Can't get IntelliCenter to control pump

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GrandLSU

Active member
May 14, 2020
34
Baton Rouge, LA
In short, I have an IntelliCenter and have completed the setup wizard, but I am not able to control either of my two pumps in any way with the IntelliCenter.

To give a little more info, I have an IntelliCenter i10PS. I also have two Pentair VSF 011056 pumps (one is the filter pump for the pool and spa, and the other is for the features). The electrician has installed and connected everything to the IntelliCenter, and now I am trying to setup/configure the IntelliCenter to control everything. When I run the setup wizard in the Intellicenter and get to the pump section, it asks me if I want to set up a pump and I say "yes." I then confirm all of the options for the pump (minimum speed, max speed, etc.) and hit next. I then repeat the process for the second pump, and finish the setup wizard and return to the home screen. After that though, I am not able to control the pump at all from either the screen on the IntelliCenter panel, or from the IntelliCenter iPhone app. For example, when I hit the "Pool" button, the pump doesn't turn on. Also, when I use the app and choose "Pumps" from the home screen, it takes me to a screen that shows two selectable options labeled "VSF" and "VSF #2" but there are red boxes next to each of them. In any event, when I click on either "VSF" or "VSF #2" it just takes me to a screen that shows Pump speed: 0; Flow rate: 0; and power usage: 0. It however doesn't give me any options to change the pump speed, to turn on the pump, or control the pump in any way.

What am I missing? When configuring the IntelliCenter do I need to do more than just using the Wizard which apparently just tells the IntelliCenter "hey there are two VSF pumps hooked up to you some where in some way." For example, is there something I need to do to get the IntelliCenter to sense, recognize, and communicate with the pumps that are hooked up to it? Do I need to do more than say "hey IntelliCenter there is a pump hooked up to you," and instead say something like "there is a pump hooked up to you AND it's hooked up to the relay labeled AUX 2"? Is there something else I need to do to get the IntelliCenter to recognize and communicate with the pump so that I can control it?
 
G,


I agree with rstrouse above.. but..

The first thing I'd do is... with the system in the Auto mode, I'd go look at each pump and make sure that the pump's screen says "Display not Active".. this means the pump is being controlled by the IntelliCenter,

The second thing I would do is confirm that each pump has a different internal address.. Main pump is address #1 and the feature pumps is address #2.. This can only be seen from the pump itself, the automation does not display this info.. The fact that the automation calls them pump #1 and # 2 has nothing to do the the RS-485 address..

Then, as stated above, you need to tell the automation what speed you want for each circuit where you want the pump running.. Otherwise the automation assumes zero, which is what it is doing now.

I have an EasyTouch, but here is an example of how my speeds are set up.

I suggest that you set up the Pool and Spa circuits for the lowest speeds you ever want to run.


Heater Speed.PNG

Heater Speed.PNG



Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Jimrahbe said:
G,


I agree with rstrouse above.. but..

The first thing I'd do is... with the system in the Auto mode, I'd go look at each pump and make sure that the pump's screen says "Display not Active".. this means the pump is being controlled by the IntelliCenter,

The second thing I would do is confirm that each pump has a different internal address.. Main pump is address #1 and the feature pumps is address #2.. This can only be seen from the pump itself, the automation does not display this info.. The fact that the automation calls them pump #1 and # 2 has nothing to do the the RS-485 address..

Then, as stated above, you need to tell the automation what speed you want for each circuit where you want the pump running.. Otherwise the automation assumes zero, which is what it is doing now.

I have an EasyTouch, but here is an example of how my speeds are set up.

I suggest that you set up the Pool and Spa circuits for the lowest speeds you ever want to run.


Heater Speed.PNG

Heater Speed.PNG



Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
After reviewing the posts by Jimrahbe and rstrouse and doing some further investigation on my equipment, I have determined that my problem is not simply that I needed to set up a circuit and speed for the Pool circuit on the pump. Instead, the additional points raised by Jimrahbe are closer to what's causing my problems.

When in Auto mode, the display of my feature pump does NOT say "Display not Active." Instead, the display of the feature pump just shows the current pump control status and functions (i.e. the RPM's that the pump is currently running at, etc.). The display of the filter pump is a different issue. The display of the filter pump does not show anything at all, does not light up, and looks dead (although I know the pump is receiving power as I can now get the pump itself to turn on - discussed below). I THINK this issue with the filter pump display not working is a completely separate and unrelated issue from me not being able to get the IntelliCenter to control the pumps, so I am going to ignore the issue of the display not working for the time being.

So with the above in mind, here is what I did based on Jimrahbe's post. Using the feature pump's display/keypad, I changed the internal address of the feature pump from address #1 (which is what it was in fact set at) to address #2. I could not change the internal address of the filter pump since the display is dead, but I am assuming it is set to address #1 by default (which I believe is what I want it set at anyway since I changed the address of the feature pump to address #2). I then did a factory reset of the IntelliCenter so that I was starting from scratch, and ran the setup wizard in the IntelliCenter and entered the info for my two VSF pumps (in the same way described in my original post). I then set up a circuit with speeds for both pumps as rstrouse described. Here are the good news and bad news results:

I can now control the filter pump with the IntelliCenter! Since the display of the filter pump is dead I cannot verify that the display is saying "Display not Active," but I'm assuming it would be if the display were in fact working. I can get the filter pump to turn on though via the IntelliCenter app and I can change its speed and control it from the app. So it appears that my issue of not being able to control the filter pump with the IntelliCenter has now been resolved thanks to the help of Jimrahbe and rstrouse.

The feature pump however is still not controllable at all from the IntelliCenter (when I turn on the 2,000 RPM circuit that I programed for the feature pump, the feature pump does not actually turn on at all), and as mentioned above the display of the feature pump does NOT say "Display not Active" (instead it just shows the current pump control status and fuctions). Also, when I go into the IntelliCenter settings (at the actual IntelliCenter outdoor control panel) and click on the status of the feature pump, it says "Communication Lost - IntelliCenter is unable to communicate with the IntelliFlo Pump" (I don't think the communication was literally "lost" though as I don't think it ever actually had communication in the first place). Regardless, I still am unable to control the feature pump in any way via the IntelliCenter, and it appears to me that there is something else that I need to do to allow the IntelliCenter to communicate with and control the feature pump. Any ideas?
 
If you are getting a "Communication Lost" message from IntelliCenter this means that IntelliCenter is sending the take control message to the pump but the pump is not responding. So IntelliCenter is trying to communicate with the pump but it never responds. If the display does not change on the pump to Display Not Active then the pump is not hearing the message from IntelliCenter. Either the pump type or address is not correct in the IntelliCenter configuration or the RS485 connection is faulty.

Check the connection from the pin connector on the pump all the way to the J2 connector or the two wire connector if you are using a comm expansion.
 
GrandLSU said:
What do you mean by check the RS485 connection? Do you mean just check to make sure everything is physically plugged in securely, or is there another way to check it?
Click to expand...
See restrouse explanation above - it is much more detailed. You need to check the wiring from the pump to the Intellicenter, the RS485.
 
rstrouse said:
If you are getting a "Communication Lost" message from IntelliCenter this means that IntelliCenter is sending the take control message to the pump but the pump is not responding. So IntelliCenter is trying to communicate with the pump but it never responds. If the display does not change on the pump to Display Not Active then the pump is not hearing the message from IntelliCenter. Either the pump type or address is not correct in the IntelliCenter configuration or the RS485 connection is faulty.

Check the connection from the pin connector on the pump all the way to the J2 connector or the two wire connector if you are using a comm expansion.
Click to expand...
I'll check the connections as you mentioned. You also mentioned "either the pump type or address is not correct in the IntelliCenter configuration..." I am virtually positive the pump type is correct in the IntelliCenter configuration, as it is set to Pump Type: "VSF" (and my feature pump is a Pentair variable speed and flow pump). I have no idea however if the address is correct in the IntelliCenter configuration. The address in the IntelliCenter configuration for the feature pump is set as address 2 (separately, the internal address for the pump is also set as address #2 as mentioned in my post above). How can I tell if the address for the feature pump is correct in the IntelliCenter configuration?
 

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