Tesla Powerwall › Problems
Tesla solar production drops to zero or well below normal
Solar production on a Tesla system drops to zero or stays well below normal. This page covers what the lights and codes mean, what to check first, and the causes behind it.
What the lights mean
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Powerwall 3 light solid white | Normal operation. |
| Powerwall 3 light flashing red | Inverter fault, as the owner manual states it. |
| Powerwall 2 light off | The Powerwall is not enabled or is switched off. The app's Breaker Open alert also comes with the Powerwall light not on. |
| Powerwall 2 light flashing | The Powerwall is enabled but is not communicating with the Gateway. |
| Powerwall 2 light solid or pulsing | Solid: enabled and communicating with the Gateway. Pulsing: enabled and charging or discharging. |
| Powerwall+ flashing green slowly, about every other second, with the app in Standby showing Wait for Solar | The system is sitting in Standby and making no solar power, even though its self-diagnostics pass. |
| SolarEdge inverter light solid or flashing green while the Tesla app shows zero production or standby | The Tesla app can show zero or standby while the inverter's real state shows only on the inverter itself or in its own app. |
| SolarEdge inverter with red and green lights blinking and no production, sometimes after a loud pop | Reported along with SolarEdge error 18xB7, which is reported as a capacitor failure. |
Error codes that go with this problem
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| Solar Production Limited in the app, or site generation degraded on the gateway page | The inverter or string output is being limited. The gateway page may show site generation degraded at the same time. |
| Over temperature error on the solar inverter's local page | The Tesla solar inverter is shutting down to protect itself from heat. |
| error 36 - DC Arc Fault on the inverter's page, or arc faults reported by Tesla | The solar inverter's own DC arc-fault detection has tripped, and it stops producing. |
| PV isolation fault | The solar array's insulation resistance is below the threshold. Solar is blocked until the fault clears. |
| reverse polarity (Powerwall 3) | A solar string's plus and minus leads are swapped at the Powerwall 3, and that string makes no power. |
| Powerwall Disconnected or Breaker Open | Breaker Open: the Powerwall breaker is open and the Powerwall light is not on. Powerwall Disconnected has come with solar and Powerwall output reading zero. |
| max panel current error | House load went over the Gateway's Panel Maximum Current setting, so solar or Powerwall output was cut. |
| SolarEdge 18xB7 or 18x22, or Delta L1N over voltage, on the inverter's own display | 18xB7 (Vcap21 surge) is a capacitor surge failure. 18x22 is a shutdown from low grid voltage. L1N over voltage is a line to neutral overvoltage fault. |
What to check first
- Write down when solar drops, how long it stays down, and whether it happens every day or mostly on sunny days. A drop of about 15 minutes at the same time each day that then comes back has been put down to a daily inverter self-test.
- If you have a SolarEdge solar inverter, check its switch is in the On (1) position, then read any error code on its display, or scan its QR code with the mySolarEdge or SetApp app.
- If your solar inverter is not made by Tesla and the Tesla app shows zero, watch the utility meter or the grid flow on a sunny day. If grid draw drops or power goes back to the grid with the inverter on, it is producing.
- If a new system seems low, run each roof face's direction and tilt through PVWatts (pvwatts.nrel.gov) and compare with your actual output at the same time of day. If they match, the roof's orientation explains the output.
- You can restart the system in the owner manual's order: switch the Powerwall off, then its breaker, then the Gateway breaker, wait, then switch them back on in reverse order.
- If solar is still zero or low after that, or a new system has never come near its rating in full sun, contact your installer or Tesla. Many of the fixes need a site visit or a remote reset by Tesla.
Safety. If the app shows Breaker Open and the Powerwall or its breaker shows any sign of heat damage, don't try to troubleshoot it.
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.