weded relays xantrex xw6048

[Flash]

i bought a xantrex xw6048 inverter, about 5-6 years ago, live off grid, no warranty now...ran great up, and until 3 days ago...has a message that says fault 19 welded relays...i can not reset it...have disconnected batteries...it did the same thing about 2 years ago, and i was able to get it back up and running...i am in california, xantrex has no technical people in california, they want to charge me $1,200 for a new relay board, no warranty with the relay board, or resell me another unit for $2,300...i believe i paid around $4,000 at the time i purchased the original....my generator is a caterpillar 55kw olympian...48 volt system...i am wondering if i should just buy an appolo tsw 4048 which has a 5 year warranty for $1,748...any ideas on what i can do...advise, flash

[Sunking]

What battery capacity are you running? 48 volts at what Amp Hours?

You battery relay board contacts have welded together and are toast. I am very familiar with the Apollo TSW 4048 system and use a lot of them at remote Cell Phone tower sites and if you are using 48 volt batteries you need at least 700 AH capacity @ 48 volts, especially with that overkill of a generator you have. They are excellent units.

That genny you have is way overkill for your system and eats a lot of fuel. It will work but way more than you need. I estimate you only load it up to 5 to 10% of its capacity. If burning LPG will consume around 110 CFH or about 5 times more than necessary. Ouch!

What I will suggest is you find you a good electrician to take a look at the relay board to look at the Relay. Quite possible it is a standard Relay and can be replaced easily and locally. I expect the relay cost is around $100 to $150. Even if he charges you $500 is a bargain. Or look at yourself and note the manufacture and part number, then google it. If you are lucky the relay is not exclusive to Xantrex, like maybe a Potter & Brumfield standard off the Shelf Power Relay available at many electrical part distributors for industrial and commercial like Newark and Grainger. I would bet it is a bolt on unit with a term strip with 4 to 6 screw terminals.. Just remove the wires on the screw terminals, unbolt the relay and slap in a new one. Might even be a plug-in base, just remove the retainer clip, unplug it and plug in a new one.

Good Luck

[Flash]

don't have the appollo...

i am not useing the appollo...i have the xw6048 xantrex...i am thinking of switching over to the appollo...the problem i am having is that i can't make up my mind as to whether i would be better off to stay with xantrex, or switch to appollo...the generator has a seperate 220 line going to my hot tub...it also runs a water well when needed a 1/2 mile away...

[Sunking]

i am not useing the appollo...i have the xw6048 xantrex..

Yes I know, read my updated reply.

[Flash]

i can't find a good electrician...how do itest the relays...????....

Yes I know, read my updated reply.

can i test the relays...there are 4 the same size and a 5th 1 about 1/2 the size of the others...can you do an ohm test....or, what kind of meter do i need.......????....the plastic housing is clear....nothing looks grey, or burnt....i tapped on them to no avail....any ideas on how to test relay switches.......???....please advise, jerry

[Sunking]

can i test the relays...there are 4 the same size and a 5th 1 about 1/2 the size of the others...can you do an ohm test....or, what kind of meter do i need.......????....the plastic housing is clear....nothing looks grey, or burnt....i tapped on them to no avail....any ideas on how to test relay switches.......???....please advise, jerry

An Ohm meter is all you need, but you need the relay pin out to know what should be open, and what should be a short. The coil will be on the order of a hundred ohms or so. What you would be looking for is a set of N/O contacts that are shorted.

[Naptown]

Just curious how did that work for you until now.
I have been looking into a hybrid system for a client and was thinking about using the xantrex inverter.

[Mike90250]

You can (after you power the system off) use an orange stick or toothpick, and press on the armature of the relays, and the ones that move properly, are fine. if the contacts are "welded" the armature will be preloaded and not move properly. Don't press on the contact leafs !

Or they may be burned, which maybe a burnishing tool can buy you another year.

The cause of this would be interesting, this inverter is able to be grid tied, with megawatts coming into AC1, and the relays are supposed to hold up to that. I'm trying to figure how a large local genset could cause the issue.

I'd buy the relay board, and get back online, and then pick the dud one apart, to see what happened, and maybe replace the relays that are shot. Then put it back into service, and keep the new one as spare. See if the same relay goes out, and figure out what is happening on that circuit.

I've not heard of relay issues with the XW series, but I think most are off-grid and not using the relays heavily.

Mine seems OK.

[Mike90250]

Just curious how did that work for you until now.
I have been looking into a hybrid system for a client and was thinking about using the xantrex inverter.

I've heard getting the sell / float setpoints configured is tough, as the manual is obtuse about it.