Easytouch, IS10 spa side, and IC40: err on IS10 and always green FLOW led

[crabby]

Greetings and thanks in advance.

I'm trying to troubleshoot a spa system that uses an easytouch, an integral IC40 SWCG (with the board and transformer inside the panel), and an IS10 spa side controller. Also an intelliflo VS pump. This is a standalone system, the pool has it's own equipment. All spa equipment was new in the fall of 2016 with the exception of the IS10 which was replaced last year due to a delamination issue (the black absorbed too much heat and was replaced with a white one).

There are several things going on (or not depending on how you look at it):

The spa controller readout displays ERR and does not respond to button presses in regards to making the equipment work. It does cycle through the lights on the right of the display, lights the up/down arrows when appropriate, and the ring around the buttons cycles on/off with button presses. Resets from the easytouch panel don't help nor does power cycling.

At the same time the IC40 is stuck with a green FLOW light even when the pump is off. I've removed the flow switch and played with it but nothing helps. At the same time it usually shows a solid low salt condition even though the salt in the pool is good. Power cycling sometimes allows the salt leds to show true. Cell is clean and being on LI, NY it does not have a lot of time on it. I cannot get any reading using the cell life status. But here is where things get a little wonky.

I did not wire this spa. The electricians cut corners and did not run a home run between the house panel and the easytouch. The panel has no nearby disconnect. The intelliflo is wired to power up via relay 1 (filter button on the et panel) as well as use the RS485 network. The IC40 is wired to stay powered up all the time (not switched through the relay, also not wired as 220).

The system worked for all of the summers of 2017. 2018, and this year until last week. I plan on rewiring the IC40 to switch with the pump relay. I've run through the RS485 wires and all seems to have good connections and voltages. I can't find anything online regarding the IS10 ERR display and nothing regarding a constantly lit FLOW led. I'm guessing the flow switch is bad but would like to confirm prior to possibly replacing the entire cell (due to it always being powered).

Has anyone here got any insight?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Jimrahbe]

Paul,

Just so that I understand... Your spa has its own EasyTouch (with internal SWCG transformer), with its own pump and SWCG... The Is10 is only connected to the Spa's EasyTouch... Is this true?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[crabby]

Correct. Spa has the following eq all dedicated, all new fall 2016:
Easytouch
IC40 SWCG (internal board)
IS10 spaside
Max E therm 400k btu
Intelliflo VS
Silencer 2hp blower

Pentair support now telling me IS10 is bad. Second one in three years. No warranty as current one purchased on Amazon; this one still appears to be brand new. Just ordered new one. Also ordering a (generic) flow switch for the cell. Thanking all the water gods that the pool is running fine!

 

[Jimrahbe]

Paul,

If the Is10 is like the is4, it is mounted right in the spa wall or rock or whatever, but subjected to the spray and splash from the spa.. The is4's switches would fail from internal corrosion all the time. Only fix was to replace the entire remote..

Does the IntelliFlo's display say "Display not Active".. when the ET is NOT in the Service mode??

Let's see of Tom, has any ideas... Calling @ogdento

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ogdento]

Hey guys,
The is10 has a bunch more stuff inside than the is4, including an rs485 chip so - assuming it's still configured correctly on the ET - it's possible that it's comm chip could be dead (I've seen a handful of those cases). Moisture could also have gotten in there and killed it.

I'd shut off power to the panel and disconnect only the is10 for now, and make sure your pump says "display not active" as Jim suggested. Then go to Menu > Diagnostics > Chlorinator and it should show something like "Ok-No Errors". If those things check out, we can assume that the comms on the Easytouch board, the pump, and the chlorinator are OK.

Now disconnect everything from the comm port (again, power off) and plug only the is10 back in... wait for the ET to show you the time and temp and see if the is10 still shows Err. If it does, it's probably bad... I can't see how to open an is10 without damaging the enclosure, but it would probably be trivial to replace the comm chip once it's cracked open - if you're gonna toss it, you can send it to me and I'll can try it. If I can get it working you can epoxy the thing back together and maybe it'll last you a while

Tom

 

[crabby]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I've already gone through rs485 isolation of the pump, swcg, and is10. No good. Verified the wiring integrity also. I've got a background from long ago in repairing circuit boards, I've already planned to see if I can strip the conformal coating and deal with the comm chip (though likely it's a large surface mounted device that will be a chore to pull/replace).

The pump communicates correctly (display not active when not in service mode, and can be controlled from the ET panel).

I'll post back when I have something new (hopefully a running system!).

 

[ogdento]

have you already cracked open the is10?? i'd love to see some photos! the comm chip is likely an 8-pin soic - either a max1483 or isl81483. i've never seen the inside of one of these, but those are the chips they use for nearly everything else they produce (the pump keypads use a ti chip, but it's still an 8-pin soic)

 

[crabby]

It turns out that there was a break in the wire connecting the IS10 with the ET. The masons did not install a wire conduit; the four wire cable was just cemented over and the casing and one of the RS485 wires was broken. I was able to get just enough wire to allow me to splice things back with some water resistant connectors.

The SWCG needed a flow switch, picked up an aftermarket replacement and that is now working also.

Thanks all for your help!

 

[ogdento]

Glad you got it going!