Apsystems DS3-L not working

[sdold]

Thanks for the info Erp, and welcome to the forum. Hopefully others will see this if they're going through the same thing.

[Erp]

For the sake of others googling this issue - I have the same here in Sweden. Found this page while searching around. One of 10+ micro inverters from AP suddenly stopped working after just 7 (mostly winter) months. Via my installing company I heard that AP could see remote that it was a faulty micro inverter and they would ship a new one. 2 weeks later another one broke and then I found this page and asked them to look up if it was a "faulty batch". Answer returned "positive" and now they are sending me all new ones. Just surprised this happens with a system installed september 2023. They should have addressed this "faulty batch" by now? It´s been 4 weeks since the first broke and no report of any rush from their side replacing it.

[pieterraxis]

Was somebody able to fix the inverter by himself?

I'm renting 8 panels and the inverter and as long as the systems doesn't work i don't have to pay anything.

I'm guessing they have forgotten me by now. So if i can fix the inverter by myself i have a free system.

[MichelS]

DS3-L was warking only in a first day after install. Afret night i see only NC info in APSystem app.

DS.png
Firmware version is 5050 but i saw somwhere that is new version but i can't update firmware. Maybe i make some mistake.

I received mine DS3-L a few weeks ago, and it was already version 5612

[IslanderVT]

Pleased to report that APSystems was able to fix our episodes of trip-outs on our DS3-L units. No more trip-outs, and improved system yield.

[IslanderVT]

Seems like others have received replacements which performed properly. I was disappointed with the wait time, but APSystems support did step up and address the issue we experienced. Once I broke through, I found the people to be helpful and supportive. I think they're swamped with a challenging product launch.

[PingNoMore]

Yes, mine are in the range.

[IslanderVT]

Thanks for the additional detail. The fail mode you describe is consistent with others in this thread, but different from what we experienced.

APSystems is dealing with a batch of DS3-L units that have a defective component. You can see the range of UID's in previous threads. Seems like others have been getting replacement units.

[PingNoMore]

DS3-L was warking only in a first day after install. Afret night i see only NC info in APSystem app.

DS.png
Firmware version is 5050 but i saw somwhere that is new version but i can't update firmware. Maybe i make some mistake.

[IslanderVT]

Hello, i'm from Poland and have issue with 3 pcs of DS3-L. I wrote two emails to APSystems supprot in Europe but they did not respond.

Could you describe the failure mode you are experiencing?

Have you tried the firmware update procedure posted earlier in this thread?

Our DS3-L units were mostly functional, but displayed episodes of trip-out excursions where multiple units would trip offline, then restart automatically and produce normally.

It looks like APSystems Tech Support is pushing firmware updates to our units, and the trip-outs are improving if not fully resolved.

We had a 3-week wait for them to respond, but after they were engaged, we've had a good experience with their support team and I'm glad to see the performance improving.

[Hjvnoort]

Contact them by telephone with your casenumber.

[PingNoMore]

Hello, i'm from Poland and have issue with 3 pcs of DS3-L. I wrote two emails to APSystems supprot in Europe but they did not respond.

[Hjvnoort]

On December 14th I installed my new inverters. They all work perfectly.

[qwerty]

For whatever reason, our system functions normally much of the time, but experiences episodes of trip-outs. It seems to be related to the MPPT behavior, as others have mentioned. During full sun near noon, it seems to work fine and achieves full capacity (a little over actually). But during times of variable sun or lower sun in mornings and afternoons, it experiences trip-outs where 1/2 or more of the units trip offline.

I've been told its caused by defective components in the initial Made in China batch of units. However, the behavior of many of the units seems very similar, so I wonder if its actually design or software related. In either case, I'm glad APSystems is doing the right thing by replacing units.

It almost seems like there were multiple problems. I've seen a number of people report their units failing to start up, but they work again later at some point either on their own or via manual intervention. However, mine worked fine in dim late-afternoon light for the first 20-30 minutes or so after installation, then once they linked up to the ECU / internet they all died almost simultaneously, never to work again. A second set of replacements (in the same serial number range) also permanently bricked themselves - 100% dead, no LED, nothing. So this seems like it could be a different issue than the intermittent operation. We'll probably never know the whole story, since they don't seem to publish any useful level of detail (see attached for their official software release notes, yes this is for real).

But, the good news is that I received and installed my replacement DS3-L inverters last night. All are serial number 7030004xxxxx (made in China), whereas the failed ones ended in 2xxxxx (also made in China). So far they seem to be working, and this afternoon my house was 100% powered by solar! I am very grateful that my distributor was so helpful regarding the replacement process.

Despite this, I would still recommend these microinverters...assuming they replace them. They generate more power than Enphase, and our system came in under 1/2 the price of an Enphase IQ7A system. The software isn't quite as polished as Enphase, but its still pretty good...certainly it would be hard to justify thousands more for a few software features.

Agreed. When I was getting no feedback as to the solution to this issue, I looked into other options; there really is nothing else at this price. Enphase seems to be good quality but would have been more than double the cost. My local utility rates are fairly low, so with Enphase the system would have no hope of ever paying itself off in energy savings.

[IslanderVT]

I replaced all the bad inverters today and they are all working now. The new inverters were made in Taiwan and all the bad ones were made in China.

Thanks for the update 123Jay!

It could be that APSystems is prioritizing customers like you, and others in this thread, who have completely non-functional systems.

For whatever reason, our system functions normally much of the time, but experiences episodes of trip-outs. It seems to be related to the MPPT behavior, as others have mentioned. During full sun near noon, it seems to work fine and achieves full capacity (a little over actually). But during times of variable sun or lower sun in mornings and afternoons, it experiences trip-outs where 1/2 or more of the units trip offline.

I've been told its caused by defective components in the initial Made in China batch of units. However, the behavior of many of the units seems very similar, so I wonder if its actually design or software related. In either case, I'm glad APSystems is doing the right thing by replacing units.

Despite this, I would still recommend these microinverters...assuming they replace them. They generate more power than Enphase, and our system came in under 1/2 the price of an Enphase IQ7A system. The software isn't quite as polished as Enphase, but its still pretty good...certainly it would be hard to justify thousands more for a few software features. Also the zigbee communication is better for ground mounts like we have. With Enphase we would have needed a fiber optic connection to maintain communication due to the length. The APSystems units have plenty of signal with the ECU inside the residence, which is over 300' from the farthest unit.