Easytouch low voltage relay tripping

[Tier 1]

Hello everybody, I have a customer with Easytouch automation and the 3amp circuit breaker for the "Electronics" is tripping causing no power to the display. I've always farmed out heaters and automation to other companies but I'm finally starting to suck it up and attempt to learn more this year. I'll be taking courses from the local Pentair reps here in Phoenix after the summer comes to a close. Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I had done some searching after getting the call from a customer last night frantic that her pool pump and pump for their Koi pond shut down and the system was blank. I went there this morning and started with testing power from the transformer to the plug to the main board. Electronics are listed as 10vac, Relays 18vac and Valves 24 vac. I was able to push in the circuit breaker long enough to get a reading of 5 volts for electronics but tripped a few seconds after, Relays came in at 15 volts , Valves came in at 20. This seems to be low from what I've read. I attempted to check DC voltage at the J20 plug and got nothing between the Black and red. At this point I bypassed the pumps from the automation and wired them to the line side of each relay to get the pool and pond going again for the time being (both intelliflo pumps) . Can anyone offer some more insight to what I should look at when I return to the customer's home next week? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I feel like such an amateur when it comes to heating and automation after being in the industry for 9 years now.

 

[Jimrahbe]

T1,

IntelliFlo pumps should NEVER be wired to the load side of the relay. IntelliFlo pumps should get constant AC power. This is not the cause of your popped fuse issue, but something you need to address when things get back to normal.

To troubleshoot the 3-amp breaker issue, you should disconnect everything from the main board except the power plug. Turn on the system. If the electronics breaker pops, it has to be a bad main card. If the breaker does not pop, then reconnect all the inputs, one at a time. In theory, one of them will cause the breaker to pop.

Obviously, before disconnecting anything, make sure you know what wires goes where..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[guinness]

As Jim said the VS pumps should be wired directly to the breaker for continuous power and controlled by the RS-485 interface. Also see post below:

Pentair Easy Touch Panel 3 amp relays tried to reset them

So, I guess I'll start with how this all happened. The pool was working fine this morning, until I went to replace the receiver. I found out it was a bad wire, so I put the old receiver back on it and the pool lights started flickering, and the pumps went haywire. Then I pulled the power...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[1poolman1]

Hello everybody, I have a customer with Easytouch automation and the 3amp circuit breaker for the "Electronics" is tripping causing no power to the display. I've always farmed out heaters and automation to other companies but I'm finally starting to suck it up and attempt to learn more this year. I'll be taking courses from the local Pentair reps here in Phoenix after the summer comes to a close. Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I had done some searching after getting the call from a customer last night frantic that her pool pump and pump for their Koi pond shut down and the system was blank. I went there this morning and started with testing power from the transformer to the plug to the main board. Electronics are listed as 10vac, Relays 18vac and Valves 24 vac. I was able to push in the circuit breaker long enough to get a reading of 5 volts for electronics but tripped a few seconds after, Relays came in at 15 volts , Valves came in at 20. This seems to be low from what I've read. I attempted to check DC voltage at the J20 plug and got nothing between the Black and red. At this point I bypassed the pumps from the automation and wired them to the line side of each relay to get the pool and pond going again for the time being (both intelliflo pumps) . Can anyone offer some more insight to what I should look at when I return to the customer's home next week? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I feel like such an amateur when it comes to heating and automation after being in the industry for 9 years now.

First item that usually causes a trip is a bad actuator.