Algae in Austin - Broken Salt Cell?

[jjennings]

I did a lot of reading on this fabulous site and followed the SLAM method to clean up my pool. I was very excited when I finally got the algae removed, water clear, and my pool was actually giving me more than a 0 chlorine reading. I also added dry stabilizer in a sock, but I still had the chlorine back to a 0 within about 2 days. I recently cleaned my Hayward salt cell, but there is still an indicator light showing. Initial questions:

How do I know if my salt cell needs to be replaced?
If the salt cell is broken, does that explain why I am losing chlorine so fast?

I have had a pool for about 5 years now, but I am just starting to educate myself and get away from the pool store approach : )
Thanks
Jon

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi Jon,

If the red light is on, then certainly chlorine isn't being produced. Likely it's the cell...

I dont generally suggest going to pool stores, but Leslies has a cell tester and can tell you if the cell is working or not. You might call around to other pool stores also to see if other places have one.

It would be easy for your FC to go to 0 in 2 days. Especially with our hot Texas weather.

 

[jjennings]

That is great to know. I will take it to Leslies to get tested. Thanks!

 

[jjennings]

I reached out to Hayward tech support. The technician had me run some tests on my system to ensure everything was functioning correctly (basically, I gave him the numbers from the system read out). Based on the numbers that I sent him, he said "Your Voltage is way too high and your amperage is at 0. I would recommend replacing that Motherboard on your system and it should start working again."

Then, I went to Leslie's this morning and the salt cell failed the test twice. So, my assumption is that I have to buy a new salt cell and replace the motherboard OR buy a whole new system.

Does this sound accurate? Do you have a recommendation?