Burnt cord on TCell 15? Warranty Denied

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J

jbailey895

Well-known member
Apr 25, 2016
144
Carlsbad, CA
I got a warranty-replacement on my previous Tcell-15, which came with a 1 yr warranty, back in Jan '15. I had it tested recently and it failed. Took the cell back to the local Hayward dealer, and he was about to exchange it under the warranty, but then shifted and said that because I had said my salt was running a bit high (3800) and there was a burn mark on the cord for the cable (see pic attached) that it was my fault and he wouldn't exchange or honor the warranty. ??? I told him BS, call the Hayward rep, and he said "he'd get back to me". Not impressed, but not sure what my rights are, has anyone had the cord burn from high salinity? And is 3800 really that high? (I know optimal is 2700-3400). Feel like I'm getting jerked around. . .

Thanx,
JB
 

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One thing I've learned over the years, not generally a good idea to be so forthcoming when it comes to warranty exchanges.

Often they will use any excuse to not replace.

I'm not saying to lie, but only answer questions if asked.
 
I am not sure what you are looking for here. We have no influence on whether or not it will be replaced.

Based on your post, it was out of warranty anyway if the 1yr started in Jan 2015.

IMO, 3800 is not that high. I have run mine there.
 
Thanks guys, I wasn't asking for anyone to exchange it for me, just a reality check. I was stupid enough to bring in a water sample (at his suggestion), if I hadn't, I'd probably have a replacement cell. My pool has hovered around that level for years, and I haven't added salt. Just wasn't aware of the arbitrary/discretionary authority a pool guy has in replacing a fairly expensive piece of equipment under warranty. I've never had a cord short like that, and I've had probably 4 or 5 cells in the past 20 yrs of pool ownership. The PCB receptacle for the cell is a little brown as well, but the circuit board doesn't look damaged. . .

Oh yeah, and the pool guy was the one who confirmed the warranty extends a year from the original date of purchase, so it would have been covered (bought Nov '12, replaced under warranty Jan '15, so he said its warrantied until Nov '16, but still denied).
 
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If you originally bought it in November of 2012, a three year warranty expired November of 2015. If they replace it during the warranty, (as I understand) the replacement get the balance of the original warranty or one year from replacement date, whichever is longer. That would put the replacement warranty expiring in January of 2016.

Did I misunderstand something?
 
Although your math seems correct, he was telling me I was under warranty until Nov of '16. He didn't give me a receipt when he exchanged the OEM for the replacement cell, so I was relying on his system to tell me if I was warrantied. At this point, I'm shopping for OEM vs. the generics, but will probably stick with OEM. . .
 
This shop is the closest factory certified store, I thought I was lucky when he did the math and said it was warrantied, but then bummed when he declined it, blaming it on high salt. I may try to find another store though, thats not a bad idea, not sure if I'd be stuck with the same guy or not.
 
OK, new update:
Pool dude called, said Hayward OK'd replacement (yay). Exchanged my old cell, took it home, hooked it up, and. . . reads 0 salt. ??

Temp, volts, etc all have normal readings, but -0 for salt, and default salt 0. No other settings were changed.

Suggestions?
Pics attached.

Edit: no pics attached. Not sure why, but I have 4 prior pics already uploaded and it won't let me upload more. I also can't figure out how to delete the previous pics to make room. . . grr.
 

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No, but thats an option in the future, is it possible it thinks its displaying elsewhere? not sure if there's a program button for that, will have to try to find a download on the manual from somewhere. . . thanks for the idea. . .
 
OK, just to update, I've identified the problem.

The housing for the Aquarite has pre-cut openings on the bottom for the tcell cord and the flow meter. The cutout for the for the Tcell is very small, and the cord can only fit in one position. It did not line up perfectly with the 8-pin connector on the PCB, so there was insufficient contact. I had to remove the pcb, reconnect all the power lines in the box, and then secure the Tcell connector, and BAM! everything works great.

Now I just have to leave the AquaRite front plate off, but everything is working great :)

Thanks for anyone who was following this, its nice to have a sounding board for trouble-shooting.
 
jbailey895 said:
Just wasn't aware of the arbitrary/discretionary authority a pool guy has in replacing a fairly expensive piece of equipment under warranty.
Click to expand...

Every warranty has exclusions for abuse or factors that may not be due to a manufacturing defect (e.g. voltage spikes). The discretion is not as to whether they will honor the warranty, just as to ways they can weasel out of it.
 
jbailey895 said:
OK, just to update, I've identified the problem.

The housing for the Aquarite has pre-cut openings on the bottom for the tcell cord and the flow meter. The cutout for the for the Tcell is very small, and the cord can only fit in one position. It did not line up perfectly with the 8-pin connector on the PCB, so there was insufficient contact. I had to remove the pcb, reconnect all the power lines in the box, and then secure the Tcell connector, and BAM! everything works great.

Now I just have to leave the AquaRite front plate off, but everything is working great :)

Thanks for anyone who was following this, its nice to have a sounding board for trouble-shooting.
Click to expand...

A poor connection at the control unit explains the burn marks on the cord connector.
 
Yet another update: I checked the Aqua Rite about an hour later, and the salt level has returned to zero. If slide the switch down to off, then back to Auto, it goes to ~3700 or 3800 (I know its a bit high), and stays there for a bit, but eventually falls to zero. The generating light stays on after this fall, but the immediate (-) reading is zero. If I try to use the hard return entry (going up to "superchlorinate") and back again, it automatically falls to 0.

I'm going to try to call Hayward to trouble-shoot, but I'm guessing they'll blame the board, since the cell has just been replaced. . . .
 
The AquaRite has a cycle time. Software revision 1.55 (5/8/2009) and newer uses a 180 minute cycle time. Software revisions prior to 1.55 have a 120 minute cycle time. The percentage setting is the percentage of the cycle time that the unit generates chlorine and the remainder of the cycle time the unit stops producing.

Then the polarity reverses and the cycle begins again and generates chlorine. For example, a 120 minute cycle time and a setting of 40 % will generate for 48 minutes and be idle for 72 minutes. While idle, the salt will read zero. That's normal.

Don't go from auto to superchlorinate and back to auto while the instant shows zero because that will reset the average to zero. Do it when the instant is good to reset the average to a good number.

Can you post all diagnostics with the switch off and while generating?
 
Thanks, that helps. I went through the diagnostics with a Hayward guy on the phone. I have a generic PCB, and it had #'s the tech wasn't familiar with, so of course he recommended replacing the PCB. He may be right, but it appears the unit is generating, even when it reads "-0". It didn't have the normal phase where you can choose between the sized cells, I'll post the readings when I get home again (back at the office for a bit). Always seem to get burned by generics I guess, lol.
 

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