Pump "Offline"??

[tloomos]

I have a Jandy control system and I have it running my winter schedule which keeps my VS pump running at a slow speed most of the day and then it ramps up a bit overnight. I also have freeze guard that turns the pumps on at a higher speed if the temp dips low.

A couple of times in the past week, I was up late at a time when the pump should have been running and it was not. I went over to the wall remote and there was a message saying the pump is "offline". Using the buttons on the wall remote, I go into the equipment list and manually turn the pump on and it kicks right on and runs normally.

I have no idea what that "pump offline" message means. I would understand if this was the iaqualink accessed through the web, because that usually means theres an issue with my internet connection. But the wall remote is hard-wired to the control panel.

I'm concerned because I'm supposed to be heading out of town on a trip and I'm worried there's an issue somewhere that I need to address. And I'm sure if there's a problem, it will rear it's head when temps dip to freezing and I'm out of town.

 

[ajw22]

Is your VS pump connected to continuous power on the LINE side and not the LOAD side of your filter pump relay?

 

[JamesW]

The red blocks are the communications terminal blocks.

The system is expecting communications from the pump but it is not communicating.

Maybe the pump does not have power or maybe the communication wires are not connected.

It looks like the pump is powered through the relay instead of getting continuous power.

You usually want continuous power to the pump.

Maybe the relay is not closing?

 

[tloomos]

The pump is definitely connected to the load side of the relay, not the line side - it does not have continuous power. I don't think I changed that, so I thought it was how the installers set it up. Seemed to make sense to me - I thought the relay is how the controller turned the pump on and off, but I now realize there is a wire going from the pump to the controller, so it sounds like what you're saying is the pump should have continuous power and the controller will control it via that remote wire?

The odd thing is that I had never seen this before until the last week or two, and nothing has changed. If I'm understanding everything above, the most likely culprit is a bad connection somewhere between the pump and controller with the control wire. And the reason it kicks right on when I manually turn the relay on is because it's getting direct power.

It seems like it's mostly working - it's an odd occasion when I see that message - not consistent and definitely not a daily occurrence. I think i've seen it twice in the past 3 weeks.

 

[JamesW]

Check for voltage at the filter pump relay Line Terminals and Load terminals.

Is the Test button going up?

 

[JamesW]

Check the communication wires.

Make sure that the pump is getting power.

 

[ajw22]

With VS pumps connected by RS-485 Comm link the pump is controlled by the RS-485 commands and not by cycling electrical power ON and OFF.

The pump should always be powered so Aqualink can communicate and control the pump regardless of the mode the panel is in.

There is sometimes a delay before the panel realizes the pump is no longer communicating with it and then it displays the PUMP OFFLINE message which is accurate.

 

[tloomos]

Thank you for all the info. When the weather gets back to normal, I'll rewire things so it has constant power, and I'll check the comm cable for issues. This helps me at least understand what the likely cause is. I'll just have to keep a close eye on it til then. The good news is that every time I've seen this happen so far, I 've been able to manually tell the pump to turn on and it starts right up.

 

[ajw22]

The good news is that every time I've seen this happen so far, I 've been able to manually tell the pump to turn on and it starts right up.

When you tell the pump to turn on that closes the filter pump relay, powers the pump, the pump comes online, then the Aqualink commands the pump to run through the RS-485 line.