Aqualogic low volts, chlorinator off

[dustindb]

I have a Hayward/Goldline Aqualogic AQL-PS-4-X295 that is throwing the check system light, with error message that says low volts chlorinator off. Filter pump and polaris work as usual. There have been no changes to the system. The only unusual thing is a very large amount of rain recently, which may have diluted the salinity some. I checked the salt cell 1-2 months ago and it looked clear. A voltimeter confirms that full voltage is exiting the breaker. It seems to work briefly when the pump just comes on, and I get these diagnostics:

+25.48V +7.6A
77F 4000 PPM

-25.32V -7.57A
77F 4100 PPM

Actual salt level is 3000.

I've done a fair amount of digging online and couldn't find any solutions, any guesses?

 

[ajw22]

That volts and amps reading says it is generating CL.

Do you see your FC level holding steady?

 

[dustindb]

No, I only get those diagnostics briefly when I start up the pump. Then I get the error message and the chlorinator is off. FC is dropping fast and I'm using bleach now.

 

[JamesW]

Probably a failing solder point on the circuit board. I would pull the board and check the back for damage. Look for a burn or discoloration.

 

[dustindb]

I looked at the back of the board and didn't notice anything, but I'm no expert in that area. It seems like there's lots of issues with the K1 area (zoomed in 2nd photo), but I couldn't tell if there was a problem. I added 40# of salt thinking that may be an issue, and maybe made things worse. Now it reads chlorinator off, hi salt/amps, and no mention of voltage.

https://ibb.co/mK3w1z
https://ibb.co/hMcOgz

 

[JamesW]

The board looks ok. The voltage and amps also look ok. If the amps hit 8.0, you will get the high amps error. You should lower the salinity.

The low volts error seems to be intermittent. Not sure why. I would suspect a weak solder point, but nothing looks obvious.

http://www.haywardnet.com/pdfs/ProLogic_4.45_Troubleshooting_Guide.pdf

 

[dustindb]

The board looks ok. The voltage and amps also look ok. If the amps hit 8.0, you will get the high amps error. You should lower the salinity.

The low volts error seems to be intermittent. Not sure why. I would suspect a weak solder point, but nothing looks obvious.

http://www.haywardnet.com/pdfs/ProLogic_4.45_Troubleshooting_Guide.pdf

Ok, thanks for the help. I shouldn't have to lower the salinity much, I'll give it a go and monitor and hopefully it just goes away. Cheers

 

[dustindb]

Well, no luck. I can't get the low volts to go away. I tried all the troubleshooting I could in the manual, but the chlorinator won't stay on long enough to do some of the tests. At this point should I call in a professional? Just replace the whole board??

 

[JamesW]

What results were you able to get?

Did the transformer check out ok?

What tests couldn't you do?

Turn the cell on then go to diagnostics and watch the numbers. After 5 minutes press + to reverse polarity and watch the numbers again for 5 minutes.

If you're trying to do the tests and the system goes off, press the + button while in diagnostics to reverse polarity and start a new cycle.

 

[dustindb]

It started working again magically and has made FC for the last 2 days. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on it.

 

[dustindb]

So I continued to have problems, cycling through various error messages and eventually got stuck with no cell power. I looked again at the circuit board and the K1 joint looked faulty. I soldered it back together and it started back up instantly so hopefully it's cured. I had never soldered anything, but it was very easy, simply google nocellpower and there's some good videos on it.

 

[JamesW]

Cool, thanks for the update.