Your inverter has detected an insulation fault and shut down as a safety measure. Work through this diagnostic guide to identify the cause. Most cases can be narrowed down remotely, and we can advise on whether a site visit is required.
Book your free remote diagnosticHow to safely shut downSafety: Isolate the system at the consumer unit. Do not restart or override the fault.
Brilliant support to get my solar battery working again. I didn’t expect help on a Saturday but Ron answered the phone, listened and sent me the information I needed to get it going, answered questions etc. A brilliant service I’d happily recommend.
Ron was brilliant. He really tried to help. He spent hours trying to fix our GivEnergy AIO and ultimately it became apparent that it needed parts to fix the BMS management system. As there appears to be no replacement parts available on the market, he gave excellent advice on what options are now available to move forward. He is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.
Called back within a day and gave good advice.
Ron was extremely helpful and tried his best to repair/reset our GivEnergy inverter remotely. In the event he was unsuccessful but he couldn’t have been more helpful. If you have problems with a GivEnergy system please contact him. Highly recommended
Big thanks to Ron. He was incredibly patient and helpful over the phone, taking the time to walk myself and the installer through every troubleshooting step. Through lots of testing he figured out the issue was definitely a hardware issue, which allows us to consider our next steps. Support fees are clear and they operate a “no fix no fee” policy. It is rare to find that kind of honesty combined with dedicated phone support nowadays. I highly recommend Ron, if you need help with your solar system don’t hesitate to give him a call.
A superb service from Ron who went beyond the normal service received from other Tech support companies. I live abroad and was badly let down when my givenergy system failed (and the company went bankrupt) and the local supplier ran away from the problem. Ron sorted the problem and even accessed specialist coding for the inverter that would not be available for suppliers. Ron also ran a full diagnostic to insure that all was in good working order afterwards. Without Rons support and patient assistance I doubt I would ever have got the system back up and running. Well done and thankyou and you have a customer for the future.
Brilliant support to get my solar battery working again. I didn’t expect help on a Saturday but Ron answered the phone, listened and sent me the information I needed to get it going, answered questions etc. A brilliant service I’d happily recommend.
Ron was brilliant. He really tried to help. He spent hours trying to fix our GivEnergy AIO and ultimately it became apparent that it needed parts to fix the BMS management system. As there appears to be no replacement parts available on the market, he gave excellent advice on what options are now available to move forward. He is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.
Called back within a day and gave good advice.
Ron was extremely helpful and tried his best to repair/reset our GivEnergy inverter remotely. In the event he was unsuccessful but he couldn’t have been more helpful. If you have problems with a GivEnergy system please contact him. Highly recommended
Big thanks to Ron. He was incredibly patient and helpful over the phone, taking the time to walk myself and the installer through every troubleshooting step. Through lots of testing he figured out the issue was definitely a hardware issue, which allows us to consider our next steps. Support fees are clear and they operate a “no fix no fee” policy. It is rare to find that kind of honesty combined with dedicated phone support nowadays. I highly recommend Ron, if you need help with your solar system don’t hesitate to give him a call.
A superb service from Ron who went beyond the normal service received from other Tech support companies. I live abroad and was badly let down when my givenergy system failed (and the company went bankrupt) and the local supplier ran away from the problem. Ron sorted the problem and even accessed specialist coding for the inverter that would not be available for suppliers. Ron also ran a full diagnostic to insure that all was in good working order afterwards. Without Rons support and patient assistance I doubt I would ever have got the system back up and running. Well done and thankyou and you have a customer for the future.
Error 04 has four main root causes. Work through these steps in order to narrow down which is affecting your system.
Error 04 is a safety fault. Switch off the main AC isolator at your consumer unit and the DC string isolator near the roof-mounted array. Do not touch any DC connections on the roof. Do not repeatedly restart the inverter in an attempt to clear the fault — this will not fix it and only risks exposure to live voltage.
Log into ShineServer and navigate to Fault Logs. Note the exact date and time Error 04 first appeared. Check the weather on that date — if it appeared in the morning during wet or rainy weather, MC4 connector water ingress is almost certainly the cause. If it appeared after weeks of dry weather, a gradual cable or panel degradation is more likely.
This step requires safe roof access. Inspect all MC4 connectors between the solar panels and the inverter. Look for: water droplets visible inside the connector housing, corrosion or whitish crystalline deposits, discoloured or corroded connector pins, or physical cracking of the connector body. Pre-2018 installations are most vulnerable — connectors degrade and lose weatherproofing over time. If you see water ingress, the connector must be replaced.
Check the DC cable that runs from the roof array down to the inverter. Look for: cracks or splits in the cable insulation (often appear as fine white lines from UV exposure), physical damage from installation work or weather, crushed sections, or discolouration. Damaged cable insulation is the second most common Error 04 cause. Check the full cable run from roof to inverter.
A failed or cracked junction box on a specific panel can cause localized insulation loss. If you can safely view the back of the panels (during a site visit), inspect the junction boxes for visible cracks, discolouration, or separation from the panel. A single faulty panel can often be isolated from the string by repositioning the string combiner input.
After the fault source is identified and repaired, a qualified engineer must perform an insulation resistance (IR) test on the DC string. Resistance must be ≥1MΩ as per UK G98 standards before the system can be safely restarted. Do not restart the inverter without documented IR test results.
Inverter screen shows "Error 04" with a red LED indicator. The system stops generating and feeding to grid.
Log into ShineServer → Device → History. Filter by date and look for "Error 04" entries with timestamps.
Error history tab shows recent faults including Error 04 with timestamp.
SPH-TL-BH series — hybrid inverters with battery
MIN-TL-X series — single and three-phase string inverters
MOD-TL3-X series — three-phase string inverters
ShineMaster range — older models with insulation monitoring
Replace the water-damaged connector pair. Quick fix if the fault is isolated to one connector.
Replace the damaged section of DC string cable. Cost depends on cable run length and roof access.
Cracked or failed junction box requires panel replacement. May be covered under panel warranty.
Repeated power cycles do not clear insulation faults. Each restart attempt increases stress on degraded components and may worsen the underlying issue.
DC circuits carry lethal voltage even when the inverter is off. Water ingress or damaged insulation create shock hazards. Only a qualified engineer should inspect DC wiring.
Insulation faults caused by moisture or damage are progressive — they worsen over time. A fault that appears occasionally will eventually become permanent.
Error 04 is the most common Growatt fault code in the UK, particularly on installations from 2015–2022. It affects SPH, MIN, MOD, and older ShineMaster models equally. The inverter detects DC insulation resistance falling below 1MΩ (G98 compliance threshold) and disconnects as a safety measure. This is not a Growatt hardware fault — it is almost always external to the inverter, indicating either connector degradation, cable damage, or a failed panel junction box.
ShineServer logs the exact time the fault appeared, allowing correlation with weather events. Morning appearance in wet weather almost always points to MC4 connector water ingress. Older installations on original equipment are most vulnerable due to connector age.
Tell us what's happening. We'll review your ShineServer data and fault logs to diagnose the cause remotely — most cases are narrowed down in a single session.
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