Aquarite Not generating - lights not on

[Jimbolo]

TFP and all you wizards have....once again....SAVED THE DAY! I have a Aquarite generator and the "generating" and power lights would go out after about 20 seconds of run time. So I bought and replaced the current limiter and now for 9 bucks my box is working again!

As many described, the black disk was cracked, although only slightly, around the outsider perimeter. My box was getting too hot due to 1. direct sunlight in the P.M. 2. The painters painted it flat hunter green, and 3. it was mounted flush to the wall, where heat from the wall was being conducted directly into the box. I would imagine 150 deg would not be an outrageous number in August. So I painted it back to gloss white, and mounted it with 1" standoffs. Hope that helps.

You all are awesome!

Jim.

 

[Griffon1967]

Another thankful pool owner. I just signed up to say thanks to all. Had same problem as most others and 24 hours after ordering new inrush thermistor, and 15 minutes of iron work, all back to normal.
Saved me a bag of money.
Thanks again.

 

[Ozzzz666]

Cracked current limiter, slightly burnt PCB, and no current passing through it. After a few bucks and about 30min of work I think my SWCG is back in business ! Power & Generating lights come on now anyway, we'll see what my chlorine level is like tomorrow. It cost more to pick up a couple of chlorine tabs to keep the pool from turning green while waiting for the part to arrive.

Add me to the list of pool owners saved by this thread.

 

[robintoronto]

Wow, first for great advise on replacing the part (seriously, what a poor design that so many failures on current limiter) from this forum, and a second wow, digikey, ordered the part on Memorial day figured would take a few days, arrived 24 hours after ordered - awesome service - to Toronto, Canada.

Many thanks!

 

[bushhog_04]

hey i've been reading some of the post and i also do not have power light etc. only flow and generate briefly.. but i'm going to order the current limiter and have that part number, but was wondering if anybody knew the part number for the resistors from digikey.

 

[Reinman]

My swimpure failed after 2 years. I have the T-Cell check and its working find. After I spoke with Hayward Pool tech about the problem, they mentioned that the main PCB might be the problem. Check with Amazon and cost $180+. Someone posted about this site on the review and looks like I have the same problem, my flow lights on then after few seconds all lights were off. As soon as I got home, I open my board and yes the limiter was cracked into half and have that brownish color at the connector. I have ordered the parts from Digikey SL32 2R025 since they dont have this AS32 2R025 as what i have right now on the board. It may work but won't take chances so I order this part from http://mouser.com stock # 995-AS32-2R025. I can always use it as a backup if both works. Hopefully I get it next week and have it install. I will let you know the outcome.
By the way thanks for all the great post, might save me lots of $$$ .

===========
I received the part last Saturday from Digikey and cut the old limiter and solder the new one. Will what did you know, it works and back to generating chlorine again. All lights are back to normal. Again thanks for this great TFP forum, you help a lot of pool owners and saved hundred of dollars for this quick fix. When you order makes sure you have a spare in case you need to replace it again.

 

[alanpaul]

Our 7 year old Mineral Springs-BioGuard-AquaRite-Hayward SWCG stopped functioning this winter, and I've been toting chlorine since.

Now that I've found this thread, I'm betting a whopping $5.44 (incl. postage) on the DigiKey part you've been discussing. Amps read 0, even if output is set to 100% or Sanitize.

I'll be sure to post, if it solves our problem! If not, I'll move on to the next small replacement part...!

BTW, Volts reading 30.4 Does this indicate a different problem??

As I want to be prepared in case the Current Limiter doesn't fix the problem, I looked up the part discussed by member loot2spare, the Circuit Board Relay (about $4.25 each), and the actual part number seems to be G8P-1C4P according to the manufacturer, but there may be different versions, not sure. More info will be added as I acquire it.

Thanks in advance for what we hope will be a very cost effective and very valuable fix for our pool too!

Alan

 

[JasonS]

Add me to the list of happy people helped by this thread. I have an Aquarite AL-0 with the same problem. Replacing the current limiter fixed it for $5.51 shipped. I ordered it from DigiKey on Memorial day and it arrived on Wednesday.

I had a little trouble with the soldering because I have very little experience so hopefully someone can learn from me. I have a 25 watt Weller iron and I think the current limiter was dissipating the heat too fast because the existing solder wouldn't melt. The current limiter was already cracked anyway, so I broke it all the way off and was left with just the two long contact wires sticking out of the PCB. I was then able to heat the solder up enough to melt it and pull the wires out. I didn't wick the old solder out with copper braid so when the new limiter arrived in the mail, I tried to slide it into the PCB holes but they were clogged with the old solder. I decided to drill out the holes with an 1/16th drill bit. Unorthodox I know, but it worked.

I just reassembled the unit and the generating light is on and cell voltage and current are within the normal ranges.

Thanks TFP!!

UPDATE: three days in and the system is still generating chlorine and my test kit is showing about the right amount of chlorine in the water. Yay!

 

[CincyBob]

Count me as one more pool owner with the problem described in this thread. I opened our pool last weekend and spent the past five days getting the pool cleaned up and the water sparkling clear. So today was the day to get the salinity and chemistry balanced and the Aqua Rite SWG working. When I tried to power up the SWG, I discovered a low voltage reading (about 13V) and no joy with the LEDs. None of the LEDs would light up on the Aqua Rite control panel other than the flashing "No Flow" LED, which would flash for the usual 30 second delay after a reboot. Once the "No Flow" LED would stop flashing, there would be no more activity from the LEDs - all, including the "Power" LED would remain off.

I checked the fuse, and it tested fine. I also checked the voltage in and out of the transformer. Those voltage readings were normal: 120V AC into the transformer and 24V DC out of the transformer.

Then I discovered this thread. I took a close look at the inrush current limiter discussed extensively here. However, I saw no signs of cracking or degradation. So I grabbed hold of the current limiter and pinched and moved it around a bit to make sure it is still firmly soldered to the circuit board. And then suddenly the "Power" LED came on. I checked the voltage reading on the LCD display, and it too had changed for the better, now indicating a normal value above 30V. So I flipped the toggle switch up to "Auto." That caused the "Generating" LED to light up, and the SWG now appears to be operating properly!

My guess is that I had an open circuit either because my inrush current limiter has begun to fail or because the solder connections on the PCB have begun to fail. In any event, I am back up and running for now. I just ordered a pair of the Ametherm AS32 2R025 inrush current limiters. Based on the experiences documented in this thread, I gather it is only a matter of time before this part fails altogether. In the meantime, I need to get the parts in hand and then either (1) talk one of my friends into doing the soldering job or (2) buy some soldering equipment so I can learn to do it myself.

Thanks all for the valuable information. My only recourse without this thread would have been to call Hayward technical support, which I suspect would have led to an entire replacement PCB. Since my SWG is just two years old and still under warranty, it's probably not a bad idea to request a replacement PCB from Hayward under warranty...

 

[mikdagg]

THANK YOU TFP FORUMS!!!!!

I've been reading for the past six hours on the same issues as posted below.. I'm limited in my repair ability, but this forum just saved my LIFE.. My issue appears to be the current limiter ($ 2.69 ) on Digikey... <<<< Not only did you help my problem, but you told me where to find it.. You guys really " GET'er DONE"!!

Thanks from NJ Mike

 

[Merc Sof]

I had found a rebuilt board for $99 at an online auction site. Also found the current limiters I needed, I replaced the board then replaced the current limiter on the old board and saving ti as a spare.

 

[alanpaul]

To All of You above,

We removed and replaced the current limiter this evening, and turned the SWG on for just a few minutes. All the led lights seem to be working appropriately again, and the lcd read-out is making sense.

Salt appeared to be low at 1300 (as I expected a low reading) so I turned off the SWG.
Added 1 bag (320ppm) salt, and allowed it to dissolve.

Turned SWG on, and it took about a minute to recognize the first additional 100 ppm of salt, showing 1400.

Another step in the right direction. Turned off the system for the night.
Tomorrow we'll clean the cell, add more salt, and start it up again.

So far, high hopes!

THANK YOU!

 

[Merc Sof]

I am glad to hear that you are moving in a positive direction

 

[alanpaul]

Uh-oh,
It looks like my SWG is still having a problem, after replacing the current limiter.

I will clean the cell after work today, but this morning I turned it on just to see if anything changed.
Salt was up to 1500 from 1300, then it dropped back to 1300 after a few seconds.

Two of our local pool stores are extremely reliable for chemical testing.

According to the pool store salt check, it should read 2900.
Who's wrong? The machine or the store? Who do I trust?
Are the stores really any good at testing the salt level, and the SWG cell?
I haven't had the cell tested yet.

Thanks for your input. I'll check back this afternoon for any comments and suggestions.

Alan

 

[Bama Rambler]

It's really hit and miss. Some stores are pretty good at salt levels and some aren't. I'd get it tested at a couple of stores just to make sure.

A cell reading a low salt level when it's actually not, is indicative of a failing cell. I'd try cleaning it and see if that helps.

 

[alanpaul]

Thanks,
Just cleaned the cell. Cleared the memory. Cell started reading salt initially at 0, then jumped to 700. We'll have to watch and wait. And go to some pool stores tomorrow.
Alan

 

[alanpaul]

Update: Thursday, June 6, Noon-thirty.
Last evening the cell read 700, then 800.
Today, 900. I don't know who's more confused, the cell or me.
But clearly it's not working.
Lots of black, tar-like substance (sealant?) has leaked out of the area where the wires are on the cell, under the saddle-shaped cover.
After tropical storm Andrea passes today, maybe this weekend I'll try to remove that cover and see what's going on underneath.
Has anyone done this, EVER, without destroying the cell?
Thanks,
Alan

 

[JohnDaddyo]

God Bless those of you that were able to complete these simple instructions with success. I, was not so lucky. I tried and tried removing the solder with copper braid from the under side and the from side. I just could not pull the black part out. I did get some solder but obviously not all. Plan B: I used an extremely fine Dremel drill bit and drilled through. That did get the part out. What I'm concerned about is, it also removed what looks like a tiny washer as well. As you all know, the wire goes through the washer and then you solder.
Do you think it will still work soldering the part to the board without that "washer"?
I'm about to cry I think.

 

[Bama Rambler]

That "washer" should connect to a land (piece of flat wire on the board). as long as the solder reaches from the lead of the current limiter to the land it will still work. If the "washer" is the one on the top side of the board that doesn't have any lands connected to it just make sure to solder it on the bottom side.

 

[JohnDaddyo]

Thank you for replying. I'm waiting any minute for delivery of the black limiter pieces. Crossing fingers.
By the way, Pinch a Penny (should be Pinch a Few Hundred Dollars) was her this morning. As someone said prior, they will not repair. New mobo, 342.00 + 75.00 . In his defense, he did tell me about Amazon. 180.00 on Amazon