietor
    Burrington's Solar Edge
    Windsor Locks CT
    solaredge@yahoo.com
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Photovoltaic Clicking Sound

    ASES Life Member
    Posted 03-30-2021 05:07 AM
    Got up early this a.m. and caught the clicking sound of my Outback Power FM80 charge controller on video.  https://youtu.be/QdRzyt5W5Yc  Note the first of 2 clicks in this video occurs at around 1:20, at the transition from "snoozing" to "wakeup" (if you watch closely there's a very short "sleeping" interval in between these), then the display shows a silent transition to "tracking", then a final click at "low light", then another silent transition to snoozing.  If this sound isn't a relay then I don't know what it is.  

    Note the cycle I caught on video was the second one I witnessed this a.m., and there was a third cycle after this one.  I'm certain this cycling occurs every morning and is normal for my equipment.  I suspect it's also normal for other manufacturers' MPPT devices at wakeup.

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    Mike Curran
    Retired from (dare I say it?) Fossil Plant Mgt.
    joacchim57@gmail.com
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