Autopilot Low Amp Cell warning- erratic voltage readings

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H

Harlequin

0
Jun 11, 2018
16
Selden, NY
Hello, this is my first posting and thanks for a wonderful resource of info!
I never owned a pool and just bought a house with one to enjoy during retirement. I have been reading everything I can find on the DIG-220 error message.
The pool was just opened and no treatments have been done yet and no salt added. I am getting wide swings in voltage readout every time I run the test mode.
The amps are always the same .5 amps which is really low and the voltage readings have gone from 7 volts to 26 volts and always change. One of the banana plugs was broken so I fixed that but no change in readings. The other cables appear ok and the terminals are not corroded. I read posts about the fuses so I will check them next and make sure the fuse holders are good as well. Also the temp readings were erratic too. 64 degrees and then 69 degrees when re-testing.
If anyone has any other ideas it would be appreciated.
 
Today I took the DIG-220 apart and checked what one of the members here did, which was check the fuses and seating of the fuses in their holders but still getting crazy readings. The prior owner said the salt cell is about 2 years old but maybe it is bad because it is telling me to add 1100 pounds of salt and the voltage reading are changing again. Does anyone have any ideas to check this out further? Thanks, Rob
 
I've been dealing with this as well. I've posted on here a couple times, but this seems to be one of those things that most folks don't understand as well as things like chemicals.
My cell, actually I should say system, started the summer with the low amp readings. Temp and and salt level were good. I tried several things, but nothing worked. One day I noticed it was working. Worked for about a month. Back to low amps now.
Wish I had an answer for you, but I can only share where I'm at:
Possible cable/ cell cord problem.
Possible control board/ power harness.
Possible bad cell. This doesn't seem likely. Relatively new, clean, and was working last month.
Possible circulation problem. This is a weird one. My set up has a horizontal pipe with a vertical piece that goes up off of it to make a U. On the way down, I have the salt cell. I think this U can get clogged and cause all/ most the water to go through the horizontal pipe and not divert through the U/ salt cell. If the system notices a low flow, it basically cuts off causes a low amp reading. This is similar to what it does if the water is too cold. This is theoretical. Just something I've seen while searching for an answer.

I'll be following your post and hoping someone can get us lined out. I'm probably going to order a new cell cord. It's the cheapest approach to this guesswork.

Good Luck!
 
Hello Rufus,
I feel your pain. Yesterday I checked both cables with ohm meter and no resistance and good continuity on both.
I cleaned the salt cell and cleaned the trisensor as well and that didn't help.
With still trying to learn the chemical part and this being my first time with a pool has been very unpleasant. I like to trouble shoot things myself but I am going to call the pool company and hand it over to him to fix. $$$$$$
Good luck with your situation, Rob
 
We have a great pool store nearby that will test your water and let you know what you need to get the chemicals right. They don't over do it with all kinds of additives. That would help you get started. Once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad. PoolMath on here is helpful. This low amp warning, on the hand, is killing me. Please let me know if you find a solution.
 
You will find TFP is all about doing your own testing. We have found over and over most pool stores get the tests wrong. There are some good ones out there but on the whole most don't use the care or equipment needed to get the tests right.

Here is a set of links I put together for new pool owners:

rint these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

Pool Math

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

Look in my siggy for the test kit I think it the best bang for the buck.

Kim:kim:
 
Yes Kimkats. I got the TF-100 test kit and a friend has helped me get everything up and running. he is a member on here as well.

Today the pool guy came over and wasn't sure where the problem is and is waiting for his rep or some other connection to let us know what it is. He collected his $125 cash for the service call.
Until he hears from his source, he suspects the cell or the computer board. He said if it is the computer board he sells them for 600 + 150 to install it.
I already see sources for the board and can do it myself. If I let him do it that's a lot of cash............
 

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Still waiting for a verdict from pool guy as to what needs replacing. When he was here his rep said the Autopilot I have is 6 years old. this morning I opened it up again to double check for any visual problems. The display board which is attached to the cover had a date on it of March 2016 so the prior owner must have had that replaced.
Now another strange thing popped up- during this week of troubleshooting the PPM of salt readings were always wrong saying things from 100 PPM to 300 PPM. But after opening the unit up this morning and re-seating everything I am getting a consistent 4100 PPM salt reading. Now I used the optional salt strips for the TF-100 test kit and it shows 3100 PPM so more confusion. But the LOW AMPS CELL error is still there. I am thinking it's time to order a new cell from SALT POOL GUYS and try that next. Thanks for reading my babble.
 
Some of the AutoPilot Pool Pilot units have a high voltage limiter. When voltage hits a high (usually around 32 volts for most units with the feature) the power is cut off temporarily allowing the voltage to drop. The part where you mentioned that you had to repair the cell cord is of concern. Do you have any photos of water the cord looked like before the repair? I would like to see if it caused any issues within the control box.

Is the cell an original AutoPilot or an aftermarket generic? We've been seeing lots of problems caused by generic cells again. What is the model # listed on the cell?

The salt cell does not monitor the salt readings on the Pool Pilot units. This is handled by the tri-sensor assembly.
 
Hi Josh,
One of the banana plugs was broken at the tip and I merely put a new plug on. All connections have no resistance as measured by ohm meter (VOM) I don't have a pic of the bad plug but it was an easy fix. The cell is an original RC-52. It saysAUTOPILOT on it. Thank you
 
I ordered the salt cell which after looking at the old one again seems worn down. I missed that the first time I looked at the fins. Thank you to Josh at Salt Pool Guys.com for the advice. He also suggested changing the cell cable at the same time for good reason so I ordered both. Thank you to everyone who gave me inout and thank you to TFP !
 
Harlequin said:
I guess we are not winning at this game. I just got the new cell and new cell cord and installed them. No change- LOW AMP CELL warning still there..........
Click to expand...
So sorry. My family loves the pool, but I'm not sure what I think about it. It's tough to enjoy when it's constant work. Hope you get it rolling soon.

I think mine is producing some chlorine. It's tough to tell since I put tabs in while it was down.
 
I understand your feelings !! I think my autopilot is producing chlorine because even after many sunny days the salt test still shows about 3100 ppm. I haven't had to add any and that was with the old salt cell. But with the LOW AMP CELL message still showing up I can't be sure of anything.
The salt readings are consistent each time I check them but the Volts and Amps move around. Sometimes it lands near 23 Volts and amps still stuck at .5 Amps.
 

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