Aqualink RS and solar panels not regulating pool temperature

[Andrew W]

Hello,

First time posting. I have an Aqualink RS, it's about 10 years old. The pool was built with solar panel heating by the original owner. Also have the Aqualink hand held PDA. About two years ago the power was out for two days due to a hurricane that crossed directly overhead. After getting everything back up and running, I noticed that the solar panel option in the PDA was missing, I also noticed that the 9V battery in the Aqualink panel was dead during the power outage. I stumbled my way though the PDA setup options, found the correct AUX, and renamed it Solar. It showed up again in the PDA menu as expected. I could cycle the solar heat JVA on and off as desired. However, after this the Aqualink RS was not turning the solar panel heating off once the water temperature reached the set point and it would not turn the solar panels off when the panels are cooling the water, such as a cloudy/rainy day. All other features work as expected. I can cycle the solar panel JVA with the PDA as needed, pump on/off, hot tub on/off, all other JVA's for waterfall/streams/etc. function as expected. Only feature that is not working is the JVA will not automatically turn the solar panel heating off when the pool water reaches the set point, or during non effective solar heating weather conditions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Andrew

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

You swap the solar JVA with another JVA to see if the JVA is at fault?

 

[Andrew W]

Welcome to TFP.

You swap the solar JVA with another JVA to see if the JVA is at fault?

I thought of trying that, but have not. With the remote, I can turn flow to the solar panels off and on manually, the indicator lights on the aqualink panel respond accordingly, the JVA rotates accordingly. But the aqualink just won't turn the solar panels on and off to regulate the temperature in the pool. So, I dismissed that it's a failure in the JVA and have assumed that it's a failure in the aqualink panel.

 

[ajw22]

It is more likely a balky microswitch in the JVA not allowing it to rotate one way.

 

[Andrew W]

It is more likely a balky microswitch in the JVA not allowing it to rotate one way.

Thank you for the reply. If I go to the JVA and flip the switch on its side, the valve will rotate to the other position. I've cycled the valve to both sides many times using this outside switch. As far as I know of the JVA, this should show that the internal switches, motor, and gears are all in working order. So, I assume, the Aqualink RS is issue.

 

[ajw22]

Swap your solar JVA with your pool return or suction JVA's.

The external switch will operate the JVA while the microswitch is bad.

A JVA replacement is much less cost then an Aqualink board.

 

[Andrew W]

Thank you for your reply. I have since tracked the problem down to the temperature sensor that is up on the roof with the solar panels. I checked the resistance across the leads for that sensor and found it to be open. So the wire or sensor is bad. The air and water return temperature sensors both had around 600 ohms. In an attempt to really nail down the problem and ensure that the Aqualink was good before I invest in a new sensor, I plugged the air temperature sensor into the roof solar panel temperature sensor terminals and was able to get the Aqualink to cycle the solar panel flow off and on by putting the air temperature sensor in a cup of hot water. I assumed the temperature sensor in cup of hot water would simulate the solar panels heating the water and it worked surprisingly well. About a minute after taking the temperature sensor out of the hot water, the sensor would return to ambient air temperature (about 75°) which would signal the Aqualink that the solar panels are no longer heating the water. Pool water temperature was about 85° at the time.

So, now I just need to find a way to replace the temperature sensor on my roof. I have a two story home and am not comfortable with climbing onto my roof. Does anyone know if the temperature sensor that is on the solar panels is the same part number as the air and pool return temperature sensors (only with a 50 foot lead wire)? Does it plug into the piping the same as the pool return temperature sensor. I'm thinking the cheapest option is to get a temperature sensor myself and hire a local handy man to run up a latter and replace it for me.