GL 235 Solar Controller blowing fuses

AronInLHP · Mar 6, 2015

Hi,
I am not sure how old the controller is, as we just bought the house about 16 months ago, but it has worked fine up until now. A couple days ago I noticed the power light was not on. My pump and SWG system was on and running, so it wasn't the breaker. I pulled the panel off and found the 2 amp fuse was burned, so I replaced it and everything looked fine.

The next day, no power light again and another burnt fuse. Does this mean the circuit board has gone on it? Anyone have any suggestions? I priced circuit board repair at around $95, and a new controller at (the valve seems fine) at $198, so am hoping there is an alternative cause.

Thanks in advance!

Bama Rambler · Mar 6, 2015

It could be a bad valve actuator blowing the fuse when it switches. I'd try disconnecting the valve actuator(s) and see if it still blows the fuse.

AronInLHP · Mar 6, 2015

Bama Rambler said:
It could be a bad valve actuator blowing the fuse when it switches. I'd try disconnecting the valve actuator(s) and see if it still blows the fuse.

Thank you I will try that!

AronInLHP · Mar 6, 2015

agladney said:
Thank you I will try that!

Okay I set the actuator in the off position, put a new fuse in and all was well. However as soon as I turn the actuator back to the on position, the fuse blew.

So, should I replace the whole actuator, or just the actuator motor assembly?

Thanks again for your help!

Bama Rambler · Mar 6, 2015

I'd check to make sure the wires in the actuator aren't shorted and if they're not I'd replace the actuator. I suspect that the motor assembly will be about as much as a complete unit.

AronInLHP · Mar 6, 2015

Bama Rambler said:
I'd check to make sure the wires in the actuator aren't shorted and if they're not I'd replace the actuator. I suspect that the motor assembly will be about as much as a complete unit.

Well, fun fun fun. I took the actuator off, Opened it up and lo and behold there was a little bit of water in there! I'm not sure if I can dry it out as the capacitor looks a little soggy, unless I can just replace that? The water was only in the bottom so it wasn't near the actual motor, but definitely was over the switch at the bottom. So maybe the switch was shorting out the controller before damaging the motor?

Guess I was lax in lubricating the activator shaft under the handle annually as recommended in the manual I found online, argh!

AronInLHP · Mar 7, 2015

AronInLHP said:
Well, fun fun fun. I took the actuator off, Opened it up and lo and behold there was a little bit of water in there! I'm not sure if I can dry it out as the capacitor looks a little soggy, unless I can just replace that? The water was only in the bottom so it wasn't near the actual motor, but definitely was over the switch at the bottom. So maybe the switch was shorting out the controller before damaging the motor?

Guess I was lax in lubricating the activator shaft under the handle annually as recommended in the manual I found online, argh!

Well, I searched everywhere for a 33uF 100v capacitor with no joy. There was no guarantee anyway that that would have solved the problem anyway, so I did some shopping for a new actuator and found this:

http://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-PE...425739832&sr=1-1&keywords=pool+valve+actuator

It's only $85, way less than other brands, and gets good reviews from purchasers. Any experiences with the Intermatic PE24VA actuator before I order it?
Thanks again!

JasonLion · Mar 7, 2015

Digikey.com has just about every capacitor there is. Though I agree it is a long shot.

The Intermatic actuators are well reviewed both here and on Amazon.

AronInLHP · Mar 10, 2015

Thanks again! Got the new actuator in the post yesterday, slapped it in this morning and all is good!