AutoPilot Salt Calibration Problem.

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BCooper

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May 29, 2009
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I have a 2 year old Dig-220 by Autopilot. It was working great until 2 weeks ago when it started saying that I needed to add salt. I had the salt level checked and it was 3100ppm. I recalibrated the salt level in the Autopilot which solved the problem for a few days. Then it says add salt again. I re-tested the level at the pool supply store and it was 2800. The display says 2200. When I try to recalibrate, the display will recalibrate to 2300 or stay at 2200 (even though I set it to 2800) then it stops. It won't calibrate higher.

Autopilot customer support says they think I need a new board, but they didn't sound convincing. Anyone have other ideas? Can the salt sensor go bad? I checked the wiring, wiring connection & I took off the "U"bend & flushed it with fresh water a couple of times. Tried a power down also. No help.

I'd hate to change a 2 year old board if that's not the problem.

Thanks,

BTW ..this is a great site.
 
Welcome to TFP!

I think the pool store is far more likely to be wrong than the salt sensor in the AutoPilot unit. It is possible for the AutoPilot to break, but that isn't very common. Meanwhile it is common for pool stores to have wildly incorrect salt test results.

Can you tell us if you have added any salt yet this season and what water replacement has been happening recently?

For example, if you had the water level lowered for winterizing and then added a lot of new water recently and haven't added any salt yet this spring, it would make perfect sense for the salt level to be low.
 
Thanks Jason,

I added 120 lbs of salt 6 weeks or so ago when I started up the pool. It was working fine until 2 weeks ago. I even added 40 lbs more to check it out & it went a little higher (from 2200 to 2400). 18,000 gal pool. I've tried to recalibrate higher a number of times but the autopilot still refueses to go above 2400 Ppm.

I wonder, is there a limit on how high you can recalibrate the sensor? For example, what if the level was 2000 and I tried to recalibrate the unit to think it was 4000 or 5000. Maybe I've recalibrated as far as it can go. That would point to a bad sensor...I think.

The pool is making tons of bromine though. I keep having to turn the unit down to lower the levels. I may just live with the warning until it thinks the level is too low & stops making bromine. Then maybe I'll have to get it fixed.
 
There is a limit to how far you can calibrate the salt sensor. I don't remember off hand what it is, but it isn't all that large a range.

160 lbs of salt in 18,000 gallons will raise the salt level by about 1,000. If by "started up the pool", you mean filled for the first time, then you haven't added nearly enough salt. If by "started up the pool", you mean re-opened the pool for the season after using the SWG last year then there is more of mystery.

The sensors don't usually fail. Usually it is a problem with the cable or the connectors on one end or the other.
 
New year, same problem. Salt level is 3500. Double checked at two different stores. All chemistry is good. I can't calibrate the salt level above 2100. It just stops there no matter how many times I try. I can calibrate it lower, but not higher.

So... is there any way I can check the cable, tri-sensor or board, or do I have to replace each one until I find the problem?
 
If the board is not letting you calibrate past a certain point, you may already be maxed out on the calibration limit, which is approx + - 500 ppm.
Did you have the board replaced from last year's recommendation? (perhaps there was warranty coverage last year??)
The tri-sensor and cable do not limit the amount that the unit calibrates. The control circuit board does.
 
Thanks for the reply Sean. I Agree that I have probably maxed out the calibration. All components are original and unfortunately past warantee.

Is there any way to check the sensor or cable before I start replaceing parts? Does the salt sensor produce a resistance or amperage signal proportional to the salt content? Could I put a meter on the sensor or cable to determine if it is reading correctly? Are there any diagnostic checks to see if the board is bad? I really hate trial & error repairs.
 
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