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mclgeneragl asked

SmartSolar Charge Controller MPPT 150/35 MPPT Error #28 Power stage issue Q2

Reference my previous question...

SmartSolar Charge Controller MPPT 150/35 MPPT Error #28 Power stage issue - Victron Community (victronenergy.com)

So I've sent my unit in for warranty, and the repair station is telling me I've overloaded it and caused the damage - Warranty Denied.

I suspect the unit was faulty from original manufacture, because I was never able to produce the power expected. Originally I had 8 solar panels and could only produce about 500 Watts. Here’s a typical screen shot under full sun…

8-panel-configuration.png

Since I was never producing more than about 500 watts with my bank of 8 panels, I decided to go up to 16 panels. The spec sheet says that if more power is connected, the controller will limit input power. I made sure I didn’t exceed the 150V and 40 amp input maximums. VOC is only 109.6V with 4 panels in series, and ISC is only 35.92 with 4 panels in parallel. Shouldn’t the MPPT be able to handle this setup?

mppt-150-35-spec-sheet.png

solar-panel-spec-sheet.jpg


MPPT Controllerserror
8-panel-configuration.png (42.6 KiB)
mppt-150-35-spec-sheet.png (120.0 KiB)
solar-panel-spec-sheet.jpg (33.4 KiB)
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2 Answers
wkirby avatar image
wkirby answered ·

I can't really see how you could have "overloaded" it. Further, how could they tell?
You can only go over the Voltage limit - which you have not according to the PV module specifications.
It's unlikely that Isc could have been exceeded even with cloud edge. I suspect if this did happen that there would be more of a catastrophic failure and some of the smoke would have come out.

The description for error 28 says that the unit should be replaced, simple solution. I think your repair station should simply process the warranty and get you back in business.

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mclgeneragl avatar image mclgeneragl commented ·
Thanks @WKirby, I really want to get the system working again, but I’m hesitant to buy Victron again if they don’t honour their warranty.
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Paul B avatar image Paul B mclgeneragl commented ·
I Agree with Wkirby, I am Sure that Victron would replace the unit without issue.
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mclgeneragl avatar image
mclgeneragl answered ·

I pressed the issue with the repair station. They submitted the unit to Victron for warranty consideration and the unit was replaced under warranty. I bought a second unit and will now run only 1600 Watts on each. Thanks for your help on this @WKirby and @Paul B.

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Related Resources

MPPT Product Page

MPPT Error codes

MPPT 150/60 up to 250/70 Manual

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic