Ultraflex 2/ Caretaker 99

Jump to latest Follow Reply
I asked this same question and was told by a Zodiac service tech that we replace the gray part# with the same gray part. That's what I did a couple weeks back and all is well. I was told that we are stuck with gray until we end up purchasing the complete motor unit at $300 from Zodiac. I had a pool guy come replace my motor unit 2 years back just like you and he installed the motor with the gray sensor. :( The funniest part to me was that he moved to Arizona. Maybe we had the same guy? Haha
 
I am planning on getting an in-ground pool this summer. One of the options they gave is the Ultraflex 2. His rationale is that the extra filtration from the 8 ports and the fact that the water rises, it will help warm the pool naturally (and with a solar cover). I am wondering if you find this to be true, and if you think it is worth buying one of these. I don't know anyone who has one. All the people I know have a regular filtration system and use one of those $1000 robots to clean the pool once a week. I am hoping some of you have some input. It would be even better if any of you have experience with having had a pool without this kind of system and one with it. Or if this system is truly just for the sake of automated cleaning. It is expensive, so I only want to consider it if it is worth the money. Looking at this site, it sounds like it might have a lot of problems, but not sure bc you seem to have had this system for a long time. .How much would you say the upkeep is on having this system.

Thanks for any help you can give me!
 
I live in Vegas and warming the water isn't an issue in the summer. I remember the salesman telling us that too. I think it's a great thing to have in the desert because of all the dust in the air and in the pool. It definitely helps to automate the cleaning and I would do it again if I lived in Vegas or Phoenix. Looks like you are back east? I'd probably not do the in floor cleaners and go with the Robot if I lived on the East Coast. There are times where I still borrow the neighbors crawly just because it cleans better. I don't think the $$ is worth it if you don't live in the desert. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.
 
Hello Tom, this is Brian, I am in Las Vegas too. Did you get your issue resolved? I have Ultraflex II and am having a similar issue, and think I am closing in on the solution. Feedback from your experience might shed more light on my issue.
I think the rapid-blink results from there being too little flow sensed - the system is designed to protect the watervalve in case of no water flow. It would destroy itself if run dry.
In my case, that behavior only evinces when the system would divert flow up into a roof solar-heat array. With that increased back-pressure the flow-rate is dramatically reduced, which the sensor doesn't like. Still more evidence is that rotation would halt at the same port each time, one which goes directly to a sidewall return, where there's little back-pressure, much less than all the other infloor jet zones.

Hope to hear from you, -- Brian......
 
So, I'm having the same issue that's been discussed here--runs for about 10 seconds cycling through a zone or two then stopping in error mode. Was the consensus that it was a bad sensor? I'm about to do some trouble-shooting and wanted to know what ended up working for those who were able to get theirs to work (ie replace sensor, jumper pressure valve, etc.).

Thanks.
 
I have the same issue and the exact same type of cleaning system in my pool. The indicator light just keeps blinking and the zones never change.
When opening up to see the motor it looks like its trying to move but just cant make it, it keeps going back and forth.
 
Hello all. I am also experiencing the same issue. When the system turns on the red LED just starts blinking and the motor twitches slightly in sync with the light. The zones never change.
Thus far I have tried replacing the entire motor assy, with no change in behavior. I tried jumpering the pressure valve leads to ensure that the valve is working. This too caused no change in behavior.

Has anyone been able to solve this issue?

Jason
 
When you look at the motor assembly, look at the sensor and see if it's a gray sensor or a black sensor. The gray sensor looks through the holes in the metal plate and the black one has the metal plate slide through it. The black sensors metal plate won't have square holes in it. If the sensor is the gray style then you need to replace it with the black on and new metal plate. Those gray sensors are horrible and I don't think they sell them anymore. You might have to purchase the hole motor assembly but if you do make sure you don't get the old gray style sensor.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
So I purchased a "new" motor assembly. It came with a grey sensor, my original is black. Both motor assemblies cause the same behavior when power is applied - The LED starts blinking immediately, there's no continuous power, and the valve doesn't cycle through any stations at startup.

I'm wondering if the main circuit board is bad? Does anyone have the troubleshooting document?
 
Ughhh. Here we go again...

Currently I believe my system to be in error mode (although not entirely sure) because it is not rotating the different stations. However, to my knowledge, when the system is in error mode, the LED light will continually flash at the controller box. Now what is confusing is, mine is not doing that...

When I turn my system on, the LED light on the controller box blinks 3 times then turns off and wont light up again. Then when I turn the knob to a different time interval (i.e 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, etc) the light wont flash or light up at all for the remainder of the system being on. When I turn the system off, then back on again, same thing happens. It will do the 3 blinks again and that’s it, no more lights after that, even when turning the knob. When my system was functional and working properly, every time you turned the knob, the LED would remain lit for about 2-3 seconds.

I have read the caretaker 99 troubleshoot manual, about 3 of them (all the ones that Tom sent me), and it doesn’t seem that my exact problem is listed in the troubleshooting manual. I have yet to test the voltage at the #1 and #2 pins on the controller PCB and the motor PCB. It looks like water had gotten into my 8-port value system and may have damaged some electronic components. Now which one? That I am not sure of. Hopefully its just the PCB sensor board or sensor itself.

:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(
 
Weirdest thing. I just checked my pool today and after a week of not rotating stations, NOW it is...... ?????????????

I dont get this system. I get how to trouble shoot it and a lot of it's components, but geez.......seems like it has a mind of its own.

To answer the questions above, it seems like everyone above who is having an issue just needs to buy a new sensor. If you are still having the problem, please reply back to this and I can help.
 
Just wanted to thank everyone for their posts about the "flashing light" problems with the ultraflex II. I wanted to give a little information that I ran across. If you take off the lid to check out the sensor with the motor turned on, you will trip the error code. The only way to remove the error code is to replace the motor cover, turn off the breaker, turn on the breaker, and then turn the pool pump back on. If you keep the lid off, the error code will regenerate. The only reason I am posting this is because I replaced my whole motor plate due to a faulty sensor. After installing the new motor plate, I was still getting the error signal. I tested all the wires, board, transformer, everything and could not figure out where the error code was coming from. I had just called in for a service repair man when I realized I had never tried to reset the system with the lid on the motor. I was so caught up in diagnostic mode that I did not realize I was causing the error code. And since the error code will not be cleared from the system until the circuit breaker is turned off and then turned back on, it does not go away no matter how many times you stop and restart the system once the code has been thrown. So to all those out there who have replaced everything they possibly can think of and still are getting an error code....put the lid back on the motor, reset the circuit breaker, and then turn on the pool pump. This might just be the magical fix you've been looking for. It worked for me!
 
yes, the sensor is sensitive to light and can reset with direct sunlight. Try to keep it shaded when working on it. I had a TON of problems with my unit and had at least 4-5 pool "pros" that couldn't fix it. Tech support was EXTREMELY helpful as long as you are adept at fixing things and have done your homework, reviewed the manuals, troubleshooting guides, etc.. However, I managed to solve my problem on my own once I took the entire unit apart and watched it perform and fail. In my situation, the motor kept jumping up/off the seat from the drive shaft, so I cut the 4 metal "tabs" (which attach the motor mount to the top plate; they screw in on both sides, 4 screws on top and 4 on bottom, going into 4 metal, threaded "posts"). They come standard at 3/4" and I cut them down to 5/8", so that the drive shaft seats lower/deeper into the slot, making it a stronger fit. According to the caretaker tech, Jeff, this is typical that the drive shaft from the motor doesnt' seat well into the slot.
 
Ultraflex 2/ Caretaker 99...so my caretaker will turn on and rotate through about 7 of my 8 zones and then errors out each time it turns on. I thought maybe I had a faulty zone, but the zones that cause the unit to error out does not stay the same. Everything seems to work well, and then about 5 minutes into cleaning, the red light begins to flash and the error code has been sent. When the filter starts up the next day, the error code is not generated immediately...it takes about 5 minutes and it errors again. I checked the black plate in the motor housing and I had water leaking into the container. We changed out the Orings and it is not leaking anymore. I have replaced the motor a couple of times in the last three years. If the sensor was bad due to the water leaking into the motor housing, wouldn't it trip the error code immediately after the 15 second start up? This error code is not being generated right at start up. It takes a little bit to error out. Any ideas??
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply