Problem:

In commercial and industrial scale PV Rooftops in Thailand (More than 300 kWp), there
are more than 800 PV Modules installed. With Huawei SUN2000 Smart PV
inverter/controller, generally 17-20 PV modules are connected in series (called a PV
string) before connecting to a DC input of SUN2000 inverter.
For a PV system over 300 kWp, there will be more than 45 PV strings connected to
multiple DC inputs (Multiple inverters). With numerous PV string connections which
need to be done, there is one mistake that I have found often is PV String Reverse
Connection.

Problem Analysis:
Reverse connection is wrong connection. It is an error while installing PV modules. As
the result, if you are an EPC company or you plan to have a solar system on your roof,
make sure that your installer does each PV String connection carefully.

Cause:
PV String Reverse Connection occurs because the terminals of the input PV string
cable are reversely connected, PV strings under the same MPPT have different
voltages, resulting in reversed current injection, or the inverter is faulty (rarely).
When the string reverse connection occurs, the inverter will be put in shutdown mode.
The alarm LED status will be steady red indicating Major alarm is generated on the
inverter. Alarm information will be displayed on NetEco monitoring system. An example
of Alarm information is in attached.

Solution:

Alarm information shows troubleshooting advice for particular alarm. In case of PV

String reverse, the message is "Check whether cables are reversely connected for input
PV string No.X of the inverter. If yes, rectify the connection".
However, there a critical step which need to be checked before you rectify the
connection. Firstly, check whether the input voltage of the PV string for which the alarm
is generated is near to 0 V. If yes, remove this PV string when there is no
sunlight (no sunlight, no current, no electrical arc) and use a multimeter to check
whether the terminals are reversely connected. Last but not least, when the PV string
reverse alarm is generated on the inverter, do not turn off the DC input switch of
the inverter. Otherwise, the DC input switch may be severe damaged due to electrical
arc, and you may have to replace the whole inverter because of it.