No power on Pentair IC40

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antoniosp

Well-known member
May 14, 2013
164
Austin, TX
I noticed today that my pentair IC40 has no power. It's about 2 years old. When I opened the intelliclor panel, I noticed the fuse was tripped. I reset it but no luck. I removed the panel and noticed the power adaptor going into the card red wire plastic is black as if it got power surge?


WhatsApp Image 2022-04-09 at 12.17.08 PM.jpegWhatsApp Image 2022-04-09 at 12.17.08 PM (1).jpeg


I visually inspected the power center/transformer and noticed there is no fuse there, as I've seen from other posts before.
WhatsApp Image 2022-04-09 at 12.17.08 PM (2).jpeg

Is this an issue of the cell being bad and need to be replaced, transformer , the card or all three?
Do I replace the cell and also get the new/updated power center that pentair has?
www.poolsupplyunlimited.com

Pentair Intellichlor Salt Chlorine Generator | 40,000 Gallon Complete System | IC40KIT

The IntelliChlor Salt Chlorinator uses table salt to produce all the chlorine your pool needs, right in your pool - safely, effectively, and automatically.
www.poolsupplyunlimited.com www.poolsupplyunlimited.com
Also if I replace it, should I move to the IC60 ? Price difference isn't much, and If i can get pump to run less time, it will pay off in long run.

Thoughts, how do I got about this?
 
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A,

Show us a pic of the EasyTouch showing all your breakers and relays.

I find it odd that you don't have an internal SWCG transformer.

A blackened connector like yours is usually caused by a poor, or corroded, connection. This causes heat, which increases the resistance which causes more heat etc..

It could also be that your cell is bad and drawing too much current.

If you have a voltmeter, test the AC voltage coming into the Surge card. Test between the two red wires marked as "AC". Should be about 24 volt AC

Then test the DC output going to the cell with the cell disconnected.. Should be about 40 volts DC..

Connect the cell and see what happens to the voltage. Usually about 35 volts when the cell is working.

You need to clean or replace the blackened connector.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Here are pictures of the panel and breakers.
WhatsApp Image 2022-04-09 at 1.09.16 PM (1).jpegWhatsApp Image 2022-04-09 at 1.09.16 PM.jpeg

I connected the cell and card so green power light so card must be ok. I will go get a voltmeter now and check things out.
I will need to research how to clean the blackend connector or purchase a new cable with the connector on it.
 
@antoniosp, you're in good hands with Jim!

@Jimrahbe, have you seen this before? The surge board inside the controller but the transformer in a Power Center box? By the looks of the wire nuts in the Power Center, this is some sort of hack, right? The surge board in my Power Center has a 10 amp fuse on it (like the kind a car uses), the OP's board looks to be the one that comes with ET, plus the IC circuit breaker is in place in the ET. Is this some sort of FrankenChlor?

Edit: oh, the ET pic just showed up. There it is, the other transformer. Well this should be interesting... Is that external transformer for lighting, or something like that? Anywho, back to Jim...
 
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Ant,

The transformer you show in your first set of pics is for your lights.

Your SWCG transformer is the big one inside your EasyTouch.

I really doubt the SWCG transformer, or the surge card, is bad. It is either the connection or the cell.

Fixing the connection is cheap compared to a new cell, so it only makes sense to try fixing the connection first.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Great news. I was the connection actually, the part that is black. I plugged/unplugged a few times and its working!
I just saw all the responses now also, thank you!
The connector on the card is actually the one that looks worse, not the one on the cable. I sprayed some anti-corrosion spray on it just in case.
Correct, the transformer is for the lights, nothing to do with the IC40, thanks for educating me. I looked at it again.
 
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Checked the cell this morning and noticed no power again and also the fuse on panel was tripped. I reset it and works fine.
I am thinking this must be from the red connector that has gone brown.
Should I replace the cable : https://www.amazon.com/Pentair-5207...ocphy=9028321&hvtargid=pla-321250931718&psc=1
or try and unsolder the connector clip from the card and try to find replacement, or change the pcb board card?
WhatsApp Image 2022-04-09 at 12.17.08 PM.jpeg
 
A,

The blackened connector should not cause the Circuit Breaker to pop.

I'd suspect the cell is bad drawing too much current.

Could also be a bad surge card.

Did you check the voltages with a voltmeter when running?

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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The same exact issue happens when an IntelliChlor (IC) and an IntellipH (IpH) are used together. The IC pulls too much current and the connector can't handle it. I fixed this issue by removing both ends of the connector from the equation and soldering the wires directly to the board. It's not easy, but possible if you have sufficient soldering skills. The downside to this fix is that you can no longer easily replace either the board or the cable, as they are now fused together.

And as Jim points out, if the actual problem is the IC, then not only will the soldering trick not solve the problem, but since you would have removed the "weak link," the over-current issue will seek out its next "victim," which could likely result in a fried surge board. Technically the breaker should pop first, but you're holding the evidence that somethings things melt before the breaker pops.

Eliminate first the possibility that the IC is the problem, then tackle the connector. Myself and some other TFP members are currently working on other solutions to this and similar issues in other threads, though we haven't concluded anything just yet. One which you might be able to use: we're considering what material to apply to the pins of the connector that might help the problem.

Pentair ic40, surge board, intelliph and swg transformer.

First time poster, long time lurker. Ok I decided I’d do a sanity check real quick. I had an easy touch panel installed in 2019, along with the ic40 and the acid injector. It’s been working fine, I opened the pool, shocked it and ran the pool for 24 hours. This morning I noticed it wasn’t...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Here is how I soldered my board. Mind you, this is the circuit board in my IntellipH controller, not my surge board, but they both use a similar, problematic connector. It's post #3 of this thread:

Hacking IntellipH to work in cold water

As Pentair IntellipH (IpH) automatic acid dosing system owners know, the IpH depends on a Pentair IntellliChlor (IC) saltwater chlorine generator. The IpH uses the IC's power supply, and monitors its flow switch, so that it won't dispense acid if the IC is reporting low flow. Unfortunately, it...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Keep in mind you likely have multiple things going on. The normal current draw of your IC and the known issue of these weak connectors, PLUS potentially some other issue that is drawing even more current than normal through your IC circuitry. Solve the second problem first, by following Jim's troubleshooting advice (like measuring voltages and current, etc).
 
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So I tested the AC voltage coming into the Surge card. I got a reading of 16.4 (red node on AC and black on the screw in middle of the card)
I tested the output going to the cell with the cell disconnected, from the card and I got a reading of 27.4 (red node on card red output, black on card black output)
Since I got low numbers, I didn't test the output going to cell since I have to unscrew the card to get on the back of it and put my nodes on to measure
Sounds like a bad card?
 
A,

You test the AC into the surge card between the two red wires (J8 and J9), which are both marked as AC. You should have about 24 volts AC.

You don't normally see bad transformers, so I doubt it is bad, but can't tell for sure.

I'd disconnect J9 and then test again between the two red wires and see if you get 24 volts.

If you get 24 volts with the wire to J9 disconnected and it drops to 16 volts when connected, then I would think the Surge card is bad.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Ant,

Just want to make sure I understand...

With both red wires connected to the surge card, you get about 32 VAC when you test between J8 and J9. Is that correct?

With 32 VAC input, the DC output should be about 35 to 40 Volts DC. If you have a good AC input and a low DC output, then the card should be bad.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
With both red wires connected to the surge card, you get about 32 VAC when you test between J8 and J9. Is that correct? Correct. I get 31.9 to be exact.

With 32 VAC input, the DC output should be about 35 to 40 Volts DC. If you have a good AC input and a low DC output, then the card should be bad.
When I disconnect the red wire from J9 and test between the J8 on the card and the J9 on the card I get the very low reading of 1.1
 
Ant,

Sorry, I think I got you confused. If you get 32 VAC, between J8 and J9, with both red wires connected to the Surge card, you don't need to disconnect J9.

32 VAC is a good input to the Surge card. Check the DC output again. If less than 30 Volts DC, I would think the card is bad. When I test my card, it has about 40 volts DC when the cell is resting, and about 35 volts DC when the cell is making chlorine.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Ant,

That sounds like the cell is working to me..

What does the cell show? Do you have a "Cell" light. At 50% the cell light is on for 2.5 minute and then off for 2.5 minutes, etc..

(Assumes the flow is good and the salt is good)

Jim R.
 
I also opened the cell and it was squeaky clean, no buildup at all. It had some small debris that I moved. Cell works it just trips the 12amp fuse. once I reset it works fine. Only issue i saw was
the blackend adaptor that I reported in my original post. Why would it keep tripping the fuse, is cell going bad, or different problem?

WhatsApp Image 2022-04-09 at 12.17.08 PM.jpeg
 
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