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Solic 200 like Blackpool Lights - Help Needed


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It's worked fine for 12 months but today has lots of lights.

 

I've followed the instructions in the manual as below.

 

Ensure the water in the immersion tank requires heating.  

 

Ensure house is drawing at least 200W power.

 

Ensure that the immersion electrical circuit is on Turn off the solar inverter and turn on immersion circuit breaker Allow 20 seconds for calibration:  - The Mains light should be green and Sensor light should be red. 

 

Everything is fine until the point where it says.

 

Turn the solar invertor on and wait three minutes.

 

This is when I the get the flashing lights when I turn the invertor on!

 

The cycle on the video keeps repeating. Any ideas? I've messaged Earthwise but they are off until next week!

 

 

 

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So nice to hear the expression 'like Blackpool lights/illuminations' again... Growing up in the North I think I might well have heard it almost daily in reference to lights being left on, control panels gone wrong, car dashboards etc (funnily enough, rarely if ever to describe street lighting!) and whilst I use the expression down South it doesn't have the same effect and inevitably results in quizickle looks/responses. Sorry I can't help, but I did want to thank you for the nostalgia!

Edited by MJNewton
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Hmm, from this manual

 

Lights table

Mains Light Green Power is on

Red The unit is in standby mode. Check troubleshooting suggestions.

Sensor light

Green Surplus power is available

Red The house is drawing grid power

Flashing red/green ALL available surplus power is being offered to the immersion heater circuit

Immersion light

Green Power is being offered to the immersion

Off No power is being offered to the (?)

Flashing red Boost function is operating

 

No mention of amber anywhere. But that's what it seems to show at times in your video?

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1 hour ago, Radian said:

Hmm, from this manual

 

Lights table

Mains Light Green Power is on

Red The unit is in standby mode. Check troubleshooting suggestions.

Sensor light

Green Surplus power is available

Red The house is drawing grid power

Flashing red/green ALL available surplus power is being offered to the immersion heater circuit

Immersion light

Green Power is being offered to the immersion

Off No power is being offered to the (?)

Flashing red Boost function is operating

 

No mention of amber anywhere. But that's what it seems to show at times in your video?

 

Yes, it seems we have amber lights although it could be a mixture of red and green! Strangely now no solar it is back to 'normal' with the mains light green and sensor red and immersion off. Whatever is wrong, it's only happening when the solar is on!

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1 hour ago, ProDave said:

What does it no now it's getting dark and no PV generation?

 

It's in it's normal state as pic below. When it was sunny it had the mixture of all lights as per the video. When I tried to recalibrate it (when we had solar), and turned everything off at fuse, it was fine until I turned the solar inverter fuse on.

 

IMG_20230112_171105.thumb.jpg.7db36d21d33c470f89d331e7c933072c.jpg

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3 hours ago, canalsiderenovation said:

Yes, it seems we have amber lights although it could be a mixture of red and green!

That's all it can be, as those LED's have just red and green diodes. They're either both on together or rapidly switching  from one to the other. Sometimes the LED can only light one colour at a time (inverse parallel diodes) but from this photo of the Solic200 PCB, I can see they're three-terminal LEDs so can indeed both be on at the same time. Seems like a fault. (Like @ProDave said 😃)

 

f5b0e152cf8ed4b83c79ca48ff1e1a4e157049dd

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1 hour ago, Radian said:

That's all it can be, as those LED's have just red and green diodes. They're either both on together or rapidly switching  from one to the other. Sometimes the LED can only light one colour at a time (inverse parallel diodes) but from this photo of the Solic200 PCB, I can see they're three-terminal LEDs so can indeed both be on at the same time. Seems like a fault. (Like @ProDave said 😃)

 

f5b0e152cf8ed4b83c79ca48ff1e1a4e157049dd

Thanks I think it most certainly is a fault as none of the troubleshooting on Earthwise website or options to rectify it are working and the light errors aren't anything consistent either. The invertor is working as I checked this throughout the day and we were getting solar but obviously any excess isn't being diverted at the moment to the tank (granted there won't be much anyway as we would normally use most we generate at the moment and the forecast for the next few days is miserable).

 

I've messaged Segen who the unit was purchased from and Earthwise too, as I'm unsure who will honour the warranty. Earthwise aren't back in the office til Monday so nothing can be done at the moment.  

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7 hours ago, MJNewton said:

So nice to hear the expression 'like Blackpool lights/illuminations' again... Growing up in the North I think I might well have heard it almost daily in reference to lights being left on, control panels gone wrong, car dashboards etc (funnily enough, rarely if ever to describe street lighting!) and whilst I use the expression down South it doesn't have the same effect and inevitably results in quizickle looks/responses. Sorry I can't help, but I did want to thank you for the nostalgia!

 

My parents used the term almost daily when I was younger to describe our inability to turn off house lights "house lit up like Blackpool illuminations/lights" and I use it to describe anything that has lots of lights on it, and use the same term if I see lights on in the house unnecessarily - I realize I'm turning into my parents!

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On 12/01/2023 at 12:52, canalsiderenovation said:

Ensure house is drawing at least 200W power.

Sorry OP I can't help with the lights, but this requirement got me curious. Can anyone shed light on why this is required? It's a high base load to rely on and the (vastly more expensive) Eddi doesn't seem to mention this requirement?

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On 13/01/2023 at 14:49, S2D2 said:

Sorry OP I can't help with the lights, but this requirement got me curious. Can anyone shed light on why this is required? It's a high base load to rely on and the (vastly more expensive) Eddi doesn't seem to mention this requirement?

This is only for initial commissioning - they want to see that the current clamp is seeing import i.e. it's the correct orientation on the supply cable.

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Finally had a response. Unit has failed!! 

 

They do offer a 10 year warranty but this seems to only be if it was registered which I'm sure I did as I had many emails and telephone conversations when it was being fitted and general instruction on setting it up. I've sent a pic of the serial number and now awaiting them coming back to me - likely to try and get out of the warranty!

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What the hell! 

 

I am sorry to hear that there are problems with your SOLiC and re-commissioning the unit has not sorted it out, they are normally very reliable and we have tens of thousands installed.  If there is ever a problem with the unit a simple re-commissioning works in the majority of cases. 

 

I have checked via your Name, address and Serial number and unfortunately it is no longer under warranty as we have not record of it ever being registered with us.  

 

As your unit has not stayed restarted there are two either or alternative options I can offer you they are:

 

Return the unit to and we will then test, repair and return it to you for £100 including VAT and return delivery.  You will need to arrange uninstalling and then reinstallation of the unit in this case and we need up to 4 weeks to test, repair and return the unit to you. 
 

Alternatively you can buy a new unit without a sensor, as you can use your existing sensor, for £125 including the VAT and delivery. The new unit price is normally £215 but I have discounted it as it may be a more cost effective option as the new unit could simply be switched over meaning only one visit from an electrician as opposed to 2 for visits for a repair.
 

The new unit will give you a new 10-year RTB warranty, the latest firmware and hardware, which you should register with us.  

 

I do apologise for an inconvenience caused and would like to get it sorted out for you as easily and quickly as possible.

 

Please let us know what you would like to do?

 

Best regards

 

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On 12/01/2023 at 12:52, canalsiderenovation said:

It's worked fine for 12 months but today has lots of lights.

 

Good grief. You say it worked for 12 months, does that mean it's only just out of warranty? Given that you wouldn't know it had failed until it saw some solar I'd argue that it failed before the warranty was up if it was close!

 

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