AAAUUGGGHH! Autopilot confusion!!(Sean came through for me)

[Kev68ss]

OK 2 main issues I need help with before I scream!

1. Dual speed pump- wired from the Autopilot with relay installed- Low speed, no problems whatsoever. High speed- works 20 minutes or so, then shuts off. I took a temp reading of the motor casing, it was 150 degrees. Now:

2. I have my Autopilot set to 0% purifier to make sure I had salt in the system. When I test the system I show 20v and 3 amps. Seems too low from what I am reading. When I turn on the purifier to 25, 50%, whatever, I get the red warning light flashing and a Check/Clean cell, or Low amps cell message- the first happens more often. Here's what I did last night-

2900 Salt
86 degrees
0 volts 11.7 amps, yes zero volts (first test)

Then I turned up the purifier to 25% and re-tested

20 v 5.5 amps

Then the Check/Cell red light popped on and dropped to

20 v 2.7 amps

Turned purifier to 0%

20 v 3 amps

What the heck is going on? I have the Autopilot transformer set for 230. I have a double pole 20 amp GFI breaker- I then go to a timer-always on- then to the autopilot, then to the pump. I have re-checked all connections, etc. Seems correct. That may be why my pump motor gets hot (not enough amps) Could it be a problem with the board in the Autopilot? I want to quit having to add bleach everyday- it's 98 degrees here! Thanks

 

[Kev68ss]

Re: AAAUUGGGHH! Autopilot confusion!!

Got everyone stumped huh? I just checked voltage with a meter from the Autopilot to both high side and low side. Each is registering 122 v. I then tested amps, each are .44. I did't have them connected to the motor. When connected and motor running my amps are the same .44 at the connection to the pump??

 

[JasonLion]

Re: AAAUUGGGHH! Autopilot confusion!!

The motor problem and the AutoPilot problem are not directly related (though they may be indirectly related).

What you describe is a standard motor overheating problem. These can be caused by a couple of things, including wiring the motor for the wrong voltage or a blockage that is preventing water from flowing or a defective motor. I suggest getting the pump figured out first and then thinking about the AutoPilot. The first thing to check is that the motor is wired for the same voltage you are supplying and that water is flowing strongly when the pump is on.

For the AutoPilot issue, the volts/amps are not going to read correctly unless the cell is actually on, they can also change for a couple of minutes when the cell first turns on. To get a reliable number you need to do a test AutoPilot after the cell has been on for a little while. This problem can be caused by wiring the AutoPilot for the wrong voltage, a defective circuit board, rapid calcium scaling in the cell, etc.

 

[Kev68ss]

Re: AAAUUGGGHH! Autopilot confusion!!

JasonLion to your comments- (and thanks)

What you describe is a standard motor overheating problem. These can be caused by a couple of things, including wiring the motor for the wrong voltage or a blockage that is preventing water from flowing or a defective motor. I suggest getting the pump figured out first and then thinking about the AutoPilot. The first thing to check is that the motor is wired for the same voltage you are supplying and that water is flowing strongly when the pump is on.

Both legs of the motor are reading 122 volts, so proper power is getting to the high and low terminals of the pump. Like I mentioned earlier, I have wired the autopilot to the pump exactly as instructed from both Autopilot and Hayward- Water is flowing perfect on both high and low- I am getting 10psi on high, which the tech at Hayward said is perfect (I will be discussing all this with them in the morning) I do see erratic amps coming from the autopilot, so you probably are correct in that it will be funky until the cell is on for a while. I am thinking of running the pump directly from the panel box and see if it shuts down-that may help to eliminate the Autopilot as a problem.

 

[Kev68ss]

No More AAAUUGGHHHH- Sean came through!

I have been having problems with my pump and Autopilot-both brand new. Low amps, vots, warning lights etc... All resolved and it had to do with wiring- the part of the wiring I didn't do-an "electrician" did. I was getting 110 v from each hot lead on the pump coming from the Autopilot- only .44 amps though- I checked and rechecked all connections from the breaker to the pump- all secure and wired correctly. Sean called me and had me check the voltage coming into the autopilot- I never did that since I was getting 122 volts on each hot leg to the pump-which came through the Autopilot. Well, one hot line going to the autopilot was 0 volts, the other 122. So, I went to the timer- Same thing one dead, one live. Went to the breaker- A double pole 20amp GFI-well, the Neutral was wired to load connection, and the other hot was connected to the neutral!! Thanks Mr. Electrician!"

This has been 4 days of "is the pump fried on the high speed side? Is my Autopilot board fried?" Now all is well and good- thanks to all on this board who commented!

 

[gerardr]

Re: No More AAAUUGGHHHH- Sean came through!

This is exactly why I rarely hire contractors. I'd rather screw it up myself and know exactly what went wrong that have to figure out and re-do someone else's work.

 

[Kev68ss]

Re: No More AAAUUGGHHHH- Sean came through!

This is exactly why I rarely hire contractors. I'd rather screw it up myself and know exactly what went wrong that have to figure out and re-do someone else's work.

Agreed- I really only hired him bc I needed help running the ground around the pool, pulling wire for my two lights,etc... He was $30 an hour, so I guess that's what I got- actually it would have been harder to do all the little things by myself- 100 degrees and 80% humidity here in Nashville!

 

[Poolsean]

Kevin,
Glad we were able to figure it out. Enjoy your Pool Pilot!