Aqualink RS4 Feeze Protection

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kentkasing

0
Feb 21, 2013
12
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
Hi,
I purchased a house with an inground salt water pool (1st time maintaining a pool). It came with a Aqualink RS4 control system. This system appears to be old. The previous owner left all the instruction manuals and I read everything. The issue I'm having is the freeze protection activates when very cold at night and the pump would start and stop rapidly like almost 20-30 times a minute. This pulsation of the pump varies (few seconds at a turn) and there's no rhyme or reason. Per the manual, there is no way to deactivate the freeze protection mode on the pump so what I do is just turn off the whole system (there's a switch at the equipment outside like a normal light switch) and turn it back on in the morning. I already replaced the relay with a new relay for the pump thinking the relay is not "sticking"/staying on because of the cold temp but no luck and the pump continues to "pulse" on and off when freeze protection is activated. Does anyone know what's going on? Any help with be much appreciated.

Pool Info if helps:
Dallas, TX
Approx 30,000 gallon pool
Polaris AutoClear ACL-14 SWG system
Hayward pump model RS2000 (2 HP, 2.5 THP, 1.25 SF, all listed on the pump)
Sta-Rite System 3 S8M150
 
We've seen this issue before and looking back through the old thread, I don't think it ever got resolved. I'd try calling Jandy and see if they have an answer for it. It's definitely not good for the pump to do that.
 
I have the exact same thing happening in the DFW area now with our Aqualink RS4. Was a solution ever determined or anyone else heard of this happening? The temperature is right at the freeze protect point and I've tried everything, but it keeps rapidly powering on and off. Even when the temp is above the setting and I simply turn the filter pump "on" it will start doing it after a bit. I'm tempted to just leave it powered off completely or try to drain the equipment for the term of the low temps.
 
I have not solved the problem or heard anything. I've even replaced the air temperature sensor but did not solve the issue. Right now, 11/22/13, with our temp hovering around mid 30 degrees, I just keep the whole system powered off, and will turn it back on when the temperature goes back higher to non freezing range. With the cold temp, I don't think I need much chlorination.
 
jefe said:
I'm tempted to just leave it powered off completely or try to drain the equipment for the term of the low temps.
Click to expand...
To me, that is a much better solution than relying on freeze protection. Most systems turn on much too soon so they tend to waste a lot of energy. Plus it takes many hours below freezing before the pipes start freezing.
 
1. Is this only happening when freeze protect turns on?

2. Is the maintain temperature feature (only available on recent revisions) on?

If you answered yes to #1 and no to #2, you simply have a bad board. When freeze protect its activated the filter pump will turn on and run for a minimum of 15 minutes no matter what the temperature rises to. At the end of 15 minutes the AquaLink again checks the temperature, if the temperature is still below the freeze activation point the system will remain in freeze mode and check temperature every 15 minutes until freeze condition no longer exists.

Note: if you answered no to #1, there is another issue at hand like a bad drive or relay. If you answered yes to #2, turn maintain temperature off during freeze protect hours.
 
kentkasing said:
Answer:
1). Yes, it only happens when the freeze protection kicks on.

2). My pool was built around 1998 so I don't think my Aqualink has the maintain temperature feature (I've owned the house since 2012).
Click to expand...

Your system isn't capable of it. You can try a Clear Memory to wipe out any programming issues, but if the issue persists your board should be replaced.
 
I'm in the same area (DFW).....on the days mentioned, the temp was hovering around 34-35 degrees, back and forth all day (and night) long. My Aqua system came on and off a number of times, due to freeze protect (freeze protect on the Aqualink system defaults at 34 degrees.....you can't lower it, but on the newer iAqualink you can make it higher, which isn't any help). It does sound like you might have a bad board.....a power cycle is a good idea.
 

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UPDATE - So to follow up with my similar issue: I drained the equipment and left town with peace of mind that it wouldn't be damaged and I'd save a bundle in electric bill being off all week. When I got back I put in a new relay thinking that might be the issue. The problem seemed solved and everything worked fine until the temp got close to freezing and the rapid pump firing started again. Ugh! So I switched to service mode and watched the temps and turned on overnight when the temps were low and ordered a new iAquaLink system from sunplay which is great because it came with a new power center, board, 2 new jandy valves and the wireless interface/antenna for MUCH cheaper than I found anywhere else. Switching out the board was a snap and got the new wifi setup easy with an iPhone app - cool! Everything works great now and the freeze protect turns on when appropriate and no more rapid firing, so that problem seems solved!
My question now with a hole in the wall already for the old RS4 controller unit inside is can I use that with the new board outside and should I try or could that have anything at all to do with the rapid firing? I'm scared to hook it up for fear of messing up something with the new (working!) wireless setup. And if I do set it up, do I use the jumper for multiple controllers or will it most likely simply not work since it's a much older controller?
 
Same problem here in California. House and pool was built in 1997. Problem seems to happen right around 38deg. The pump cycles about 20-30/min in an irregular pattern. Thought it might be a thermometer problem but then I think that would exhibit issues at the control panel. Very frustrating that you simply cannot override the control panel and turn on the pump. Have had to replace the relay twice now because it eventually fails as a result of turning on and off so many times.
 
------ Update 12/05/2015 ------------------
Removing my old post and revising it with latest info that has the definitive fix :party: Figured out the solution to this after years dealing with this. CA weather doesn't drop into freezing that often so it wasn't at the top of my list.

The bad news it is a firmware bug in the older controllers and there is no workaround (my controller firmware was 6521 Rev F). In order to stop the pump chatter on freeze protect you have to replace PCB board in the pool computer. Firmware upgrades from Jandy/Zodiac are not available.

The good news is this is a pretty easy task if you are in the least bit handy. Took me about 45 minutes because I did it very slowly and was recording the process. Probably could be done in 15min.
The part you want to order is an IQ20-RS. The RS version is the version that is compatible with the older controllers (revision QQQ and Older). I got mine online for a little under $500. This has definitively solved the problem for me

Here's the cool part... you get a bunch of other goodies for your trouble:
- This kit comes with the iAqualink. You'll be able to remotely control your pool/spa equipment from your phone or tablet. You can turn on the spa while you're still sitting at the restaurant.
- You can now manage your pool settings from your home computer through the iAqualink website. This is much easier than going through the interface on the control pad. I now use my A schedule for summer months and B schedule for winter months. You can also pre-program dates for it to automatically switch between the two.
- If you have a RS4 or RS6, this kit will upgrade you to an RS8 (2 more auxiliary circuits than the RS6, 4 more than the RS4). If you add a $20 relay and a $5 circuit breaker you can control anything else you want from your controlpad or phone. I have added Costco Edison string lights to the fence around the perimeter of my yard. I can turn them on/off from my phone or they put on a predetermined schedule. Very cool.
- The PCB board also has an additional RS485 pinout that you would use if you were wanting to put in a variable speed pump (or an additional controlpad).
- I didn't have the older Jandy PDA for my system but from what I understand that the IQ20-RS is compatible if you do happen to have one.

One quick note on wiring the iAqualink. It doesn't need to be wired directly to the PCB. It can be wired in serial with the controlpad that is already inside your house. Since this is likely close to where your internet router is and not near the pool computer, just connect the 4 wires from the iAqualink right into the same RS485 4-wire connector that connects to your control pad matching the same colors (red,black,yellow,green). The instructions that come with the kit will show you how to setup the Wifi. BTW, there were no instructions for the PCB board but if you search youtube there are some videos. It's also pretty straightforward.
 
I'm not moving the pool light to the unused AUX5. I think you misunderstood. You may want to re-read the post a little closer. Especially step 5.

I needed a "something else" to pair with the filter pump during Freeze protection. I could use the pool light but I don't want a 500W pool light coming on every time freeze protection kicks in. So... I paired a dummy device with the filter pump (the unused AUX5).
 
I have an Aqualogic PS8 (guessing its very similar) I was having the same issue with my pool filter and water fall cycling on and off every 2 minutes. My issue is that the pool filter has freeze protect enables and on Aux 5 I have my waterfall with freeze protect enabled.

gregvi, in your case is your theory that it is the pool light being enabled that is fixing it or having something enabled on Aux5?
 
My filter pump was cycling 20-30 times per minute just like yours. I am on a RS6 which looks almost identical to an RS8. My neighbor has an RS8 which has a button or two more. Simply adding a second device to Freeze Protect resolved my issue with it power cycling thousands of times per hour. It did not matter what the second device was... pool light, waterfall pump or an unused button which in my case is AUX5. It had nothing to do with which device I added. Any second device added to Freeze Protect stopped the behavior.

Since you say that your pool filter and water fall are both cycling... there goes my theory. I would have expected that if you had both the filter and a second device (waterfall) that you would not exhibit the behavior. Do both of your pump turn off and on simultaneously? Ouch, that sounds painful. Just out of curiosity, what is your Freeze Protection temperature set to? You can find it under the Review, Freeze Protect settings.

@phoenixtx - I've heard that FreezeProtect is supposed to turn on and then reevaluate in 15 min. Regardless of whether it is 15 or 30 min, the bottom line is that it is not supposed to cycle every 2 seconds.
 
@Bama Rambler - not odd at all that something added to the programming changes the behavior. It's called a software bug.

I believe that the relay and the pump are doing exactly what the computer is telling them to do. I believe that if you put a ohmmeter on the 24v wires to the relay you would see them turning off/on repeatedly every few secs.

All I know is that I have had this problem for years. I have actually burned through and replaced at least two filter pump relays. Immediately after adding a second device to freeze protect, my problem went away. And...I did verify that freeze protect did run for those nights. Also another interesting note, when I get up in the morning (and the temperature is still below 38) and turn off the second device I get a prompt that says it is going to turn back on the second device in xx minutes. Sometimes xx is 1 minute, sometimes 9, another time 6. Bottom line is that freeze protect is working and doing exactly what I would expect it to do. It will not allow me to turn off the filter pump, which is also expected behavior.

Our temperatures in Northern CA for the rest of this week are not due to drop below 40deg so I may not be able to test other theories for a while.
 

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