LOW FLOW alert on IntelliTouch with Hayward AquaRite SWG

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dragon tamer said:
Is the 4-wire / 2-wire issue a change that came about with later IntelliTouch firmware versions?
Click to expand...

No, the yellow and green wires are for the RS-485 comm. The black and red wires provide power back to a device. Both the IntelliTouch and the Aquarite have their own power and don't need the black and red connection. Feeding power between the boxes may be messing it up.
 
Ok... Got the same pcb alert running with the remote off. So, I have disconnected the red and black and taped them up. Interestingly (for me atleast) the system is currently operating properly. I'll let you know what I see in a couple of hours...
 
Ok... I got the same pcb alert with the system running in "AUTO" with the Remote "OFF". So, I have disconnected and taped over the red and black wires at the AquaRite end of the RS-485 cable. Interestingly (for me at least), the system is operating properly.

I'll let you know in a few hours how it goes.
 
Well, it took longer, but eventually got the pcb alert... also, I tried to turn the remote on, and get constant "COMM LINK ERROR" alert in the IntelliTouch remote screen.

Is there a power level I can check with a multimeter that might tell me if a transformer is going bad or something like that?
 
I think the COMM LINK ERROR is coming from the IntelliTouch and the remote and not the Aquarite.
 
Hey DT, pull the whole comm port block off the Aquarite board and try using it without any comm connection. I wonder if somehow the new firmware doesn't play nice with the Aquarite anymore. I have the same salt cell but mine has never had the comm port connected (of course, I don't get a salt reading at the indoor panel)
 
Hey Bourke your voltage and current draw numbers look ok to me (~30v and 0 amps when OFF, and ~24 and ~5 amps when ON)

try to recalibrate the salt setting... to see how, check out the following post. the poster has been replacing the varsitor (black disk in the top right corner - don't touch it when it's on!!) and says the pcb error shows up sometimes afterward. Then he describes how to re-calibrate (it's also in the aquarite manual)

aqua rite -pcb- error

I have had the situation where the device shows no power and not generating. I replaced the current limiter ( large black disk), put the board back in the box and started it up. It ran for a day then gave me the error -pcb- on the Display board. I have seen other folks write of the same scenario...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
Sorry for the late reply... drove the pup up to play in the snow... she is half Great Pyrenees, so not a big fan of the heat!

So, the red block on the AquaRite will pull off just like the black ones on the personality board?

I'll give that a try.

I have re-calibrated the AquaRite several times... yesterday when I first tried running it in Auto with the Remote OFF, avg salinity showed 1500... re-cal, shows 3000, then goes back to 2300. Two more re-cal's with the exact same result. Fourth one showed 2900 during the re-cal and that stuck. But, still got the pcb after 90 minutes or so...

I am thinking about taking my board down to my friends house and putting it on his system and seeing if I get the same result. If I do, then I know it is the board. If I don't, I will try his board on my pool... it is only a couple months old, so the firmware will be up to date, and see how my system works then.

But I will try it with the RS-485 completely disconnected first.
 
Ok... clock is running. I disconnected and started to pool pump at 2050.

Initial readings with the RS-485 disconnected are perfect.

2900
77
24.6 volts - rock steady
5.02
24P
-2800
AL-0
r 1.33

I am waiting for an email back from Hayward regarding the AquaRite, and I will ask if there are any issues with version 1.33 communicating with the newer IntelliTouch systems.

I am beginning to suspect that is my problem... when I have the RS-485 hooked up, the Remote light flashes on and off... and the voltage goes from 24.5 to 30.5 in perfect sync with the remote light...

But, this test with the RS-485 may indicate that it is the board if I get pcb again....
 

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I agree Tom... It does seem to be the Pentair firmware... system just ran flawlessly for 2.5 hours. I'm going to watch it tomorrow, but it would seem that until the smoke is let out of the pcb, I'm going to run it manually.

I wonder why Pentair would change the firmware to slow down the data transfer like that. Doesn't seem like a great idea to me...

I'll also be calling Pentair and Hayward and asking their tech support about the issue. I'll post what I hear from them.
 
Whelp... here is the email chain with Hayward. Generally poor customer support... which is unfortunate.

--------------- Original Message ---------------
From: Bourke
Sent: 5/15/2023 1:52 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Hayward Case #00396844 [ ref:_00Df219FYU._5004O1KvNj2:ref ]

Good morning S*****,

To follow up on my issue, I have been trouble shooting all weekend, and at this point, I know that my AquaRite is working perfectly once I disconnect the RS-485 cable from the IntelliTouch.

I am aware that Hayward does not make the IntelliTouch system, but I would assume that both Hayward and Pentair would be aware of any issues where your equipment does not play well with other systems so that pool owners know what they need to do in order to maximize their systems to the fullest extent possible.

So, that is my question... are you aware of any known conflicts with other operating systems for the AquaRite with firmware revision 1.33?

My AquaRite (r 1.33) worked seamlessly with my Pentair IntelliTouch (Firmware ver 1.060) for 17 YEARS. I have had to update the firmware on the IntelliTouch to ver 1.191 in order to be able to control a Variable Speed pump, and that is when I began to have issues with controlling the AquaRite with the IntelliTouch. From what I have been able to find on the internet, at some point Pentair slowed rate it sends commands on the RS-485 down from every 4 seconds to every 15 seconds, and that is too long of a delay for the AquaRite, so it eventually burps, gives me a -pcb- alert and is done until I manually unplug it and reset it.

The next question would be, Is there any version of the AquaRite that will work with the IntelliTouch?

Thank you for your time,
Bourke

His reply:

From: Hayward Email Support <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2023 11:19 AM
To: Bourke
Subject:Hayward Case #00396844 [ ref:_00Df219FYU._5004O1KvNj2:ref ]

Hello,

I am aware of changes that where made by both Pentair, and Hayward and I can tell you once the software is upgraded the 2 system will no longer work together, and there is not any other upgrade board to make this work. I am very sorry for the inconvenience.

This is an email regarding Case # 00396844

Regards,
S*****
Case Management Specialist

My response:

From: Bourke
Sent: 5/15/2023 3:04 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Hayward Case #00396844 [ ref:_00Df219FYU._5004O1KvNj2:ref ]

Thank you S*****... just one last question... Is there any new SWCG that Hayward makes that will operate with the newer Pentair systems?

Thank you again,
Bourke

And his last riveting reply:

Hello,

I am sorry but there is not.

This is an email regarding Case # 00396844

Regards,
S*****
Case Management Specialist


So it appears that both (?) Hayward and Pentair do not want their systems to cooperate with each other. I am trying to track down the work around that is mentioned in the link tom sent me.
 
Also... somewhere in the 5+ hour range, I got the -pcb- alert on the AquaRite with it not connected to the IntelliTouch at all... so it seems that I may have a bad AquaRite...

Does anyone know of a way to test the board and see what is wrong with it?
 
Ok... here is the latest in the saga...

Started the pump at 0700 so I could take several readings.

0715 generating light illuminated

2900
74
25.4 volts
5.22
24P
-2800
AL-0
r 1.33

0810 and every 15 minutes since with the generating light illuminated

2900
74
30.8 volts
0
24P
-0
AL-0
r 1.33

Is this because I have the percentage down at 24?

I suspect that is the case... I just went out and turned it up to 80P and after a minute, the numbers went back to standard generating numbers. I just didn't realize that the generating light would remain on during the time that it isn't actually generating...
 
Got the -pcb- alert again... somewhere after 6 hours and before 7. I really have no idea what is causing that... the thermistor does get H O T. But, I have not been lucky enough to see what the voltage was doing at the moment the -pcb- alert comes on. I have ordered a new -pcb- which gets here Friday, and I will probably send off the old one to BuysPro to see if they can determine what is wrong with it...
 
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I don't know for sure what was wrong with the previous AquaRite pcb that caused a -pcb- alert in the screen, but I installed a new one last night and monitored closely today. It worked perfectly. Honestly, I don't know when that may have started happening because I just don't regularly look inside the AquaRite box, or check the Chlorine Gen page in the IntelliTouch... which, as we now know is useless unless you want to go with the Raspberry Pi route or switch to a Pentair Chlorine Gen. I learned a lot thru this process, so if you see this stuff happening to your system, please DM me and I will be glad to discuss it with you. Cheers!
 
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