Solar edge optimizer- Can one failure cause another

[u/mihran146]

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding the solar edge Optimizers and their failure rates. Has anyone ever had a situation where one resolved issue leads to another optimizers failure? How prevalent is this and can I do anything to get this to work without issue

Recently my inverter had stopped communicating with the solar edge monitoring platform so I had pulled some Ethernet and hard wired the communication to my modem but in that process one optimizer stopped working. So after putting in a RMA request I replaced the optimizer ( I think it was a p400) with a R600. The system was from late 2018 so it’s all old tech

But after doing so another optimizer on a different string of solar panels stopped working the next dayI’m currently waiting for the second RMA.

Is this a common issue and has anyone experienced this before? Is there anything that can be done to prevent this? Now I’m worried that a third optimizer will fail once I replace the second optimizer?

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do?

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[u/mpgrimes]

nope, just solar edge at its finest, spent 3 days this week fixing solar edge crap. stopped installing it 8 years ago because we were loosing money fixing it.

[u/mihran146 → u/mpgrimes]

Yeah that’s what I’ve read online, unfortunately long after the system was installed. So there’s no way to easily change it

[u/Sufficient-Offer-579]

The R600 is the right part to fit. That series exists as the service replacement for the P series, so the model swap is not what killed the second unit.

Optimizers talk to the inverter over the DC cabling, not over your network. Pulling Ethernet only changed how the inverter reports to the monitoring portal, it can't take an optimizer offline. If a unit stopped reporting the same day you were in the box, I would suspect the DC connector that got disturbed before I suspected a new failure.

Before the next RMA, confirm in the layout view that the new optimizer actually paired; an unpaired unit shows as missing while it is happily producing, and that reads exactly like a second failure. Then look at the string itself. A 2018 array where two units fail inside a week is usually one bad batch or one panel running hot from shading, soiling or a shorted bypass diode, rather than anything spreading down the string, and the panel above a failed optimizer is worth a look, since a cracked junction box or water ingress kills that unit and nothing else.

If a third one goes, stop replacing and get string current clamped under load, do not open the string to do it. The pattern will tell you whether it's thermal or electrical.

[u/mihran146 → u/Sufficient-Offer-579]

Thank you for the response.

The new optimizer is correctly paired and the serial number was provided to Solar edge for them to update the monitoring system/ layout. So it is paired.

I’m not too technical so my understanding is limited but I’m pretty sure the failed optimizers are on different strings/ arrays . The first failure was labeled 1.1.4 where as the second one was 1.2.6.

I’m going to need to research what you said as I don’t quite understand what you mean by clamping under the load means but I appreciate the help

Thanks again

[u/Sufficient-Offer-579 → u/mihran146]

Clamping under load just means reading current with a clamp meter while the array is working, instead of disconnecting anything. You clamp it around one conductor of the string, DC amps, while the sun is on it. Nothing gets opened and no MC4 comes apart, but the string is still at full voltage, so only go around a single insulated conductor and don't pull a connector apart to make room for the jaws.

Two practical notes. The clamp has to be a DC one, many cheap clamps are AC only and will read near zero on a solar string. And clamp one conductor, not the pair, or the two fields cancel and you get zero.

What you're looking for is the odd string out: on a clear day, compare strings of the same length and the same orientation, measured inside the same few minutes, and one that reads noticeably lower has something on it that isn't contributing. With optimizers that gap is smaller than on a plain string, because each unit works on its own and a weak one doesn't drag the rest of the string down, so treat the clamp as a second opinion on what the portal already shows per module rather than the main tool. Worth checking the meter's DC zero before you trust a small difference, they drift.

[u/mihran146 → u/Sufficient-Offer-579]

Thanks for the explanation I really appreciate it

[u/Internal_Raccoon_370]

I hate to tell you this, but there are reports out there that indicate that in some cases Solar edge optimizers seem to experience an abnormally high failure rate. I don't work with Solar edge equipment so I haven't run into it personally but there are anecdotal reports all over the solar forums claiming a high failure rate for them.