Troubleshooting a botched solar install

[cabinet_]

My friend is an experienced solar contractor, he inspected a poorly performing system with three Sol-Ark 15K inverters and found mismatched wire colors, faulty MC4 connectors, and possibly bad optimizers. He plans to check for inverter damage next, the original installer vanished after getting paid.

 

[so what's the scenario]

My friend is an experienced solar contractor, he inspected a poorly performing system with three Sol-Ark 15K inverters and found mismatched wire colors, faulty MC4 connectors, and possibly bad optimizers. He plans to check for inverter damage next, the original installer vanished after getting paid.

I feel like your friend has got his work cut out, but at least he knows what to look for. Hope those inverters aren't cooked already. Good luck to you both.

 

[cabinet_]

I feel like your friend has got his work cut out, but at least he knows what to look for. Hope those inverters aren't cooked already. Good luck to you both.

Yeah, it's a mess, but he's methodical, fingers crossed the inverters are still okay, it is just wild how someone could walk away after leaving things in that kind of shape.

 

[energystoragenerd1022]

Sounds like you've been having a tough time, but it's great your friend can troubleshoot. Fingers crossed the damage isn't too bad and those inverters are still good to go

 

[TheBigFour87]

My friend is an experienced solar contractor, he inspected a poorly performing system with three Sol-Ark 15K inverters and found mismatched wire colors, faulty MC4 connectors, and possibly bad optimizers. He plans to check for inverter damage next, the original installer vanished after getting paid.

Before touching anything, my advice is to make sure all three Sol-Ark inverters and the DC input from the panels are completely powered down and locked out. Since the wiring is mismatched, they can't trust the color coding

 

[burnside55]

Before touching anything, my advice is to make sure all three Sol-Ark inverters and the DC input from the panels are completely powered down and locked out. Since the wiring is mismatched, they can't trust the color coding

Thanks for this. What's the safest way to lock out the DC input? Is there a standard method or tool for that? Also, how do you double-check everything's fully powered down before touching wires?