Replacing SWG flow sensor - matching wires

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JamieP

JamieP

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Platinum Supporter
May 16, 2011
1,184
TX (~30 miles south of Dallas)
Pool Size
28000
Surface
Plaster
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Hello,

I'm troubleshooting a persistent 0 salt reading on my Pentair IC-60 by attempting to replace the flow sensor following instructions on this site. However, my non-Pentair sensor has 4 wires instead of the 3 that are original to the unit. Could someone please advise how I am to match these up? Photo included. Thank you!
 

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Jimrahbe said:
Jamie,

You can use a 3-wire switch on a 4 wire cell, but you can't use a 4-wire switch on a 3 wire cell..

Sorry,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Darn! Thank you for that information, though, Jim. I had this sensor on hand from a while back. I'm not sure why I bought it but I never used it.

I'm not sure if I would be able to tell how many wires the next one has if I were to buy another one. Unless I bought original Pentair. I'd rather not spend the extra money on Pentair if I can help it since I have a back up cell to use if I need it (I got it after a warranty claim but I'd really rather not use it because the cell should still work!) What would you do?
 
Great news!!

I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but I re-installed the salt cell just to get my pump running again. The original sensor wire has been cut so my salt cell shows zero flow as would be expected. The salt level is flashing between green and red. Through my drop test I know my salt is at 3200. The output for the Cell is set to 100% and I am actually getting bubbles from my returns! ScreenLogic still says zero salt, but if I am producing chlorine, then I'm a happy camper! So, as it stands now I'll leave it like this and see how long I can be operational on my current cell.

Thank you for your help!
 
Jamie,

When the salt reading is Zero... it really has nothing to do with the actual salt level, it has to do with glitch in how long it takes for the cell to tell the EasyTouch what the salt level is.. When the EasyTouch does not see the reported level at the right time, it reports zero..

As long as your cell shows a green salt level, then the cell knows what the salt level is and should work fine.. Often replacing the flow switch 'fixes' the problem, but replacing almost anything in the SWCG system has fixed the problem and replacing the flow switch does not always fix the issue.

As a note... When the cell is in the cold water mode, it will also report zero salt then, but that is normal..

The flashing red and green lights should happen every time you power up the cell, as this is when the cell measures the salt level. It also does this every 12 hours after power up.

Edit.. Another problem, this time of year, is the water temp.. anytime the water temp is below about 65 degrees, the accuracy of the reported salt reading is often way off.. The problem is that the cell works off of what it 'thinks' the salt level is, not what the actual salt level is..

Glad it is working for you.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Jimrahbe said:
Jamie,

When the salt reading is Zero... it really has nothing to do with the actual salt level, it has to do with glitch in how long it takes for the cell to tell the EasyTouch what the salt level is.. When the EasyTouch does not see the reported level at the right time, it reports zero..

As long as your cell shows a green salt level, then the cell knows what the salt level is and should work fine.. Often replacing the flow switch 'fixes' the problem, but replacing almost anything in the SWCG system has fixed the problem and replacing the flow switch does not always fix the issue.

As a note... When the cell is in the cold water mode, it will also report zero salt then, but that is normal..

The flashing red and green lights should happen every time you power up the cell, as this is when the cell measures the salt level. It also does this every 12 hours after power up.

Edit.. Another problem, this time of year, is the water temp.. anytime the water temp is below about 65 degrees, the accuracy of the reported salt reading is often way off.. The problem is that the cell works off of what it 'thinks' the salt level is, not what the actual salt level is..

Glad it is working for you.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that explanation, Jim. My current water temperature is 62. I'll be interested to know if the flashing salt reading goes away when it gets a little warmer. Interestingly, the ScreenLogic still says my salt is zero. But as long as I'm getting bubbles, I'm OK with that!
 
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Update: This morning my weather and water temperature were the same as yesterday but the SWG is no longer creating chlorine. I shut off the breakers for several minutes and restarted the system. Bubbles temporally appeared again but then disappeared. I did this twice with the same results. So it seems that there is a communication problem, since the Cell is obviously capable of creating chlorine.

As a reminder, I currently have a non-functional flow sensor installed since I cut the wire intending to replace it. I do have a new cell as back up, but this one is not very old and I'd like to keep it going if I can. Am I out of luck? Thank you for any further insight you can offer.
 
Jamie,

Something is not right in what I think you are saying.. Here are a few rules about your SWCG..

Nothing will work, if the flow switch is not closed.. Nothing.

Without flow, the salt test will never pass.

If the cell 'thinks' there is very low salt, the cell will not work.

My suggestion would be to get a new 3-wire flow switch and then get your old cell running.. Once it fails, keep the new flow switch as a spare.

You could just install the new cell now, so that you are up and running, and then get the old cell repaired and install it..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Jimrahbe said:
Jamie,

Something is not right in what I think you are saying.. Here are a few rules about your SWCG..

Nothing will work, if the flow switch is not closed.. Nothing.

Without flow, the salt test will never pass.

If the cell 'thinks' there is very low salt, the cell will not work.

My suggestion would be to get a new 3-wire flow switch and then get your old cell running.. Once it fails, keep the new flow switch as a spare.

You could just install the new cell now, so that you are up and running, and then get the old cell repaired and install it..

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Hi Jim. I think that's a good idea about getting a new 3-wire switch to try to fix this cell but using my spare cell in the meantime.

I was also confused about why I was getting chlorine production all day yesterday even though my cell had the red no flow light illuminated. Obviously I have flow, but the cell doesn't know it if the wire is cut and the light is on.

With the Cell turned on, both yesterday and today, I am having the red and green lights flashing alternately on the salt level. My last saw test not long ago was 3200 and I just added another bag so I should be close to 3400 now. Is the constant alternating flashing because it thinks I have low salt or because I can't take or salt reading if it thinks there's no flow? I know it does this at start up. My ScreenLogic still shows 0 ppm for the Intellichlor which it also showed yesterday when I was getting bubbles all day.

Finally, I seem to have a new problem and I wonder if it's all related. I came out to the equipment to describe what was happening and spontaneously my pump lost communication with my ScreenLogic. I assume it's also lost communication with the EasyTouch control panel because turning it on at the panel does not do anything. So currently, the pump won't run.

Thanks for any advice and helping me resolve this new problem!
 
Jamie,

First... the Zero salt display is not really a salinity problem at all.. It is just a system error and has nothing to do with the actual salt level in the water.

Second... When you initially turn on the SWCG, you will see the flashing "railroad crossing' lights as the system tests for salt... this can take up to five minutes.. I do not know if this just goes on forever, if there is no flow or no salt.. But normally, the flashing lights stop when the salt level is measured and you either get a green (Good) salt light or a low (Red) salt light..

If I were in your shoes, I'd install the new cell and see if everything works like it should. Actually, if I were in your shoes, my feet would hurt.. :mrgreen:

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Jimrahbe said:
Jamie,

First... the Zero salt display is not really a salinity problem at all.. It is just a system error and has nothing to do with the actual salt level in the water.

Second... When you initially turn on the SWCG, you will see the flashing "railroad crossing' lights as the system tests for salt... this can take up to five minutes.. I do not know if this just goes on forever, if there is no flow or no salt.. But normally, the flashing lights stop when the salt level is measured and you either get a green (Good) salt light or a low (Red) salt light..

If I were in your shoes, I'd install the new cell and see if everything works like it should. Actually, if I were in your shoes, my feet would hurt.. :mrgreen:

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
My new cell is installed and running. The initial salt reading is spot on as well. I'll see if I can track down a three-wire flow sensor without spending an arm and a leg and try to get the old Cell running again too. Thank you again for your help, Jim!
 
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Jimrahbe said:
Jamie,

Something is not right in what I think you are saying.. Here are a few rules about your SWCG..

Nothing will work, if the flow switch is not closed.. Nothing.

Without flow, the salt test will never pass.

If the cell 'thinks' there is very low salt, the cell will not work.

My suggestion would be to get a new 3-wire flow switch and then get your old cell running.. Once it fails, keep the new flow switch as a spare.

You could just install the new cell now, so that you are up and running, and then get the old cell repaired and install it..

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
JamieP said:
My new cell is installed and running. The initial salt reading is spot on as well. I'll see if I can track down a three-wire flow sensor without spending an arm and a leg and try to get the old Cell running again too. Thank you again for your help, Jim!
Click to expand...
Update to this problem:

I finally got a chance to install the new flow meter in the old salt cell that had quit working when all it would give me was a zero salt reading. In the meantime I had been using a replacement cell, but I'd prefer to get the old one up and running and save the new cell for later.

With the new flow meter installed, I am showing good flow at the SWG but my ScreenLogic gives me a zero salt reading and a low salt error. With the operational cell installed, the reading of 3200 matches my drop test so I know I have plenty of salt in the pool.

Is there anything else economical I can do to try to resurrect this SWG unit? I'm good to go without it, I just thought I would try one more time. Thank you!
 
Jamie,

When the reported salt level is ZERO, not low but actually zero, then that is a timing issue between the cell and the automation. If the salt light on the cell is green, it means the cell knows what the salt level is, it is just not able to report to the automation. This does not keep the cell from working..

Changing the Flow Switch, the Surge card in the Power Center, or the main card, will usually make the problem go away. Since having zero is not really a show stopper, the only one of the those that makes economical sense to replace is the flow switch assembly.. Or.. just live with it.. :mrgreen:

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jamie,

If the cell shows a red salt light, that means the cell thinks there is not enough salt in the pool. This will not make it read zero, but when it reads zero you have no way of knowing what salt level the cell "thinks' it is seeing...

Inside the flow switch is a thermistor that tells the cell the water temp, if it is bad, it can cause the cell it think the salt is too low or too high.

If you have not already replaced the flow switch on this cell, that is what I would try first.

The flow switch assembly does two very different things.. There is a simple on/off switch that closes when there is enough water flow.. and there is a thermistor that measures the water temp.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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