10 Day Old IC-40 Just Went Dark

[Brushman]

I replaced a seven year old IC-20 with an IC-40 about 10 days ago. The flow switch on the old IC-20 had failed and given its age I decided to simply replace the whole cell. I went with the IC-40 this time since the price difference was only about $100 and I liked the idea running a shorter interval each hour than the IC-20 required to generate the same amount of chlorine. Installation was simple and the new IC-40 functioned perfectly until this weekend. Today I noticed a red light on "cell status" indicator on the IntellipH Acid Dispenser and sure enough, the cell was totally dark, with no lights visible at all. I shut everything down, cut all power to the system, unplugged and replugged the salt cell cord into the IntellipH Acid Dispenser, and then restarted the system -- the IntellipH Acid Dispenser "cell status light" opened at green, the IC-40 lights flashed on briefly, both were encouraging, but then IC-40 went dark again and the cell status light on the IntellipH box went back to red.

Anyone have any thoughts? I replaced the prior IC-20 seven years ago too, it's a simple job and I followed the book again this time. It worked perfectly for over a week but now this. The pool is clear and clean, the water chemistry is fine except the chlorine is a little low of course. Other than that everything seems to be perfect with both chemistry and equipment. The only two things that makes sense to me are (1) I just got a bad cell, which I know is possible but statistically unlikely, or (b) the IntellipH Acid Dispenser itself just randomly failed right now, a week after the new salt cell got installed, but that seems like an odd coincidence too plus -- based on how it displays and operates -- everything about that little control center appears to be working normally.

 

[ajw22]

Have you checked the connectors for burning? You new IC40 draws more power and may have burned out something in the IntellipH.

Pentair Intelliph - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Brushman]

Have you checked the connectors for burning? You new IC40 draws more power and may have burned out something in the IntellipH.

Thanks Allen, I'll take a look today. The IC-40 draws more power than the IC-20 but AFAIK the IntellipH is designed to support both.

 

[Brushman]

Have you checked the connectors for burning? You new IC40 draws more power and may have burned out something in the IntellipH.

I have literally never opened up the IntellipH before now.

 

[ajw22]

The IC-40 draws more power than the IC-20 but AFAIK the IntellipH is designed to support both.

The IntellipH has design flaws in that a area.

@Dirk can tell you all about it.

 

[Brushman]

So useful to know that, many thanks for the heads up.

 

[JamesW]

Can you bypass the intelliph and connect directly to the power supply?

 

[JamesW]

IC60 false low salt warning prevents IntellipH from injecting acid.

I have an intellipH that is supposed to inject a small amount of muriatic acid hourly into the pool. But since my Intellicenter and IC60 think my salt is only 2600ppm (it's really 3700, tested via several different methods), the intellipH has a "low salt" warning and won't inject the acid. I...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Lake Placid]

My Intelliph coupled with an IC40 started showing early signs of connection failure. It constantly would reboot when connected through the IPH. I repaired it following @Dirk method outlined. Do as @James indicated and see if it will run normally connected directly to the transformer without the IPH in the loop. If it does you likely have connection issues in the IPH that need to be investigated and repaired.

 

[Brushman]

Can you bypass the intellipH and connect directly to the power supply

With that guide you provided I sure can. In the back of my mind I'd been wondering about taking the IntellipH out of the loop to test whether the Cell itself was good and your posts make that SO much easier. Many thanks!

Does anyone know whether Pentair has improved the IntellipH so that it can now reliably support the IC-40 and IC-60 or is that still an ongoing problem even with new IntellipH builds?

 

[ajw22]

We have heard of no changes to the intellipH

 

[Brushman]

We have heard of no changes to the intellipH

Thanks Allen. I'd noodled on the idea of going up to the IC-40 for years and had read several posts and comments over time championing the idea. Hate it when I outsmart myself.

 

[Brushman]

On the other hand, I probably *should* be able to rely on Pentair equipment to do what Pentair says it does. I know, long story there ...

 

[ajw22]

On the other hand, I probably *should* be able to rely on Pentair equipment to do what Pentair says it does. I know, long story there ...

Only within the warranty period.

 

[Brushman]

I've done enough soldering in the past that I can probably manage the Dirk hack if I discover the burnt lead problem, but I've got a 12 year old IntellipH and I can't help but wonder about what the anticipated service life is for those things. I would have bet I was right up against it already.

 

[Lake Placid]

Here’s the link to my repair thread if it helps.

Another IPH burned connection issue

Roughly two years ago I bought a used but in good condition IPH to manage ph with my IC40. Everything worked well until this year when the IC40 started randomly power cycling, running through the startup procedure then shutting off and starting the same loop. In troubleshooting I noted when...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Dirk]

Based on this thread and the likes my other thread is getting this morning, I'd say you're getting a handle on what's going on. Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Couple things: there are several ways to fix the IpH, be sure to find them all before you decide which to try. Or you can just do away with the controller and run the tank and pump in other ways (but be sure you understand all the consequences by doing so before you ditch the controller).

I just repaired my current IC40 with the flow switch from the previous one I used. I was saving the old one, which had some life left to it, as a back up (and apparently a spare parts depot).

If your IC20 has any life left in it, I'd recommend saving it, too. If/when your IC40 poops out, you can swap in your IC20 as a backup while you await the arrival of a new one. Remember all our recent supply chain issues? The 20 could step in for a few weeks/months if a new IC40 is not available.

If the 20 doesn't work at all because of the flow switch, you could either swap in the switch out of the 40, or with a simple wiring hack you could bypass the 20's switch altogether, enough to get some chlorine out of it while waiting for a new 40.

 

[Brushman]

Here’s the link to my repair thread if it helps.

Another IPH burned connection issue

Roughly two years ago I bought a used but in good condition IPH to manage ph with my IC40. Everything worked well until this year when the IC40 started randomly power cycling, running through the startup procedure then shutting off and starting the same loop. In troubleshooting I noted when...

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks LP.

 

[Brushman]

Based on this thread and the likes my other thread is getting this morning, I'd say you're getting a handle on what's going on. Let me know if I can be of any assistance …

Many thanks Dirk. I need to go back and re-read the bits I saw about how to run the MA tank / pump and the cell independently, without plugging the IC-40 into the IntellipH. Some connection details and operational tradeoffs there I’m going to have to study more to understand. .

 

[Dirk]

Many thanks Dirk. I need to go back and re-read the bits I saw about how to run the MA tank / pump and the cell independently, without plugging the IC-40 into the IntellipH. Some connection details and operational tradeoffs there I’m going to have to study more to understand. .

The main things to be aware of:

When the IpH is ready to dispense acid, its controller shuts down the IC, so that acid isn't being pumped into your pool at the same time chlorine is (which can form a very dangerous gas).

The IpH checks the IC's flow switch to confirm there is flow in the plumbing before it pumps acid into it.

The IpH dispenses every hour of every day, which makes for a more stable pH in the pool, as opposed to dumping in a bunch of acid once a week (or even once a day). I don't have any proof this makes any sort of significant difference in the long run, but I do think it's a valuable feature. My skin was bothered by my now-ex-pool-guy's MO of blasting my pool with a gallon of acid once a week. So the IpH's more discreet dispensing was appealing to me, and I've been enjoying a more comfortable pool since installing it.

Which is why I use my pool automation controller to pump acid only during the winter, and still use my IpH controller the rest of the year.

I address each of the above with the circuit you've already found in my thread. Let me know if I can give you any further details about all this, or how best to recreate the safety features of the IpH controller should you decide to abandon it.