You may have noticed an abnormal display/blinking red fault light on your power inverter. You are panicking and surprised why the light keeps on coming on. Continue reading to find out the reason behind the red fault light and how to fix it.
The red fault light indicates a fault in the system and we shall be talking about the type of faults that can make our inverter display this light.
A red fault light on the inverter indicates low battery voltage, high battery voltage, or even an overload of the inverter. So let’s talk about how these mentioned factors can result in our inverter displaying a red fault light
Possible causes of red fault light on our inverter..
The inverter battery voltage is too low below the inverter voltage.
When the battery voltage is not equal to the inverter voltage, the inverter will not work and will display a red fault light. Let’s say your inverter is 12V and the 12V battery you use in powering it drains below this 12V. Then the inverter will not work, it will be showing a fault light.
What is the possible cause of a battery draining below its voltage rating even when the solar panels are charging it?
The system charge controller may be faulty, causing the battery, not to charge. So when we keep using the battery in this condition, it will cause the battery to discharge too low below its voltage rating. When this happens the fault light will come up on the power inverter.
Another possible cause of this may be a brown fuse on the inverter or the damaged isolator. When this happens it led to the battery not charging appropriately.
How to fix the issue of low battery voltage.
Test the battery voltage using a multimeter to know its voltage and the solar panel supplying voltage. When the battery is low consider another alternative to charging it or another power source. Some high-quality inverters are hybrids and can charge the battery with their inbuilt controller.
How to test solar battery using a multimeter.
Wrong connection of the batteries to the inverter.
To connect solar batteries to the inverter, always make sure to match the correct voltage of the battery and the inverter. For instance, when using a 24V inverter and you want to connect batteries. Make sure the batteries you are connecting to the inverter are 24V. The same goes with 12V, or 48V connections.
When we mismatch the battery connection, the inverter will not power on and the red fault light will continue to be on. Indicating that something is wrong with the batteries.
Again, mind the polarity of the battery to the inverter. When the polarity is not properly connected well it can lead to severe faults in the system.
Overloading of the inverter.
Yes, when the loads connected to the inverter are greater than the inverter, it will force the inverter to shut down. You may use a high-rating inverter but input energy coming from the battery of the solar panels doesn’t meet up with output energy. This will automatically shut down the inverter living the red fault light to be on. For example, you may be using a 300watts of inverter and you decide to load it 350watts of load, the inverter will just shut down.
So monitor the load you connect to the inverter making sure it does not exceed your inverter ratings.
When the inverter has already shut down because of overload, you need to remove the load and restart the inverter before it starts working again. Disconnect all loads and allow it cool for about 30 minutes before you turn it on again. Gradually add up the load so as not to overload it again. This will work out for you so far as an overload that causes the inverter to shut down.
High voltage on the system.
Most of the time, when the load on the inverter drops, the voltage of the DC source rises dramatically passing high voltage to the inverter. When the inverter senses the voltage, its over-voltage protector isolates the voltage from the inverter. But not all inverters have over-voltage protection built-in into them to execute that function. So when the DC source becomes isolated from the inverter, the inverter fault light will then come out. Indicting that the battery is no longer in order.
the solution to this is to add up some load and restart the inverter so it starts working again. To reset the inverter long press the power button for about 30 seconds. For the inverter to reset. But when after resetting it the problem persists, then is time to consult electrical technicians to fix the malfunctioning component of the inverter.
Rise in inverter temperature.
Most time during the inverter operation, the temperature tends to rise due to the temperature of the area is installed. Or the malfunction of the built-in inverter fan for cooling.
When the temperature of an inverter rise above 113 F (45 C ) it starts to experience overheating. Which will later cause the red fault light to turn on after some hours forcing the inverter to trip off.
The normal temperature to maintain where the inverter is installed should not be higher than 80F – 90F (30C 35 C). The provisions of cooling fans or air conditioning in the installation room will help regulate and keep the system at normal temperature. That’s for the systems with no built-in cooling system.
Hardware failure can still cause the inverter red fault light.
Yeah, some hardware components of a power inverter can have failure maybe as the device gets old. This is normal for our electrical equipment. Some sparks of lighting can cause some of its components to get burned.
The best solution for an inverter hardware failure is to consult the electrical skill personnel who can help you fix the inverter.
In summary on how to prevent inverter red fault light.
Before installing the inverter, try and go through the manuals very well, to understand its method of installation. This will guide you on how much load to connect to the inverter.
Monitor the battery by checking the voltage regularly. The voltage level of the battery always displays In a charge controller or you make use of a digital multimeter to read the battery terminals.
Make the inverter installation room to be more ventilated by installing a cooling fan there. This is to avoid a high rise in the temperature of the system.
make sure the battery cable connecting to the inverter is firmly connected. To avoid partial contact that could lead to the display of a red fault light.
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