My solar system has stopped working. What should I check before I call?

Write down what the inverter display or app says, check the switchboard for a tripped solar breaker, and follow the shutdown and restart steps on the label beside the inverter once. If the fault comes back, or there was nothing to reset, book a visit. Do not open the inverter or any isolator.

How much does solar system repair cost?

It depends on what has failed. Isolators and connectors are quick to put right. A new inverter is mostly the cost of the unit, with labour and the reconnection paperwork on top. A panel swap turns on whether a matching module can be found. Either way, the price comes in writing before any repair starts, and there’s no travel charge inside our service area.

What happens during a fault-finding visit, and how long does it take?

An electrician reads the inverter log, measures every string, runs an insulation test on the DC wiring, inspects the isolators and connectors, checks the earthing and the switchboard, and looks over the roof. Most visits take about an hour. You get the findings in plain words and a written quote.

Can an electrician fix solar panels, or do I need the original installer?

A licensed electrician with solar accreditation can repair any part of a grid-connected system, whoever installed it. Our electricians hold SA licence 287733 and QLD electrical contractor licence 1512582 and are accredited for solar work. You don’t need the original installer, and in many cases they no longer exist.

Why is my solar producing less than it used to?

The common reasons are a string that has dropped out, a failed or shaded panel, a corroding connector raising resistance, an inverter cutting back when grid voltage climbs in the afternoon, or dirt and bird mess on the array. A string-by-string test shows which one. Monitoring that has lost its Wi-Fi can also show a drop that isn’t real.

What does the red light or error code on my inverter mean?

Each brand uses its own codes. Grid faults, insulation faults, earth faults, temperature derating and internal failures all look different on the display. Put the brand and code into our inverter fault code lookup for a plain-English reading and whether it needs an electrician.

Is it worth repairing an older system, or should I replace it?

If the inverter is past ten years, the brand has left Australia, or the repair gets close to the cost of a new unit with a fresh warranty, replacement is usually the better money. If the array is sound and the fault is one part, repair it. We put both options and their prices in the quote so you can see the gap.

Can you repair a system you did not install, or one whose installer has closed?

Yes. A good share of our repair work is on systems other companies installed. We test and repair them the same way, and where the manufacturer is still trading we help lodge the warranty claim.

Does home insurance cover storm or hail damage to solar?

Usually, as part of the building. The insurer will want an inspection report from a licensed electrician that says what failed, what caused it and what it costs to put right. We write that report, make the system safe in the meantime, and remove and reinstall the panels if the roof underneath has to be repaired.

Solar System Repair | Deionno Electrical & Solar

Solar system repair: when the inverter light goes red, the fault is often somewhere else

A solar system is a chain: panels, DC cable, isolators, the inverter, the switchboard and the meter. A fault anywhere in that chain can show up as an error code on the inverter, a system that has stopped, or a bill that quietly went back up. Solar system repair means testing every link in that chain before anyone swaps the box on the wall.

Deionno Electrical & Solar has installed and serviced solar across Adelaide for ten years and now does the same on the Sunshine Coast. Every fault-finding visit is done by one of our own licensed electricians. We don’t subcontract, and we work on any brand of panel, inverter or battery, including systems put in by companies that have since closed.

If you want a quick read on what your inverter is telling you before you call, our free inverter fault code lookup covers 1,357 codes across 31 brands.

Solar system not working? Start here

Nearly every call, from solar panels not working at all to a system that only looks fine, starts in one of three ways, and each points somewhere different.

No lights, no display, nothing in the app. The inverter has no power. The usual causes are a tripped solar breaker at the switchboard, a DC isolator that has failed, or a dead inverter. Panels rarely cause this on their own.
A red light or an error code. The inverter has power and has found a problem. Grid voltage out of range, an insulation fault on a string, an earth fault, a sensor fault, or an internal failure. The code narrows it; the test confirms it.
Running, but producing less than it should. A string has dropped out, a panel has failed or is shading its neighbours, a connector is corroding, or the inverter is throttling on hot afternoons. This is the fault people live with longest, because the system still looks on.

The job of a proper solar system repair is to find which one you have, and why, before anyone talks about replacing anything.

What to check safely before you call for solar repairs

There are a few things you can look at without touching anything live.

Open your monitoring app, or look at the inverter screen, and write down exactly what it says. A photo of the display helps.
Look at the switchboard for a breaker labelled solar, PV or inverter supply. If it has tripped, note it. You can reset it once. If it trips again, leave it off and call.
Follow the shutdown and restart procedure on the label beside your inverter, in the order printed. Wait a few minutes before switching back on.
Check your last two bills for the feed-in line. A missing or shrunken credit tells you roughly when the drop started.

Do not open the inverter, a DC isolator or a junction box on the roof. The DC side of a solar system is live whenever there is daylight, even with the inverter off. If you smell burning, see scorching on an isolator, or hear a crackle, switch the solar supply off at the switchboard, leave the rest alone and call 1800 610 165.

Solar system faults, not just the inverter

A solar system repair looks at everything the inverter depends on. These are the parts that fail, roughly in the order we find them.

DC isolators. The rooftop switch takes sun, rain and heat for years. Water gets in, the contacts corrode or arc, and the string stops. A melted isolator is the most common serious fault we see.
Connectors and DC cable. A plug that was never clicked home, a mismatched connector, or cable chewed by birds and rodents. Resistance rises, heat follows, output drops.
Panels. Cracked glass from hail, cell damage from hot spots, failed bypass diodes, or delamination on older modules. One bad panel can pull a whole string down.
Earthing and insulation. A damaged cable sheath or a wet connection leaks current to earth. The inverter shuts down to protect the house, and reports an insulation or ground fault.
Switchboard and grid side. A tired breaker, a loose neutral, or grid voltage that climbs too high in the afternoon so the inverter keeps dropping off. Common on long rural lines and in streets with a lot of solar.
Monitoring. Sometimes nothing is wrong with the system at all. The Wi-Fi dongle has dropped off and the app shows zero. We check that first.

Two rows of solar panels on a blue corrugated roof beside an evaporative cooler, with farmland behind — An older array on a corrugated roof. The isolators, connectors and cable runs behind panels like these are where most faults start.

What our solar fault-finding visit covers

One of our electricians comes out with a ladder and a bag of test gear. The visit usually runs like this.

Read the inverter’s event log and the monitoring history, so we know when the fault began and whether it comes and goes.
Measure the voltage and current of every string, in daylight, and compare them with what the panels should be giving.
Run an insulation resistance test on the DC wiring, which finds the leak the inverter is complaining about.
Open and inspect each DC isolator and the connectors behind it. Heat marks and moisture tell the story.
Check the earthing, the solar breaker, the connections at the switchboard and the grid voltage at the inverter terminals.
On the roof, look over the array for cracked glass, lifted clamps, cable sag and nests.

You get the findings in plain words and a written quote for the fix. If a part needs ordering, the quote says what, and how long. Nothing is replaced until you’ve said yes to the price.

Solar panels on a green corrugated shed roof on a rural property — Rural systems on long lines see grid voltage climb on sunny afternoons. Measuring it at the inverter terminals is part of every visit.

Repair or replace a solar system? How we decide

We fix first where fixing makes sense. The questions we ask are the same every time.

How old is it? A string inverter that has given ten or more years has done its job. Panels are a longer story: a damaged panel in an otherwise sound array is usually a one-panel swap.
Are parts available? If the brand still trades in Australia, the part is usually a phone call away. If it has left, a repair may mean a second-hand unit with no warranty behind it, and we’ll say so.
Is it still under warranty? Inverter warranties commonly run five to ten years, panel product warranties longer. A warranty claim costs you less than a repair, so we check before we quote.
What does the fix cost against a new unit? When a repair gets close to the price of a replacement with a fresh warranty, replacement is the honest advice.

Where replacement is the answer, we quote it as a plain job, not a package. If a battery or a bigger system would change your bill, we tell you, and you decide.

Solar systems we did not install, and brands that have left

A good share of the repair work we do is on systems other companies installed. That’s normal in solar: installers close, and several inverter brands have pulled out of Australia and left their customers with nobody to call. We service those systems the same way as our own. For the brands that have gone, our fault code lookup and the error code guides explain what each code meant on that hardware and what the realistic options are now.

Solar warranty and insurance claims

If the fault is a failed panel or inverter still inside its manufacturer warranty, we test it, document the failure the way the maker asks for, and help you lodge the claim. The maker covers the part under an accepted claim; what the diagnosis and the fitting labour cost you depends on the maker’s terms, and we tell you before we lodge it.

Storm and hail damage is usually an insurance matter. We inspect, make the system safe, and write the inspection report your insurer needs, with photos and test results. Where a roof has to be repaired under the panels, our electricians remove the array and reinstall it when the roofer is done, like this job in Hillbank.

What a solar system repair costs

Three things set the price: the time to find the fault, the part, and the time to fit it. A failed isolator or a loose connector is a short job. A replacement inverter is the part plus an hour or two of labour and the paperwork to reconnect it. A panel swap depends on whether we can match the module.

What we can promise before you book: no travel charge anywhere in our service area, the price in writing before any repair starts, and a quote that tells you whether the fix is worth doing.

Solar system repairs in Adelaide and on the Sunshine Coast

Adelaide and South Australia

Our Adelaide team has repaired solar across the metro area, the Hills, the Fleurieu and the Barossa for ten years, from the first wave of 1.5 kW systems to today’s hybrids. A replacement inverter in South Australia has to meet the state’s Smarter Homes rules, which cover remote disconnection and the connection paperwork with SA Power Networks. We handle that as part of the job. Find your area on the Adelaide solar repairs page.

Sunshine Coast and South East Queensland

The Coast is hard on solar: summer storms, hail cells, salt air on the beachside suburbs and roof temperatures that push inverters to their limits in January. Our Sunshine Coast electricians cover Caloundra to Noosa, the hinterland, Gympie and north Brisbane from the Corbould Park base, with Energex reconnection handled where a replacement needs it. Details on the Sunshine Coast solar repairs page.

Related repair services

If you already know the inverter itself has died, the solar repairs overview covers inverter repairs and replacements. If the system works and you want it checked once a year, read our solar maintenance guide. This page is for the fault nobody has found yet.