Apsystems DS3-L not working

I'm having the same issue. I recently installed 13 DS3-L micro inverters and 9 out of the 13 are not working. I have them paired with 450W Risen panels. I've been following a thread in a French Solar forum where they are discussing problems with APSystems DS3-L inverters with serial numbers between 703000199xxx to 7030003289xx. The 9 micro inverters I have that are not working are in that range of serial numbers.

Mine are in the same range.

Thanks for your post. All my 23 inverters are also In this range.

Did anyone received an update from APsystems or supplier?

APSYSTEMS is replacing my inverters. They say they are apart of a batch of recalled serial numbers.

I’ll receive new inverters this week.

Hjvnoort and Twoink I noticed you are both located in The Netherlands as well.
Is APsystems letting you keep the defective inverters without having to return them? If so, I am willing to have a look at them internally so see what components they changed in this non-functional hardware revision.
Would be great if you guys can contact me via a private message or email (should be in my profile) to discuss this further.

From APsystems’ point of view I understand the repairability in case of a such a hardware issue is complex because of the potting compound that is used to seal the inside of the inverters’ components. However, their current replacement approach results in enormous amounts of e-waste, while many of the inverters’ components are perfectly reusable.

No, I have to return them. (I’m still waiting for the new inverters.)

Interesting. That’s good news, hopefully APsystems is starting to either repair the malfunctioning inverters or reuse most components. Do you need to return them directly to APsystems or the retailer you bought them from?

I spoke with several other affected users in The Netherlands that already received replacement inverters from APsystems but they didn’t have to return them. Soon I’ll receive several of those malfunctioning inverters for further investigation.

Directly to APsystems.

Hi Everyone...Here in Northern Vermont, USA we're also seeing problems with DS3-L microinverters. Thanks to everyone for providing so much insight on your challenges with these units.

Overall, we've been happy with these APSystems DS3-L units. Installation and commissioning was smooth and trouble-free. Power generation performance has met or exceeded expectations, and the Apps seem to be pretty good. We had good luck with the previous YC-600 units, and still have one connected to this array, which I'll explain below.

I'd recommend these units...they are a good value for microinverters...except for one problem we're seeing...


Here is some background:

- 14.6kW Ground Mount Array with 38 modules
- Panels are 365W Adani bifacials mounted on steel racking with excellent ventilation
- 19 APSystems DS3-L microinverters in the UID range of 703000084xxx to 703000093xxx
- ECU in range of 216000058xxx, Current Firmware: 1.2.22
- Grid Profile: ISO New England
- DS3-L units purchased new from Krannich Solar USA (New Jersey office) in mid-July 2022
- System is sized for 25kW for future expansion, so all conductors are significantly oversized (4/0 Al main feeder). Connected directly to meter with line-side-tap. Brand new 25kW transformer and all system wiring.
- POCO has inspected the system and logged power quality at the array at our request. Power quality is nominal. System voltages are consistent with other solar generators in the area, and are well below limits in the DS3-L grid profile. No voltage or frequency excursions or harmonics detected.


Problem:

DS3-L units wake up and produce normally, but at certain times of the day we see episodes of trip-outs that cause multiple units to drop production with a blinking red indicator light. In every case, the units reset automatically and resume normal production.

The number of units that trip-out during an episode range from 1 to 8 or more, (5-60% of array). We have been unable to determine a pattern for which units trip out. It appears to be mostly random.

Interestingly, the trip-outs are most common and repeatable at around 9am and 1pm EST. On most sunny days, we see a dip in production during this timeframe. The pattern is always the same...one or more microinverters showing zero power when neighboring units are producing normally. Zero power on App is verified with blinking red LED on microinverter.


Troubleshooting so far:

- Multiple Grid Profile settings tried...no effect
- Move around ECU unit for better signal strength...no effect
- Wired vs. wireless ECU connection...no effect
- POCO power quality request....they checked:
. Inspected all system wiring between primary (high voltage) lines, transformer, meter, and to solar array...no problems found
. Logged power quality data with professional utility data logger (super awesome shout out to my POCO heros!), and found nominal power conditions.
. Specifically analyzed several days of trip-out behavior and could not identify a corresponding anomaly in the power data...and shard data.
- Compared results to other solar owners in the area with no others experiencing issues in the same timeframe
- Swapped in YC-600 unit in place of a DS3-L unit that experienced multiple trip-out events....zero trip events with YC-600 compared with >10 trips on the DS3-L


Current Status:

- Notified APSystems, waiting on response
- Will monitor firmware updates and share...haven't done that so far
- Continuing comparison of YC-600 to DS3-L....zero trips on YC-600 so far



Does anyone else have experience like this? Is anyone seeing clusters of trip-out events over about an hour at a time?

We're feeling fortunate compared to others that are experiencing defective units. Our units are fine most of the time...loosing maybe 5% production due to trip-out episodes.

Glad to hear others are getting replacements...that's good news!

Regardless of what the power co says, I would check for an
unacceptable rise in voltage AT THE INVERTER OUTPUT.
This would peak at max power, and at this location would trip
out the high line inverter monitors. Once some output goes
off line, the voltage could drop enough for the remaining to
operate. good luck, Bruce Roe

Thanks bcroe for the feedback.

The POCO actually mounted a data logger right on the solar array. It fits behind their solar generation meter and measures the power directly at the solar combiner box.

The APSystems ECU app also reports voltage digitally, and at peak production its about 10V below the microinverter trip limit.

No indications that the trip-out mechanism is voltage related.

It often occurs when the system is well below full production. It almost never trips at full production.

For whatever reason, it seems more time-of-day related.

One more question on the DS3-L units: Using the DIY version, how can you tell what firmware version you have? Do I need the full installer access for this?

There is a secret menu you can access from a web browser; you just need to know the IP address of the ECU on your network (which I found by logging into my network router and looking at the list of connected devices):

To see the firmware version, go to this URL, replacing the IP address at the start with the actual IP address of your ECU:

http://192.168.0.2/index.php/hidden/remoteupdate

There is also a secret menu for the signal strength of the inverters:

http://192.168.0.2/index.php/hidden/signal_level

And there is another one where you can change the zigbee channels the inverters use to communicate with the ECU.

http://192.168.0.2/index.php/hidden/channel

From the top of any of these pages you can also navigate to less-secret pages with other configuration details. As far as I can tell, none of them lead to anything that will make my faulty inverters actually function properly though.

Edit: I found this via another solar forum that is in French; I thought people here might find it useful too. Another secret menu to turn inverters on and off and set power levels is below; it requires a login but user admin and password admin seems to work: