Automated valves stuck on Spa-side

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F

feuGene

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Jul 18, 2017
18
Indian Harbour Beach, FL
We rarely use our spa these days, primarily because the heater is broken and we're not willing to pay to fix it at this time.

However, yesterday we had some family over and they wanted to experience the jets, so I turned the spa on for them.

Today, the pool is stuck running on spa-side-only. I've tried toggling the spa side on and off, and toggling all of the equipment on and off, but to no avail.

I went and looked at the valves. Both of the automated valves seem to be stuck on spa-only-mode. (See attached pictures.)

What might cause the automated valves to both stop responding like that? Could it perhaps be a software issue that a "reboot" might fix? If so, how do I "reboot?" I found a "Reset" entry in the menus in my EasyTouch remote, but I was afraid to do it...

I called a pool repair place, but they can't come out til Tuesday. Is there anything I can do in the mean time?

Thank you!
 

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Try using the toggle switches on the valve actuator. If that works, it is in your automation system.

If the toggle switches don't work, it could be bad micro switches in the valve actuator, but it would be odd that two valves fail at once.

Let us know what happens when you use the toggle switches.
 
Ha, if you're like me... be sure to record somewhere in which position each switch was before you touched them. I'd forget in 30 seconds and then have a heck of a time getting things back the way they were when the problem gets fixed.
 
mknauss said:
Try using the toggle switches on the valve actuator. If that works, it is in your automation system.

If the toggle switches don't work, it could be bad micro switches in the valve actuator, but it would be odd that two valves fail at once.

Let us know what happens when you use the toggle switches.
Click to expand...

I forgot those switches existed! Haha @Dirk yes I've been there too and yes I did have a heck of a time getting things back to normal.

I tried toggling them. They're 3-way, so I tried all 3 positions. Nothing happened when I changed them... To either valve... I thought I remembered them going immediately into motion last time I played with them... But nothing this time... Do I need to have the equipment set to any particular mode when toggling? Eg pool only, spa only, both, etc?

Definitely odd that they'd both fail at the same time...
 
@mknauss is there a fuse in the ET that protects the actuators? I thought those manual switches are suppose to work full-time, as long as there is power to the ET... The middle position is off, moving the switch to the opposite end position should move the valve.
 
Just found an ET manual on line. On the control panel there is a set of breakers in the upper right corner. One of those is for the valves. Check to see if any are tripped.
 
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As neither of the actuators work with the toggle switch, it sounds to me to be a power issue. Trace the wiring back to the ET and see if you see any issues.
@Jimrahbe can provide us more guidance.
 

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Well, this is odd. If it was one valve I can see it being an actuator problem. But both at the same time, no way.

How many feature circuits/schedules do you have set up? If you reset the ET, it will wipe them out.
Have you tried putting the ET in service mode and trying the toggle switches?
 
Gene,

Do you have a voltmeter???

The ET provides the valve with 24 VAC... It sounds like that voltage is not there..

If you look at the back of the main board, you can see in the upper right side of the board, a connector where three AC voltages come into the board.. 12, 18, and 24 VAC..


Main PCB.jpg


I suggest that you test to see if you have 24 VAC at the connector.. Measure between the Red and the Red/Wht wires on the far right of the connector. Do this with the connector connected to the card.. If you have no, or very low voltage, unplug all the valves and test again. (Make sure you know where each valve goes, so you can reconnect them..)

Let me know what you find.

Pushing the "reset" button on the front of the EasyTouch will just cause the EasyTouch to reboot, just like you do to a computer.. It will not erase any files or schedules.. If you go into the menu and erase the memory, then all your settings and schedules will have to be reentered..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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feuGene said:
I found that set of 4 breakers. I'm not exactly sure what "tripped" would look like, but they all 4 looked the same, and some of them are for things that are definitely working (like InteliChlor). So, I guess is isn't the valve breaker...
Click to expand...
Just a thought - sometimes a breaker doesn't look tripped but it has. Flip it off then on again. Worth a try.
 
And breakers can fail, which would account for both valves going down. I haven't seen that in an ET, but on my house. Some event caused the breaker to trip, and that was it. It wouldn't reset, had to be replaced. So your issue might still be more than the breaker. As Jim pointed out, troubleshooting with a meter is the next step. But... not if it's still under warranty. Don't void your warranty by poking around. Pentair ups their warranty to three years if you buy enough of their gear at the same time. I think your list of Pentair gear might qualify. So if your stuff is less than three years old, contact Pentair about a warranty call and if you qualify they'll send someone out. Maybe they'll fix your heater, too. I believe it ups your warranty for everything, not just the qualifying components.
 
Oops, I just spotted "built 2014." Well, that's about when my pool was built, but my ET is still under warranty because I added it later. Any chance?
 
check for 24 volts ac like Jim said, and since you've already kindof checked the valves with the switches (it's unlikely 2 would fail at once), it could be that the socketed uln2803 driver chip has failed. you could swap em and see if anything changes, or just order 2 more (they're 1.50 each)
 
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