Intellicenter issues

[PratikA]

Hello. We installed a new Intellicenter late last year and have been having a lot of issues. First of all, it seems somehow my pump is no longer communicating with the automation, as the screen on the pump itself is active and the Intellicenter is reporting "communication lost". Additionally, I cannot seem to control my heater from the Intellicenter. If I put my Raypak gas heater into remote mode, it never turns on and "waits for demand." I have to manually turn off remote mode and set the temperature on the heater display. Finally, I have 2 Intellivalves that came with my system. After opening this year, it seems one of them is completely dead. There are no lights on the unit and pressing the buttons does nothing. Does anyone know how to fix these issues? An Intellicenter programming whizz would be appreciated! Thank you in advance!

 

[mknauss]

@MyAZPool is one of our Intellicenter users.

 

[Jimrahbe]

P,

Make sure you are not in the Service Mode.

If the pump is connected to the IntelliCenter, the pump's display should say "Display Not Active".. It should do that automatically, no programming is involved.

Use your automation to change your SWCG's output percentage.. Make sure the lights on the SWCG change to match what you input. If your SWCG changes correctly that will tell you that your com port is working.. If the pump and the SWCG both do not respond to commands, then most likely your com port is bad.

I'd unplug the "bad" actuator and see what happens.. It is possible that the actuator is loading down one of the power supply voltages.

For the heater to work, it has to be on and set for full hot. When the water is below the set point, a small relay on the main board closes which basically tells the heater to run. When the water temp get above the set point the small relay opens and the heater turns off.

Let's see what MyAZPool has to say.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[PratikA]

Thank you for the suggestions. I do not think I am in service mode. The slider is set to “auto” in the service mode menu. Since I can operate the pump screen, it is definitely not connected to the Intellicenter. There is a lost communication error in the Intellicenter alerts page as well.

Unfortunately I cannot see if my SWG changes with percentage as my pool currently does not have enough salt and it is showing the low salt warning. It was opened a few days ago. Although I can see the low salt warning in the Intellicenter alerts section so it must be transmitting data right?

How does one unplug the actuator? I’ve never taken off the panel cover before. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[Jimrahbe]

P,

Actuator has a small cable going back to the IntelliCenter. It just plugs in.. I have an EasyTouch and I am sure it is similar, but not sure of the exact location on an IntelliCenter.

Tell us which valve it is and I can look it up..

The front panel of the IntelliCenter unscrews and drops down giving you access to all the plugs and electronics.. If you want, you can take a pic of that area with the front panel down.

I think the cell should have output lights even of the salt level is not correct. Do you have any output lights at all? When connected to the automation, the more or less button don't work for adjusting the output.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[PratikA]

I have a Pentair Intellivalve (521485). I don't know if this is related, but I found a green and yellow wire just lying in the grass next to the Intellicenter panel (picture attached). I'll try opening up the panel later today and send a picture of the electrical. My current output lights on the salt cell are green for flow, and red for low salt. No other lights. Even if I up the percentage in the Intellicenter, none of the percent lights turn on. Thank you.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Prat,

The black cable with the Green and Yellow wires is the control cable for your IntelliFlo pump. It is why your pump is not communicating with your automation.

The other black cable on the ground may be your actuator cable or ????

If you can show the inside of the IntelliCenter showing all the relays and circuit breakers.

Also a pic or two of your equipment pad would be very helpful...

When I asked "Which valve was "bad".. I meant what does it control.. Is it the automated Intake valve, in front of the pump or is it the Return valve that is after the heater???

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[PratikA]

Prat,

The black cable with the Green and Yellow wires is the control cable for your IntelliFlo pump. It is why your pump is not communicating with your automation.

The other black cable on the ground may be your actuator cable or ????

If you can show the inside of the IntelliCenter showing all the relays and circuit breakers.

Also a pic or two of your equipment pad would be very helpful...

When I asked "Which valve was "bad".. I meant what does it control.. Is it the automated Intake valve, in front of the pump or is it the Return valve that is after the heater???

Thanks,

Jim R.

The other cable on the ground is actually the same cable. My pool builder didn’t cut the cables to length for some reason so they are all long. I’ve attached some pictures of the inside of the panel as well as my equipment. The faulty valve is on the return side. It normally operates my waterfall. Thanks.

 

[PratikA]

Additional images...please disregard the vegetation. I haven’t had a chance to tidy up the area.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Prat,

Well, I see a number things that I question..

The relay in the upper left is the Pump/Filter relay.. If you look at the SWCG transformer (the big one) you will see a note that says you MUST connect the power to that transformer thorough the Pump/Filter relay.. This prevents the SWCG from exploding if allowed to run with the pump off.. It does not appear to be wired correctly to me.

Tell me where the conduit on the far left (the one with the two blue wires) goes..

Tell me what each circuit breaker does

Tell me what Aux 1 turns on, what Aux 2 turns on, and what Aux 3 turns on..

It appears to me that the IntelliFlo pump is being controlled by a relay.. It should get constant AC power, no relay is used..

The wire colors tend to mix so I could be wrong....

Please run this simple test... Go out to the pad and look at the pump and make sure the screen is on.. In theory, it should say "Display not active".. But it won't with the cable not connected. Then look at the SWCG and ensure it has some lights on. Use the main panel and go into the Service mode.. Check the pump again.. The display should still be on.. I suspect it will be blank. The Salt cell should have no lights at all. Run that test and tell me what you get. Once done with the test put the system back into Auto mode.. It might take a few minutes for everything to fire back up.

I also do not see your water temp probe connected to your plumbing.. It appears to me that the water temp probe is just tied up under the main panel next to the air temp probe.. Your heater will never work if the IntelliCenter does not know what the water temp is..

Let me know what you find.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mknauss]

Jim - I see the temp probe on the plumbing, just before the anode.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Marty,

Good catch.. It appears to me there are two of them under the main enclosure, so I took a quick look and did not see the one you found.

Thanks again,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Prat,

If those black dots at the bottom are ants, you need to spray in there as they will eat wiring...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[PratikA]

Prat,

If those black dots at the bottom are ants, you need to spray in there as they will eat wiring...

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks for letting me know. I will spray them.

 

[PratikA]

Prat,

Well, I see a number things that I question..

The relay in the upper left is the Pump/Filter relay.. If you look at the SWCG transformer (the big one) you will see a note that says you MUST connect the power to that transformer thorough the Pump/Filter relay.. This prevents the SWCG from exploding if allowed to run with the pump off.. It does not appear to be wired correctly to me.

Tell me where the conduit on the far left (the one with the two blue wires) goes..

Tell me what each circuit breaker does

Tell me what Aux 1 turns on, what Aux 2 turns on, and what Aux 3 turns on..

It appears to me that the IntelliFlo pump is being controlled by a relay.. It should get constant AC power, no relay is used..

The wire colors tend to mix so I could be wrong....

Please run this simple test... Go out to the pad and look at the pump and make sure the screen is on.. In theory, it should say "Display not active".. But it won't with the cable not connected. Then look at the SWCG and ensure it has some lights on. Use the main panel and go into the Service mode.. Check the pump again.. The display should still be on.. I suspect it will be blank. The Salt cell should have no lights at all. Run that test and tell me what you get. Once done with the test put the system back into Auto mode.. It might take a few minutes for everything to fire back up.

I also do not see your water temp probe connected to your plumbing.. It appears to me that the water temp probe is just tied up under the main panel next to the air temp probe.. Your heater will never work if the IntelliCenter does not know what the water temp is..

Let me know what you find.

Thanks,

Jim R.

I ran the test. The pump screen was blank but the salt cell still had the lights on. Also, when I turn off the pool in the Intellicenter menu, I hear the click of a relay and the pump shuts off. I think the pump is wired through a relay. For the aux circuits, to be honest I am not sure. I have 2 pool lights and a Polaris booster pump, but in my Intellicenter app I only can control one of the lights. The booster pump button does not activate the pump either. This might be a mechanical issue though as the pump instantly trips it’s breaker. I will test the other circuit breakers later today. Thanks.

 

[PratikA]

Please let me know the other issues you see with my wiring. I don’t think the installer did a good job and I plan on getting an electrician out to fix his mistakes.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Prat,

Your results are what I expected and confirms that your unit is missed wired..

I could talk you through fixing a couple of things, but it sounds like you have more issues than I can diagnose just looking that pictures.. I like your idea of having an electrician who is familiar with pool automation come out and look at it..

The original installer did not have a clue what he was doing..

Make sure the the IntelliFlo pump gets constant AC power and that the Big SWCG transformer is wired to the load side of the pump filter relay..

Make sure you also tell the new electrician to figure out why only one light works and why the booster pump pops the breaker.

Please let me know if you need anything else,

Jim R.