Midnite 150 CLASSIC, Repair Need Some guidance

[Cheegro]

So this was about a year ago my midnite solar classic 150 which was given to me.  Shorted out.  I accidentally Hooked something up wrong with the pv Voltage.  And remembered it shorting out.  i think. it still works.. but will give u update once i assess the unit again.  and attempt to remember exactly what happened!!    BUt in the mean time.   I was curious.  Should i attempt to fix it.   Maybe once i clear up exxactly what happened someone can Tell me Possibly what Part Is fried.   Although i do think this unit has Life time warrenty. would that be covered for repair.  has anyone else dealt with returninga unit too be fixed with User being at fault

[boB]

Normally it is the MOSFETs that short out and they can be changed but I would not recommend trying that unless you are good with a soldering iron    And a BIG soldering iron because the PCB is very thick copper where the FETs are soldered into.  But some times other components can fail.

I am assuming that you connected too high of voltage to the PV input ?  The capacitors are good for over 315 V DC.  So, I am guessing that even if higher than that voltage was applied, the shorted FETs (if that's what it is)  were spared due to the PV input voltage going low almost immediately after shorting.

Have you taken the unit apart to see if there is any charred circuit board or worse ?
If it is just the FETs that broke, there is a possible future for that Classic.

I would call our support department.  They may be able to help you ?  I think they are on call this week ?

boB

[midnitemayhem]

Somewhat related, although a different model number.

I see the Classic 250 has some great voltage protection circuitry.

In my case I have blown up (quite literally) the two varistors AND the two resettable fuses! 

I have sourced and fitted new varistors (MOVs) (the round red components) but am unable to source the two other rectangular fuses (assuming this is what they are).

I have emailed support with this information, but I thought I'd include my plight here and update you all with the progress as it may help others.

I've attached an image showing the component (there are two of these) that doesn't seem to exist on the internet anywhere!

 

[boB]

The red disc is the MOV which is rated to clamp at a higher voltage than should be applied to the Classic.  Those are for lightning protection.

The yellow guy is the PTC or resettable fuse that is used for the ground fault detection.
When it opens up, it is usually because there is current between negative and ground (chassis)

Did you have a ground fault in your array maybe ?  Was there an exceptionally high voltage applied to the Classic's input maybe ?  The MOV should not conduct normally.

Couldn't quite tell if the PTC was charred or not ?  Were both of those open/broken ?

boB