Valve actuator wiring

[gworrel]

I am wiring some old compool 3 way valves to an Aqualogic P4 controller. The Aqualogic has sockets for 3 pin connectors. I managed to find some of these connectors but I cannot find a wiring diagram to show how to connect the wires. The valves have red, white, and black wires. Can anyone tell me which wires go where on the connectors? Thanks.

 

[MEvan]

not 100% but i believe white is the center and the other 2 dont matter, you will just have to flip the switch on the valve if it is wrong. Strip back the wire and if white is centered in the shielding then this is a fairly accurate confirmation.

 

[gworrel]

From what I have been able to gather from various wiring diagrams, I believe black is the common. White and red are switched to move the valve one way or the other and that is easily switched with the manual switch on the actuator. If I am correct then I need to know where the black goes and the other two do not matter. Here is a wiring diagram for a Jandy actuator:
http://www.southshoregunitepools.com/re ... manual.pdf

As far as I know, all these pool industry actuators are wired the same.

 

[MEvan]

that is what the diagram indicates, and yes they are all the same. I use them interchangably. Next you need a diagram for your controls wiring and you should be set. I only deal with the hayward and pentair automation. They use the plug in, its not hardwired so I have never manually connected those to a control unit. I have had to extend the wiring though if you need help with that. You use 22 guage wire and 3m makes an outdoor terminal connection that requires no stripping, you just insert the wires and crush it to crimp and release the jel pack.

 

[amjohn]

gworel- per the pm you sent me- here are the pictures on my goldline unit. I hope these help.
"I am using some older Compool valve actuators which are missing the original red connectors. I found the connectors but I do not know the order in which to connect the wires.
In your picture, the connector from the valve actuator is shown with the wires visible. The wires from the actuator are red, white, and black. If you could post a close-up photo of the actuator connector as it is plugged into your controller, it should give me the information I need to know.
Alternately, if you could tell me the order of the wires relative to the connector. The connector is keyed so it can only be plugged in one way. The sockets on my controller are vertical with the keyed slots on the right. Your controller looks to have the sockets horizontal but I cannot see which side is keyed or the order of the wires. If you could tell me for example, the keyed slots are on the bottom and the wires are oriented, black, white, red, left to right. Then that would be all I would need to know."
These are looking at the panel straight on (first picture)
and up from below (sort of- best I could get my camera in without hitting anything sensitive) (second picture).

 

[gworrel]

Thanks for the great pictures. The sockets on my board are on the left side and are turned 180 degrees so I need to put the black wire on the bottom, red in the middle and white on top. The connectors I have are a little different but should be fine.

When I called Pentair who now owns Goldline for help locating the red connectors, the support person told me they didn't have any information about the connectors because they are made in China. I had to laugh and told him I didn't see how that was relevant. I was just looking for a generic description so perhaps I could order some from Mouser or Digikey who sell just about every connector known to man.

Another memorable moment occurred during the same phone call. There is a place in the installation manual for the Aqualogic P4 where it says that if you have a Millivolt heater to call their tech support number for additional information. It then lists the number to call right there in the manual. Since I have a millivolt heater, I asked the support person what additional information they had. He asked me to fax him the page where it said to call because he did not believe that their manual could say that. I said that I was not making it up and he should look on the page number I gave him and see for himself.

He finally said that they didn't have any additional information. I told him that perhaps they should change the installation manual and take that line out where it says to call for help.

It is good to know there are other places to turn for support. Thanks again.

 

[Guest]

When I called Pentair who now owns Goldline

Unless Pentair just bought out Hayward they don't own Goldline, Hayward does.
Pentair is Compool and they have been phasing out that name and just using the Pentair name.

 

[gworrel]

My mistake. I bought a new Compool valve which is now made by Pentair. That was a different issue. So it was Hayward/Goldline with the somewhat clueless tech support person. I was beginning to think it was all just one big pool company that owns everything.

 

[Guest]

I was beginning to think it was all just one big pool company that owns everything.

LOL, if you are talking abuit Zodiac you might be right. They own Polaris and Jandy (who is owned by WaterPik who owns Lars Teledyne and Levolor) who owns Cover-Pool, not to mention Zodiac Aerospace and Zodiac Marine and all their brands!

 

[amjohn]

I have had similar "cluelessness" with the tech support at Goldline- they don't believe me, their manual does not agree with mine, etc. The final straw was when the lady told me that I should not be installing the unit because they were intended for professional installers who knew what to do an did not NEED a manual. So I asked to talk to one of those. She handed the phone to "Installer Joe". Much better results.

 

[henrybowman]

Thank you for the helpful photos. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find this information.

The people who installed our original solar heater cut the connectors off (and threw them away) to feed the wires into their own screw-hole connectors. Ten years later, I'm replacing the now wonky controller with one that has the standard sockets, and the replacement cable plugs I found online don't come with wiring instructions.