Tesla Powerwall › Problems
Tesla solar makes gutters and roof metal shock people
Gutters, flashing or other metal near a Tesla solar array give people a shock in daylight while the inverters are producing. This page covers what to check first and the cause behind it.
What to check first
- Note whether the shocks happen only in daylight, and whether they started after the solar inverters were turned on.
- Find out whether the system has a Tesla-brand inverter. A Tesla technician said this has only been seen on systems with Tesla inverters, not on systems with third-party inverters.
- Without touching the metal, hold a non-contact voltage tester near it. Then switch off the solar inverter breakers and check again. If the voltage disappears, the solar inverters are the source.
- Check for a metal fireplace insert or flue, and whether the tester went off there before the solar went in. That rules out an older wiring or metal problem in the house.
- Report it to Tesla with what you found. A low-impedance meter, not an ordinary multimeter, tells real voltage that can shock from a phantom reading.
Safety. Gutters, flashing and other metal near the array have carried 10 to 74 volts AC in sunlight, enough to shock people working on the roof. The voltage went away with the inverter breakers switched off.
The causes and the fixes
Partners see the causes behind this problem, most common first, the checks that tell them apart, and the fix for each, with part numbers and recent prices when a part is involved.