Currently, we provide GPRS, WIFI, Ethernet, GPRS-D, WIFI-D and LAN-D sticks for system monitoring.

The indicator lights are only present on monitoring devices delivered after September 2020.

Devices have a “D” at the end of the product code allowing 2 way communications, reading and sending commands.

Check monitoring: Indicator Lights. This can be found on What do the indicator lights on the monitoring sticks mean?

If the PWR(Red) LED doesn’t light. The stick does not power up. This can be due to:

  1. Faulty installation between the stick and the inverter.

  a. You can reinstall the stick to the inverter by following the installation Manual. The manual of each type of stick can be downloaded on Autarco Downloads or found on Monitoring – Stick Installation page.

  2. Loose/Faulty inverter wires in COM port.

  a. Check the inverter COM pins. Pins should not be bent, missing one/all, or having different lengths.

  b. Using a voltage meter to measure the voltage between pins of the inverter’s COM connector. DC voltages between pin 1-2 should be around 5V and pin 3-4 should be around 1.7V. If DC voltages are lower than 5V and 1.7V, the inverter’s COM port is faulty internally. You need to replace the inverter.

If the COM(Orange) LED doesn’t light. The stick does not receive data from at least one of the installed inverters. This can be due to: 

  1. Lost communication between the stick and the inverter.

  a. Press and hold the reset button on the back of the stick for 1 seconds to force a message that is immediately sent to the Autarco server. If you do not receive anything, reset the stick. Press and hold the reset button on the back of the stick for 15 seconds to reset.

  2. Wrong inverter address.

  a. When multiple inverters are connected in parallel with network cables, different addresses should be set for each inverter.

  b. Check the inverter addresses on Helios digital O&M. If the address of one of the inverters is not displayed or shown no communication status, the inverter address may not be set properly. You can check and change the inverter address on-sit. Note: The address of the first inverter must be set to 01. You can find more information about setting inverter addresses in the stick manual.

  c. If a PELD is installed, the stick must be installed in the PELD. The PELD needs to be set to address <01>, as does the first inverter in line. This is the one inverter connected directly to the PELD. For more information, please refer to the PELD Troubleshooting checklist.

If the NET(Green) LED doesn’t light or is flashing. The stick cannot connect to Autarco Server.  This can be due to weak or no internet network: 

  1. The stick cannot connect to the local router.

  a. The local network must be 2.4GHz, and the 5GHz networks are not supported. Check the communication between the stick and the local router by following steps on the Monitoring – Local Wi-Fi Connection for Digital Monitoring Sticks page. If the local Wi-Fi network doesn’t appear after the Search (see step.4), the local internet cannot establish communication with the stick.  

  2. The inverter is not installed within the range of the WIFI.

  a. This results in local routers unable to connect to Autarco Server. You can move the router to be closer to the system. Otherwise, you can install a WIFI extender between router and inverter, or install an extra access point to boost the internet.

Most of the troubleshooting steps for sticks without LED indicators are the same as the stick with LED indicators. Please refer to the sections above.

Wrong/non-updated monitoring configuration. 

1. 1. The monitoring configuration is not updated after a replacement of the inverter/stick. The replacement adapter product, replacement serial number, replacement date should be updated under Helios Monitoring setup (Asset measurement → Monitoring setup). 
   2. Wrong stick/inverter’s serial number(SN) and/or item name. Check inverter/stick’s SN and item name under Helios Monitoring setup. A crossed item SN can lead to failed communication.   

Internet providers stop serving 2G networks. This only happens to systems using GPRS/GPRS -D sticks. GPRS sticks use a 2G network. Some internet providers stop serving 2G networks (e.g.,T-mobile stopped providing the 2G network on June 1, 2023). You can look at a provider that continues to support the 2G network for a longer period of time, or you can replace a LAN-stick.

Other unidentified situations. For other unknown issues, please raise cases on Helios.