Solar Panel Repairs in the Murraylands and Adelaide Hills: Why Your System Stopped Producing

If your solar system has stopped producing, the cause is usually one of three things: the inverter has shut down or gone into a fault state, a DC isolator has failed, or the panels are soiled, shaded or damaged. Start at the inverter. A blank screen or a red light means it has stopped converting, and nothing is reaching your switchboard. If the inverter looks normal but your power bill has crept up, open your monitoring app and compare this month against the same month last year. Small variations come down to weather, season and a dusty array. An unexplained drop of more than about 20 per cent, a sudden fall to zero, or a system that starts well in the morning and cuts out at midday all point to a hardware fault. Those need testing by a licensed electrician, not guesswork from the ground.

Solar output moves around, so one low day tells you nothing. The comparison that counts is the same month a year apart. A few per cent lost each year is ordinary degradation. A step change is not, and neither is a system that runs well early then drops out at midday.

Fronius, SMA, Sungrow, Goodwe, Enphase, SolarEdge, ABB, Huawei, Growatt and Delta all use their own code sets, and the same number means different things across brands. Write down the exact code and wording before you ring anyone. Most fall into a few families.

A rooftop array is a live DC source whenever there is light on it. There is no off switch at the panel, it is dangerous even at low sun angles, and a domestic string commonly runs at several hundred volts. DC arcs do not self extinguish the way AC ones do. So do not go on the roof, do not open the inverter, do not unplug MC4 connectors, and do not hose panels or isolators. If you see melted plastic or scorching, switch off the AC breaker and ring an electrician.

Around Murray Bridge, Mount Barker, Strathalbyn and Mannum, a short list covers most of what we find.

Australian rules required a DC isolator on the roof for years, in a plastic enclosure sitting in full sun and weather. Those enclosures degrade under UV, the seals harden and water reaches the contacts, then corrosion and tracking follow. There have been several recalls in this category. The standard has since changed and a rooftop isolator is no longer mandatory on new installs, but every older system still has one, and it is the first place we look when a system stops dead.

Panels outlast inverters. Most panels carry a 25 year performance warranty, while string inverters are generally warranted on a 5 to 10 year horizon, so one dying past ten years is a normal life. Out of warranty, board level repair is rarely sensible on a small residential unit, because the failed parts sit alongside others of the same age. Microinverters and optimisers differ, since one device can be swapped on its own.

We cover that side on our solar inverter repairs and maintenance page. If the inverter is being replaced anyway, ask whether a hybrid unit makes sense so battery storage can be added later without changing hardware twice.

Panels fail less often than inverters, and the failures are harder to see. Microcracks are hairline fractures in the cells, caused by hail, footfall or rough handling. A cracked cell can work for years, then fade as the crack opens with thermal cycling.

A hot spot forms when one shaded or cracked cell dissipates what the rest of the string pushes through it, scorching the backsheet or killing the bypass diode. Delamination shows as cloudy patches and lets moisture in. Potential induced degradation leaks current through the glass under voltage stress. None of it announces itself, which is why the year on year comparison matters.

A proper service goes well past a look at the inverter screen.

Size matters more than age. A 1.5 kW or 2 kW array from the early rebate years is small by current standards, and once it needs an inverter, replacing the lot usually beats repairing it. A 5 kW or 6.6 kW system from the last decade is another matter: panels and racking are likely fine, and a new inverter puts it back to work for a fraction of a new install. Isolator and connector faults, and a dead panel, are repairs at any age.

Two things to check first. A legacy premium feed in tariff can end if you change or expand the system, and small scale technology certificates only apply where a CEC accredited installer signs off the design. Ask for both quotes on the same visit. See solar services, or get in touch to book an inspection.

Solar sits under two sets of rules. All of it is electrical work, so it needs a licensed electrician. Grid connected design and installation also carries Clean Energy Council accreditation, and manufacturer warranties assume the work is done by accredited people to the current standards. A repair by an unaccredited handyman, or a panel frame drilled for a mesh fixing, gives a manufacturer grounds to decline a claim. ElectricalPro has been doing electrical and solar work around Murray Bridge and the Adelaide Hills since 2003.