When a GivEnergy system throws a fault, it’s not always obvious whether the cause is the battery, the inverter, or just a temporary system lock-up. Before booking any repair, it’s worth running through a few quick checks — they take a couple of minutes and can save you time, money, and a wasted courier trip.
If your checks point to a battery issue, we can repair it in-house at our Newport facility. If they point to the inverter, you’ll need to go through your inverter or system support provider instead — sending us an inverter fault won’t get it resolved any faster.
Step 1: Note down what happened
Before touching anything, it helps to establish the context of the failure. Ask yourself:
- Did the battery stop working suddenly, or was it gradual?
- What was the charge level when it went into error?
- If it was at 100%, were there any alarms?
- Did it disappear from the inverter while below 10% charge?
- Did it disappear at a mid-range state of charge?
These details point toward different causes — BMS failure, low-voltage or over-voltage protection, an incorrect state-of-charge reading, or an inverter-side fault — so it’s worth jotting them down before you move on.
Step 2: Restart the battery
Turn off the battery breaker, wait a few moments, then switch the battery back on using the black button. Watch the battery light closely.
Step 3: Read the battery light
Light doesn’t come on, or doesn’t stay green – Suspected BMS fault. The BMS (Battery Management System) monitors and protects the battery, and if it’s failed or locked out, the battery can’t communicate properly with the rest of the system. This is likely to need a repair.
Light stays green -Turn the inverter breaker back on and move to Step 4.
Step 4: Turn the inverter breaker on and watch what happens
| What you see | Likely cause | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Inverter clicks and goes off | Suspected inverter fault | Not a battery issue — likely outside what we can repair |
| Inverter doesn't click, battery stays on | No permanent fault | May have been a temporary over-voltage event or lock-up |
| Inverter doesn't click, battery goes off immediately with one light flashing | Low voltage | Battery may need manual recharging |
| Inverter doesn't click, battery goes off after a few minutes with one light flashing | Low voltage or incorrect SoC reading | May be recoverable via remote support or calibration |
What we can help with
If your checks point to the battery, we handle:
- Battery BMS faults
- Low-voltage battery recovery
- Manual recharge where appropriate
- Battery repair assessment and in-house repair at our Newport facility
If your checks point to the inverter, the repair needs to go through your inverter or system support provider.
Sending your battery in
If the fault is confirmed as battery-related:
Pallet transport: £80
Repair cost: Assessed on inspection — we’ll confirm the price once we’ve had a look at the battery, before any work goes ahead.
Confirm your results
Once you’ve run through the checks above, please fill in our short battery fault questionnaire to confirm what you found. It covers the same points as the checks above — charge level at the time of the fault, whether the battery disappeared from the inverter, what the battery light did, what happened when you switched the inverter breaker back on, any flashing lights or alarms, and whether the fault was sudden or gradual.
You don’t need every answer — but the more detail you can give us, the faster we can confirm whether it’s a battery fault and get the repair moving.
You don’t need every answer — but the more you can tell us, the faster we can confirm whether it’s a battery fault and get the repair moving.
Not every GivEnergy fault is a battery fault. Checking the failure context and watching how the battery behaves after a restart tells you most of what you need to know before booking a repair. If it’s confirmed as a battery issue, send it to us and we’ll take it from there. If it looks like an inverter fault, your inverter or system support provider is the right next step.
Recover Recycling handles confirmed battery faults only.
