Pentair SOLARTOUCH Controller displaying error message " intelliflow pump com lost".

[Voxman]

Hello Everyone!
Hoping to get some better tech advice than Pentair supplies concerning an error message that has caused a lost of communication between SOLARTOUCH controller and my Intelliflow pump.
Installed 3/2015
System operating fine until:
Solartouch was shut off temporarily due to cold weather. 5 days later I tried enabling it to warm up pool and was surprised to see error message "Intelliflow pump com lost". I went through the normal procedures to get it working i.e., cycling power on and off multiple times, disconnecting and reconnecting cable, verified continuity using ohm meter on cable, checking the wiring connections/terminals inside the SOLARTOUCH. Unfortunately Pentair was no help as I spoke with a "tech" (I use that word lightly) who was no help at all.
I guess I'm at the stage where I need to know how to troubleshoot further (if possible) to determine if the SOLARTOUCH is the problem or the interface on the Intelliflow pump is the problem. Obviously I would like to know with a high % certainty which device is causing issue.
There are no physical defects or problems that I can see inside or out and as mentioned system has been running flawlessly for since 2015. I regularly disable SOLARTOUCH to correct time if power goes out or I need to change a function.
I'm guessing it's going to be rather expensive to fix but don't know how much yet.
Any advice or ideas are welcome.
Thanks Everyone in advanc,
Gary

 

[Jimrahbe]

Gary,

Obviously, it has to be the pump, cable or SolarTouch.

Cable wise, we have seen some issues with corrosion where the cable plugs into the pump. Check both sides

Without the right equipment there is no easy way to tell if the problem is the pump or the SolarTouch.

Both units contain the same RS-485 chip which can easily be damaged by connecting things with the power on or lighting strikes.

My experience here at TFP tell me that most like the SolarTouch is the issue.

I have not seen the inside of the SolarTouch, but assume the chip is soldered on the card, so not as simple as removing the bad one and installing the good one.

Let's see if Tom @ogdento has any ideas...

If you can, show us a pic of both sides of you SolarTouch main board.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Voxman]

Jim,
Thanks for responding!
I’ll post pics asap.
Gary

 

[ogdento]

if the cable is really ok... it's more likely the comm chip on the solartouch rather than the pump, but...

as far as i'm aware, the easiest way to troubleshoot comms operation when you don't have a "known-good" device that connects to the comm port is to get an rs485 to usb dongle and run "node js pool controller", aka njsPC, or wireshark/serial-sniffer capture program to see what data is sent

njsPC can run on a raspberry pi and has a slick interface for controlling your pool and lots of other stuff. it can also be used to troubleshoot, since it can decode messages from intellitouch, easytouch, pumps, chlorinators etc... i don't know if it'll show solartouch data (though i don't know why it wouldn't), but it will show you what it's getting from the pump so you can rule out the the pump as the issue. njsPC is a little complex to set up but there are threads on tfp on how to do it

 

[Voxman]

Again thanks for the responses. Regarding the RS85 hack, that's probably beyond what I'll attempt to use for troubleshooting further.
I'm importing the photos as requested. Let me know if further photos might help.

 

[ogdento]

U5 is the rs485 comm chip... a Texas Instruments SN65HVD485E

datasheet:

https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/405/slls612c-121713.pdf

 

[Jimrahbe]

Thanks Tom, I knew I could count on you to come through...

Jim R.

 

[Voxman]

Well I'm happy to report I replaced the RS485 chip and that restored the communication between Sooartouch and the Intelliflow pump interface. It was pretty easy and only cost less than $5. Hoping it stays fixed. I reviewed the data on this IC and saw it's supposedly very protected against transient spikes but I guess it's time was due.
Thanks for advice...I should have figured this out on my own with my background but it seems my senior brain is getting more foggy everyday.
Thanks everyone!
Gary

 

[Jimrahbe]

Gary,

Glad we were about to help you get it working again. Great job on your part.

Before your brain gets anymore foggy, you should think about becoming a TFP supporter..

Become a TFP Supporter

Help Support TFP Trouble Free Pool is run by a dedicated group of volunteers that … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Slojflores]

Well I'm happy to report I replaced the RS485 chip and that restored the communication between Sooartouch and the Intelliflow pump interface. It was pretty easy and only cost less than $5. Hoping it stays fixed. I reviewed the data on this IC and saw it's supposedly very protected against transient spikes but I guess it's time was due.
Thanks for advice...I should have figured this out on my own with my background but it seems my senior brain is getting more foggy everyday.
Thanks everyone!
Gary

I am having the same issue now and looking for attempt the same fix. Any chance you have more info on replacing the chip?

 

[ogdento]

Assuming you've already checked your cabling...

If you've done some soldering there's really not a lot to it... You're just going to de-solder the old chip and solder on a new one...

If you don't have a hot air rework station, you can use a fine tipped, low wattage (30 watts or less - I did it this way with a 20w iron once and then promptly bought a hot air rework station) and carefully pry up one pin at a time (use a pin to pry)... Use low heat, for as little time as possible... You do not want to overheat and pull up any traces. A little flux and solder sometimes makes it go easier.

You could try solder wick but I find it very difficult to remove surface components with it. There's also a low melting point de-soldering product called chip quick that you basically get on all the pins and it stays molten long enough to remove the chip. I've also soldered a short length of wire to all 8 pins, got a bunch of solder on it, and pulled the part off. Check out smd parts removal on YouTube.

clean up the pads with solder wick and tack on the new part