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Had my Sunpower ACPV setup for about 6 years now and out of a sudden the SolarBridge gateway box decided it will get stuck on "Application starting" every so often. Some times power cycling helps, most of the time it does not. So no panel level data or installer monitoring . I asked the installer for help and was just quoted a new box for $900 or to keep using Sense as I do now. Seems silly for something that smells like a software issue. Any pointers what to try? It boots, checks file system, then goes to Application Starting and sits there
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I have the same type of monitoring system that failed the same way in January (originally installed in 2015). Logging into the monitor's web interface showed the monitor service won't start up. Sun Power has been no help. Two service calls and both times they said the unit was out of warranty. To me this looks like a firmware update that went bad. When you purchased your system did they tell you the monitoring hardware was only covered for 2 years? -
I bugged them again and same story- no support, obsolete.
I may have found a solution though- the thing boots from flash, then appears to go to SD card to load OS/app. So it's possible the card is getting worn after10 years. So I cloned mine to a new card and after thinking for a bit it loaded. So far it's been about 5 days and it is still running. With the old card it would run for a day, reboot and stay at "loading application".
So hopefully this is it. I saw nothing obviously wrong with HW otherwise when I opened it. Seemed well designed. I'll try to post a writeup once I get to it.Comment
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Update- I posted write up of the repair on my blog http://kuzyatech.com/debugging-stuck...er-solarbridge
Comments are welcome!Comment
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Hey there!
I left a comment on your blog but it seems to have got tossed or never made it?
I have a handful of SolarBridge pantheon inverters here that I've been trying to get to communicate with one of the Power Managers.
I pulled up the data sheet for the ST7540, looks like they're running 110kz carrier, FSK, unknown baud rate, SPI between the MCU and the modem. I can hear the phonics of the Tx stage "whining" along with pulses of what I imagine is data. I'm monitoring the CD_PD to see if the unit is detecting any carriers (active low) but it's holding strong at 3.3v
So I'm suspecting I have some compatibility issue between the inverters and the Power Manager.
Additionally the ethernet port acts very strange. If I plug a cable between this and my switch, both green LED light up solid, but no link at my switch. Unplugging this cable, they don't turn off for some time. Obviously the IP address won't refresh out of this process either. I'm wondering if the port is damaged in some way electrically (ESD event, etc).
Your information was very helpful. Unfortunately the further I dig the more I find this system hung by a thread from day one and the acquisition of the company made it all a bit of an orphan. I may try to get the inverters operational for a small array but can't really warrant investing >$200 in a used power manager that likely doesn't work either. I almost did a write up on this project but the power manager may go straight to the parts bin.
Cheers!Comment
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Has the SDcard trick held up ever since? A bad or degrading card definitely makes sense so I really hope that's all I need to get mine stable again.
if not, do folks here have any suggestions as far as replacement devices go? Would it make more long term sense to just invest in an entire new microinverter and monitor system like Enphase?
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For anyone still interested in the SolarBridge manager;
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