Powerwall problems - No help from Tesla so far

[docBliny]

We had two Powerwall 2s installed about a month ago, and the system hasn't worked properly during that whole time. The case is currently escalated to their software engineering department, and they're "still investigating". This is the only status update I've been able to get from them, and that's been like pulling teeth. Their support promises to call back "by the end of the day", and of course no one ever calls.

In addition to the utter failure of basic customer service, what concerns me the most is that our (3rd party) installation should be pretty much the textbook use case. Solar, 2xSolarEdge 7600 inverters, a backup load panel, and two Powerwalls. The system is configured for self-powered mode with a 30% reserve. The app shows I'm still on version 1.7.0.

So what's the problem? Well, the power flow readings for for import/export/usage aren't quite correct, and (at least) once I hit my 30% reserve at night, the system/backup gateway starts to switch over to backup mode for short periods of time. Since the switchover isn't 100% immediate, I'll have arc fault breakers trip, and things like Amazon Echos will reboot and light up the bedroom all night long. You can see the the results of this in the attached screenshot of the backup history.


Another fun thing is that I've seen the system happily exporting to the grid at night before I hit the reserve, though that has seemed to have stopped happening recently. This is based on data from Rainforest EAGLE connected to the meter (data sent to Wattvision).


Anybody else having similar issues? I really don't know how I could be the only one running into this considering the standard setup and the fact that Tesla needs software engineering to fix it.

Also, if anyone knows a channel to escalate, I'd appreciate any contact info.

//Tomi B.

 

[Parzival]

Self-consumption mode doesn't cause the backup gateway relay to isolate the utility. That would be caused by some external event, probably a large voltage drop.

When you say the power flow readings aren't correct, I assume you mean the ones in the smartphone app. All the data in there comes from Tesla's servers, and it's really laggy. You can get reasonably time-accurate data from the gateway itself by pointing a web browser at its IP address, assuming it's on your network. If it's not, you can connect to the TEG-XXX access point. If the data is completely wrong, that's likely an error with the commissioning process or the placement of the CT's.

I've experienced a few occurrences where my system went into backup mode for 5 minutes. It seems to take a minimum of 5 minutes to restore grid power after backup operation. When in self-consumption mode, this hasn't caused things like Echos to reboot. When in standby mode, it sometimes does. The one thing that would guarantee to reboot all the electronics in my house was when I was running in backup mode, off-grid, and the A/C compressor kicked in. It would drop the voltage enough to reset just about everything. Tesla installed a soft start controller on the A/C and it is fine now.

Are there any large loads turning on that might correlate with these backup events? Car charging, A/C, or perhaps an elevator?

I've seen a few arc fault trips with backup events as well, always on the same breaker. I think the issue is that arcs are really difficult to identify, and sudden power loss/restoration can look like an arc. If it's just one breaker doing it, replacing the breaker might fix it -- I've had arc fault breaker issues before that were solved just by swapping out the breaker with a dual-function AFCI/GFCI breaker. Otherwise, I'd try to figure out what device is causing the trip and possibly put a UPS on it. Alternatively, consider using a non-AFCI breaker.

The 1.7.0 software is pretty buggy.

 

[docBliny]

Thanks for the reply, Parzival.

Frankly, I haven't looked at what the app is showing for the readings recently. However, the main problem was the readings did match up at all with what the meter was showing. I was looking at the app, and not the gateway directly, so this will certainly have caused some of the difference. But to be clear, the numbers were sometimes so badly off (consumption at 8-10kW when neither card was charging and AC was off etc) that even a 10-15 min delay wouldn't explain that. I'll need to have another look at this problem later.

The backup mode and (assumed) disconnect is only happening after the Powerwalls have been drained to their reserve of 30%. After this, things go crazy and it'll start switching to backup mode and out all night long (see today's screenshot below - same thing every night). Since this backup mode switching is happening continuously/frequently, some of the time it'll be enough to reboot the Echo and less frequently trip the ARC breakers (only happened 3 or 4 times total so far).


We only have the internal breaker panel backed up, not the whole house (no 240V loads), and in any case, our Trane AC has a variable compressor which wouldn't cause spikes anyway. No elevators or other big loads running at night. The likeliest culprit would be the HPWC and the Model X deciding to "top off", but it really shouldn't be doing that ~20 times during the night.

 

[MP3Mike]

What does your installer say? I would think that they would be the ones responsible for getting your system up and running initially.

 

[docBliny]

What does your installer say? I would think that they would be the ones responsible for getting your system up and running initially.

This is already escalated to the Tesla software engineering, so there really isn't anything the installer can do.

//TB

 

[MP3Mike]

This is already escalated to the Tesla software engineering, so there really isn't anything the installer can do.

Well the installer should be the one working with Tesla. You shouldn't have to. It was their job to install a working Powerwall system. And it sounds like they haven't done that yet.

Out of curiosity, has Tesla come out an inspected to see if the installer installed something incorrectly?

 

[docBliny]

Like I said, Tesla has escalated this to software engineering. In other words, they are (indirectly) saying it's a software bug; not much the installer can do in that case.

As for Tesla coming out to inspect - not to my knowledge. The issue was escalated through the first two tiers of support, and then to engineering. It would be odd for Tesla to internally escalate to their highest level without a visit if they didn't already know what the cause is.

//TB

 

[Parzival]

The installer can update your firmware to the latest. It is trivial.

 

[Parzival]

Thanks for the reply, Parzival.

Frankly, I haven't looked at what the app is showing for the readings recently. However, the main problem was the readings did match up at all with what the meter was showing. I was looking at the app, and not the gateway directly, so this will certainly have caused some of the difference. But to be clear, the numbers were sometimes so badly off (consumption at 8-10kW when neither card was charging and AC was off etc) that even a 10-15 min delay wouldn't explain that. I'll need to have another look at this problem later.

If there is a communication issue, the app will just show whatever it has from whenever it last communicated, and it will show those readings indefinitely and pretend they are current.

Is your gateway connected to Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or LTE? If Wi-Fi is not strong where the gateway is located, and Ethernet is not available, I'd recommend switching it to LTE. You can do so by repeating the commissioning process. That is also how you can update the firmware.

I'd start with the firmware update and go from there.

 

[rw99]

Tomi, you're making me re-think a PW2 installation

Sorry to hear about the problem. Please keep us updated; it's frustrating to hear that a vanilla setup doesn't work as it should.


Rich

 

[docBliny]

If there is a communication issue, the app will just show whatever it has from whenever it last communicated, and it will show those readings indefinitely and pretend they are current.

Is your gateway connected to Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or LTE? If Wi-Fi is not strong where the gateway is located, and Ethernet is not available, I'd recommend switching it to LTE. You can do so by repeating the commissioning process. That is also how you can update the firmware.

I'd start with the firmware update and go from there.

The gateway is connected via Ethernet, and my cable internet has a backup LTE connection since I need it to be reliable all the time.

I'm not messing with the settings as Tesla is working on it. As was pointed out earlier, it's not my job to fix this, and I'm not going to make any changes that will make it harder for Tesla to do their job and figure out what's going on.

//TB

 

[docBliny]

Update: Still no word from Tesla, but last week as I opened the app, it notified me that my Energy Gateway was no longer associated with my Tesla account. Some time later it showed up again, and the firmware was updated to 1.9.2.

I changed my reserve from 0% (which prevented the continuous switching to backup mode while I was out of town) to 20%, and it almost immediately flipped me to backup mode for 6 minutes. However, it hasn't gone back into backup mode for a few days now, so things are looking up.

//TB

 

[Kant.Ing]

I think OP the issue you have can only be resolved by the installer (or them together with the software engineering team).

Not to digress, below is my own experience. After the Gateway and the Powerwall installed and wired up, my Tesla installation crew spent some 15 minutes of time to go over the "commission" process with Tesla's customer care hotline, which didn't seem a simple power-up. I remember the guy on-site logged in to GW to open up the Powerwall Web UI in his cellphone, switched the breakers a few times, ran some self test with GW+PW, made sure GW connect to internet, flipped some CT software settings in his UI to ensure the kW readings made sense and synchronous realtime between his Web UI and the customer care. It sounded to me that the guy on the other end of the line is more technical application/software engineer and was instructing the whole commission process. I do Self-powered too and automatically switching the grid on/off several times in a day does not cause my Google Home or network routers to disconnect from the internet.

 

[docBliny]

My issues were finally resolved today.

The backup mode issue was resolved earlier with either a change from Tesla or by one of the firmware updates. The incorrect meter readings were resolved by the installer today; one of the CT clamps was not on the correct wire. This looks to have also solved the ~200W discrepancy between the meter reading and the Powerwall UI.

As a side note, switching to backup mode (via the manual test we did) tripped a couple of ARC breakers, turned on some IKEA LED lights, and reset a few network devices that aren't behind a separate UPS. Just an FYI/data point for anyone about the performance of backup mode. To be clear, that behavior is expected; the transfer isn't instantaneous.

//TB

 

[MP3Mike]

Glad they finally got everything working for you, though it is too bad that it took almost 4 months.

I wonder if the CT being on the wrong wire was the cause of most of the issues, and maybe Tesla made adjustments in updated firmware that partially worked around it....

 

[NerdUno]

Thanks for the reply, Parzival.

Frankly, I haven't looked at what the app is showing for the readings recently. However, the main problem was the readings did match up at all with what the meter was showing. I was looking at the app, and not the gateway directly, so this will certainly have caused some of the difference. But to be clear, the numbers were sometimes so badly off (consumption at 8-10kW when neither card was charging and AC was off etc) that even a 10-15 min delay wouldn't explain that. I'll need to have another look at this problem later.

The backup mode and (assumed) disconnect is only happening after the Powerwalls have been drained to their reserve of 30%. After this, things go crazy and it'll start switching to backup mode and out all night long (see today's screenshot below - same thing every night). Since this backup mode switching is happening continuously/frequently, some of the time it'll be enough to reboot the Echo and less frequently trip the ARC breakers (only happened 3 or 4 times total so far).
View attachment 263082

We only have the internal breaker panel backed up, not the whole house (no 240V loads), and in any case, our Trane AC has a variable compressor which wouldn't cause spikes anyway. No elevators or other big loads running at night. The likeliest culprit would be the HPWC and the Model X deciding to "top off", but it really shouldn't be doing that ~20 times during the night.

You don't happen to have AP2 running on your Powerwalls?? Sounds vaguely familiar.