Omnilogic not talking to ecostar/Firmware Issue?

[pool1]

I have Ecostar pump (bought in March 2012) and am gearing up for Omnilogic self-install.
I have 2 questions:
1. How do I find out if my pump's firmware needs to be updated and how do I go about it?
2. Looking closely at the Omnilogic as well as Ecostar installation docs, I couldn't figure out where the 2 wire combus from Ecostar should be plugged in into Omnilogic board. Looks like Omnilogic has a low speed bus plugs, and what looks like a 4-pin terminal just below them:
https://www.mypoolyard.com/images_pdf/omnilogic-hlbase-install.pdf page 10 (actual page 14). Can you provide some light on this?

Thanks a lot!
V.B.

The ecostar plugs in the low speed bus and it should output a Hayward Unique Identifier (HUA). In the omnilogic setup, you select the ecostar from a list of equipment with HUA's. On mine, the list is empty. Everything else has been easy to setup and configure, but the pump has me stumped. Last night I turned the pool lights on from someone else's house using my iPhone. It also sends email notifications when errors occur ( Low salt, lost commo, etc). I have a rep, but he is off till Monday.

 

[Hayward Pool]

Good Day, try this link to the manual. Page 14 shows the wiring.

http://www.hayward-pool.com/pdf/manuals/omnilogic-hlbase-install.pdf

The firmware in the pump should be ok. There is no way to update the pump but the OmniLogic can be updated as needed. It is the Low Speed bus connection.

 

[JasonLion]

Hayward Pool, that manual shows the correct high voltage wiring, but does not show the low speed bus wiring. It refers you to the EcoStar manual for that, but the EcoStar manual doesn't mention OmniLogic at all. Nothing I can see anywhere in the OmniLogic manual tells you where the low speed bus connections are on the OmniLogic circuit board. I am fairly sure I can guess where they are, but nothing in the manual actually says.

 

[Hayward Pool]

Page 14 tells you to connect to the LS bus and page 10 shows where it is located. If the customer posts his phone number on private message I will walk him through the process.

 

[JasonLion]

Ah, indeed it does. That is quite obscure however.

 

[pool1]

No that I went through with install and resolved all issues:

1. The documentation on Ecostar and Omnilogic integration is indeed obscure. On the Omnilogic side, ones you see the unit in person the low speed bus connectors on the control PCB board are clearly marked and pins are enumerated - unlike in the documentation. So that helps a lot.

2. On Ecostar to LS bus wiring and pins - the best source is a tech guide at http://www.hayward-pool.com/pdf/manuals/EcoStarDiagnostics.pdf, page 10. I am attaching a picture here in case url changes.


3. My concern in the initial post about Ecostar firmware was not an empty one. Apparently some older Ecostar firmware does not publish its unique address which is required for integration with Omnilogic. To update firmware a digital interface control part (a top part with buttons and display) has to be replaced with a new one, a 1 minute job).

4. The good news is that Hayward took great care of me and I am up and running. Very happy with the system overall, and ease of control and configuration and programming is amazing. The best part is being able to control it remotely from a browser or a mobile device/tablet.

V.B.

 

[jwramr]

I am about to go the onmilogic route as well - I appreciate you posting your resolution - it may come in handy.

 

[ClubJuan]

"3. My concern in the initial post about Ecostar firmware was not an empty one. Apparently some older Ecostar firmware does not publish its unique address which is required for integration with Omnilogic. To update firmware a digital interface control part (a top part with buttons and display) has to be replaced with a new one, a 1 minute job). "

Do you know which firmware is/is not compatible? Also, how much is the replacement digital interface control?

 

[heatdissipation]

How did they resolve it for you?

 

[ashmoussa]

No that I went through with install and resolved all issues:

1. The documentation on Ecostar and Omnilogic integration is indeed obscure. On the Omnilogic side, ones you see the unit in person the low speed bus connectors on the control PCB board are clearly marked and pins are enumerated - unlike in the documentation. So that helps a lot.

2. On Ecostar to LS bus wiring and pins - the best source is a tech guide at http://www.hayward-pool.com/pdf/manuals/EcoStarDiagnostics.pdf, page 10. I am attaching a picture here in case url changes.
View attachment 37458

3. My concern in the initial post about Ecostar firmware was not an empty one. Apparently some older Ecostar firmware does not publish its unique address which is required for integration with Omnilogic. To update firmware a digital interface control part (a top part with buttons and display) has to be replaced with a new one, a 1 minute job).

4. The good news is that Hayward took great care of me and I am up and running. Very happy with the system overall, and ease of control and configuration and programming is amazing. The best part is being able to control it remotely from a browser or a mobile device/tablet.

V.B.

Hi Pool1,
How did they take care of you?? I think I'm in the same boat.
Thx for your help in advance.

 

[ashmoussa]

Unfortunately, Hayward did me wrong bigtime!

I called in to Hayward support to troubleshoot this issue between the communication fault between the Ecostar pump and the Omnilogic. After doing a little bit of troubleshooting with me on the phone, in front of my equipment, they determined that the Ecostar I have is incompatible with my Omnilogic. Weird huh??
What they tell you everywhere is that the Omnilogic will control up to a whopping 8 Ecostar pumps. But what they DON'T tell you anywhere, even in their troubleshooting guide, is that the Omnilogic won't communicate with Ecostar pumps made prior to 2015! Well that sucks now doesn't it??

The Omnilogic was launched somewhere between the end of 2014 - beginning 2015. And being that most pool builds are done during the spring-summer season, 2015 spring-summer would be the first for the Omnilogic's. And its not unheard of that most pool distributors/PB's have all sorts of equipment leftover from last year (2014). So how can Hayward make a such a FALSE statement that their Omnilogic's are compatible with up to 8x Ecostar pumps without stating that the requirement is that the pump should be manufactured this year 2015? False advertising if you ask me!!

Also, how could Hayward not think about this and make these Omnilogic's backwards compatible or at the least have a workaround for people who have these Ecostars from prior years?? I called tons of distributors/resellers, authorized warranty reps, PB's, etc... and NONE of them, not even one, knew about this issue. How could Hayward even launch/deploy this item without giving adequate training, information, and/or heads-up on these units.

Now, I'm stuck having to buy another part to fix this issue that costs upwards of $900 just to get the communication between the pump and the Omnilogic!!!! And Hayward will not even do anything to make this right. WHAT!!?!?! This is nonsense!

Hayward dropped the ball big time and has left us early adopters out to dry. Way to go Hayward!!!! Lesson learned.

This seriously impacts Hayward's potential customers. Especially those who are shopping around for PB's to build their pools. Since most PB's stick with one pool manufacturer for their builds. Had I known this from the get go, it might have swayed my decision on choosing a particular pool builder and/or, more so, a pool equipment manufacturer.

You live and learn...
THANKS HAYWARD!

 

[jeremyjohnolson]

Unfortunately, Hayward did me wrong bigtime!

I called in to Hayward support to troubleshoot this issue between the communication fault between the Ecostar pump and the Omnilogic. After doing a little bit of troubleshooting with me on the phone, in front of my equipment, they determined that the Ecostar I have is incompatible with my Omnilogic. Weird huh??
What they tell you everywhere is that the Omnilogic will control up to a whopping 8 Ecostar pumps. But what they DON'T tell you anywhere, even in their troubleshooting guide, is that the Omnilogic won't communicate with Ecostar pumps made prior to 2015! Well that sucks now doesn't it??

The Omnilogic was launched somewhere between the end of 2014 - beginning 2015. And being that most pool builds are done during the spring-summer season, 2015 spring-summer would be the first for the Omnilogic's. And its not unheard of that most pool distributors/PB's have all sorts of equipment leftover from last year (2014). So how can Hayward make a such a FALSE statement that their Omnilogic's are compatible with up to 8x Ecostar pumps without stating that the requirement is that the pump should be manufactured this year 2015? False advertising if you ask me!!

Also, how could Hayward not think about this and make these Omnilogic's backwards compatible or at the least have a workaround for people who have these Ecostars from prior years?? I called tons of distributors/resellers, authorized warranty reps, PB's, etc... and NONE of them, not even one, knew about this issue. How could Hayward even launch/deploy this item without giving adequate training, information, and/or heads-up on these units.

Now, I'm stuck having to buy another part to fix this issue that costs upwards of $900 just to get the communication between the pump and the Omnilogic!!!! And Hayward will not even do anything to make this right. WHAT!!?!?! This is nonsense!

Hayward dropped the ball big time and has left us early adopters out to dry. Way to go Hayward!!!! Lesson learned.

This seriously impacts Hayward's potential customers. Especially those who are shopping around for PB's to build their pools. Since most PB's stick with one pool manufacturer for their builds. Had I known this from the get go, it might have swayed my decision on choosing a particular pool builder and/or, more so, a pool equipment manufacturer.

You live and learn...
THANKS HAYWARD!

Hey, I just wanted to post a response to this. I know it is an old post/thread, but to be honest, I have been a bit frustrated as of late trying to find current up to date information on Omnilogic units, so I want to post a reply to this complaint with some updated information. First off, I am just a normal customer (well, normal is debatable, but that's another story...) and I have no affiliation with Hayward other than I own the Omnilogic and an Ecostar. I bought my Ecostar in 2014 when we first moved into our house. It was the latter half of 2014, so I am assuming my Ecostar is a pre-2015 model (how would I confirm???) and it works with the Ominlogic just fine. I don't know if Omnilogic updated the firmware since the above post, or if ashmnoussa was just not doing something correctly or just had a bad unit. Anyway, mine works. I did have an issue at first where it recognized the correct HUA but for some reason it would not turn the pump on when I told it to. Turns out that the pool was not assigned to the pump. I know I assigned it in initial set up, but for some reason it got dropped. So I had to go in and re-assign the pump to the pool in config wizard, but all is good now.