EasyTouch4 Not Controlling Intelliflo VSF

[dp1098]

Hi all, new to the forum, thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

I have an EasyTouch4, Intelliflo VSF, iChlor, and Screenlogic2 connected to J20. It was all working fine until a bad storm rolled though. Because so many things were not working, I replaced the main board. Currently, I have the following issues:

1. EasyTouch will not operate the Intelliflo. Pump display shows "Display not active" indicating good comms. Pump work fine on schedule programmed at the unit itself.
2. EashTouch operates all other features, including the iChlor connected to the same J20.
3. Sreenlogic2 Protocol Adapter connected to J20 reads all settings and connects, but cannot control any pool functions whatsoever.

I imagine that both the protocol adapter and the pump RS-485 comms were somehow damaged from the lightening. To fix the pump, what needs to be replaced? The keypad, the drive or both?

Thanks in advance,
Drew

 

[Jimrahbe]

Drew,

If the pump's display reads "Display Not Active" then in theory, the com port and link to the pump should be working..

I suspect that your ScreenLogic is the problem and that it has lost its RS-485 connection.. Just because you see things, does not mean that ScreenLogic is not display old data.

The pump will not run unless it knows what speed to run and when..

Go to the main panel and look at your pump speeds and make sure they are still there and that the EasyTouch has the right IntelliFlo pump selected.. VS, VF, or VSF..

The EasyTouch stores one speed for each circuit.. Like this..

1/8
1200 RPM
Pool

2/8
Skim High
1500

Let me know what you see on the ET itself..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[dp1098]

Drew,

If the pump's display reads "Display Not Active" then in theory, the com port and link to the pump should be working..

I suspect that your ScreenLogic is the problem and that it has lost its RS-485 connection.. Just because you see things, does not mean that ScreenLogic is not display old data.

The pump will not run unless it knows what speed to run and when..

Go to the main panel and look at your pump speeds and make sure they are still there and that the EasyTouch has the right IntelliFlo pump selected.. VS, VF, or VSF..

The EasyTouch stores one speed for each circuit.. Like this..

1/8
1200 RPM
Pool

2/8
Skim High
1500

Let me know what you see on the ET itself..

Thanks,

Jim R.

When I replaced the ETouch mainboard, I reprogrammed everything. The pump is configured correctly but will not operate when "F" is pressed. The ET light indicates it's running the iChlor kicks on but the pump does nothing. The only reason the pump is running now is because I had to program a schedule directly on it to ensure my pool didn't go into a state of ugly green algae.

I just went out today and disconnected everything from J20 with the exception of the the VSF. I got the same results. Also, the ET shows "NO COMM" as a status and does not show the current pump speed when it's running.

V/r,
Drew

 

[ajw22]

Do you have pump checked and a speed set for your FILTER circuit?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Drew,

The pump won't run standalone unless you are in the Service mode.. If you are in the Service mode the ET will show No Comm, because there is no communication when in the Service mode.

I can't troubleshoot based upon what you did in the past.. I need to know for sure what it is at this moment, not what we assume it is.

I need you to go out to the panel and do the following:

Menu
Settings
IntelliFlo
Pump #1
Look at the Pump Type and tell me if it is VS, VF, or VST
Look at Speed.. and tell me what RPM is listed for the Pool Circuit..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[dp1098]

Do you have pump checked and a speed set for your FILTER circuit?

The pump was configured as VSF but I looked at the part number on the drive and it appears to be a VS instead. I configured it as such on the ET4 and set the RPM for each of the first four programs as necessary.

There is no filter circuit nor is there a predefined option for one however, there is a cleaner circuit but my pool girl said that it's not needed - if the pumps on, it's filtering by default. Only Spa, Pool and Waterfall are currently being used, which is how it was always configured to my knowledge. That said, doesn't mean it was always configured correctly LOL. We just moved into this place last July and no issues since then, until the big storm. Valves A and B are configured for the waterfall and work as advertised along with the valves for the spa (from the ET4). The heater also works with no issues from the ET4.

Thanks,
Drew

 

[Jimrahbe]

Drew,

When you say " set the RPM for each of the first four programs as necessary" are you saying you set the speeds in the EasyTouch or you set the speeds in the pump itself.. The ET should have 8 places for speeds.. 1/8 through 8/8.. Really old EasyTouch units only had 4 spots.. You never need to add speeds to the pump itself as they are stored in the EasyTouch.

Tell me what speed you have set in the EasyTouch for the "Pool" circuit????

For the pump to run...

You need a speed for the circuit that you want to run.. At a minimum Pool Circuit Let's say you set your Pool Circuit to run at 1200 RPM

Then the Pool Circuit must be scheduled to be on. As in Pool 8 AM to 8 PM or whatever time you expect the pump to be running

And the system must be in Auto and Pool mode.

There never was a filter circuit.. You should always be in either the Pool mode or the Spa mode.. and Auto...

There should be a name plate on the pump with a P/N and name.. Either VS, or VST. None sure you can tell from the control head or not???


Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[dp1098]

Hey Jim and thanks,

The speeds are set on the EasyTouch for programs 1-4. The pool is set to 3050 rpm. That said, since the EasyTouch is not able to control the pump, the speeds set there are irrelevant. I have to manually set the speeds for programs 1-4 on the pump and set the schedule there for the pump to run.

The label is worn off of the pump but it looks like it says VS. The label on the side has a part number of 356892 which correlates to a VS.

I'm currently running in Auto mode but the pump is running on it's own schedule. If I stop the pump schedule and try to operate it from EasyTouch, nothing happens and like I said, I see "NO COMMS" with regards to the Intelliflo Status on the ET.

My thought right now is that both the Intelliflo drive RS-485 as well as the ScreenLogic2 interface are shot. The screenlogic interface connects and reads current info from the ET but I can't control anything from it. Anything I program from the software doesn't actually do anything or make any changes to the system.

Drew

 

[rstrouse]

I'm going to throw this out there but if the Chlorinator is getting RS485 (It engages from ET) then the comms bus is working from the ET motherboard. By getting communication I mean the setpoint changes reflect onto the IntelliChlor. This sounds a lot like the pump is addressed to some other address than 1 and you have the pump in slot 1 on ET. Look at the manual and make sure the address is set to 1 on the pump. If it is not ET will send out the appropriate RS485 messages but the pump will ignore them as if they are for another pump.

 

[rstrouse]

> My thought right now is that both the Intelliflo drive RS-485 as well as the ScreenLogic2 interface are shot. The screenlogic interface connects and reads current info from the ET but I can't control anything from it. Anything I program from the software doesn't actually do anything or make any changes to the system.

Are you saying that you can read on RS485 but not write? The way to tell would be that you cycle one of your aux circuits from a controller other than the outdoor EasyTouch control panel (OCP). Did you hear a relay click? If you did then there is likely a wiring issue. The most likely culprit are multiple RS485 taps into a single comm port. Make sure all of the wires are seated well into the port. Resistance here will cause the RS485 port to echo and it will read and not write. Loose connections or corrosion on the wires will give you all sorts of grief because RS485 reads the differential voltage between that green and yellow wire.

 

[ajw22]

RS-485 problems have been fixed by using the RS-485 expansion board so each device gets its own connection. Connecting multiple devices to one set of screws can cause problems.

Also confirm you have not spliced the RS-485 wires.

https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/extranet/product-related/product-manuals/pool-and-spa-equipment/easytouch/Serial_COM_Port_Expansion_Board_Installation_Guide_English.pdf

 

[Jimrahbe]

Drew,

Well, I guess your pump could be bad, but I have yet to see a bad one where the pump's display said "Display Not Active" when connected to the EasyTouch. So you have an odd one.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[dp1098]

I cannot control anything from the mobile app vai the Screenlogic2. Likewise, I cannot control or "write" any settings using the Screenlogic2 software on my computer. I can connect to the Screenlogic and read the status of the circuits but I can't make any changes.

The wires for comm wires for the Screenlogic2 interface, the Intelliflo and iChlor are connected together in a wire nut with twisted pair wire connecting from there to J20. This is not something I did (or would have done) but it's what I inherited unfortunately. Attaching pics this time to provide some clarity.

The ET4 mainboard is brand new. Next components to replace are possibly the intelliflo drive and the Screenlogic2 interface adatper.

Thanks,
Drew

 

[ajw22]

Wire nuts are not a proper connection for RS-485 lines. Do as I describe in post 11 and use direct connections to the RS-485 expansion board.

Replacing the intelliflo drive and the Screenlogic2 interface adapter will be a waste of money and not fix your communication problem.

 

[dp1098]

Wire nuts are not a proper connection for RS-485 lines. Do as I describe in post 11 and use direct connections to the RS-485 expansion board.

Replacing the intelliflo drive and the Screenlogic2 interface adapter will be a waste of money and not fix your communication problem.

I do love common sense. I'll connect only the intelliflow directly to J20 and report back.

Thanks,
Drew

 

[dp1098]

I do love common sense. I'll connect only the intelliflow directly to J20 and report back.

Thanks,
Drew

Wire nuts are not a proper connection for RS-485 lines. Do as I describe in post 11 and use direct connections to the RS-485 expansion board.

Replacing the intelliflo drive and the Screenlogic2 interface adapter will be a waste of money and not fix your communication problem.

I connected the Intelliflo to J20, nothing else. Verified pump address is #1 (default) on the pump and configured as such on the ET. Cycled power on ET and pump. Activated "F" and the iChlor came on as usual, nothing happened to the pump. Just starred at me with this dumb look. I disconnected the pump from J20 and plugged in only the Screenlogic2 interface adapter, cycled the ET power, waited for everything to normalize then went to the mobile app. I tried to turn on the lights from the app and as expected, nothing happened to the circuit on the ET.

I certainly don't disagree that the wiring was done improperly however, it was working before the lightening storm and now the things that shared rs-485 comm link don't work as advertised. As mentioned before, I've already replaced the ET mainboard with a brand new one.

Thanks,
Drew

 

[ajw22]

I certainly don't disagree that the wiring was done improperly however, it was working before the lightening storm and now the things that shared rs-485 comm link don't work as advertised. As mentioned before, I've already replaced the ET mainboard with a brand new one.

Seems like the only thing left is the most expensive repair.

I would replace one of the devices first and see if things begin working. No reason to spend money on both and then discover that it was not the fix.

 

[dp1098]

Thanks very much. I'm thinking the VS drive is the more important piece to replace at this point. Screenlogic is a nice-to-have.

V/r,
Drew

 

[rstrouse]

So this is a brand new ET board? There are a couple of things that could be wrong here. First, it could be that the RS485 transceiver chip is bad. I used to have IntelliTouch and finally ditched it after the 3rd motherboard replacement. If you have a voltmeter, a simple test should tell you if you are getting signal through the RS485 transceiver. Place the black lead of the voltmeter on the ground terminal (pin #1 all the way to the right) and the red lead on the D+ pin or pin #3. The voltage here should be around 3vdc+. Then check the voltage on the D- pin #2. The voltage here should be between 1.5 and 2vdc+. This should give you an indication as to whether the issue is your new motherboard.

The other thing that can give you grief is the secondary transformer for the motherboard. I don't know how this differs with EasyTouch but the current output can cause a voltage drop on the RS485 bus.

I don't know the cost of parts but the last failure I had on IntelliTouch sent me to replace the whole thing with IntelliCenter. That being said if it is ScreenLogic and the Motherboard, the ET upgrade to IntelliCenter may be cheaper. You no longer require ScreenLogic at that point.

 

[rstrouse]

> Thanks very much. I'm thinking the VS drive is the more important piece to replace at this point. Screenlogic is a nice-to-have.

Given the testing you have described where the light circuits are not triggering I would say that the pump is getting comms and is most likely not your problem. I have a pretty good understanding of how Pentair communicates with that pump and the fact that it sends the proper packets to the pump tells me that one side of the comms are working and the other is not. In this case the thing that tells the pump to disable the control panel is [255, 0, 255][165, 0, 96, 16, 4, 1][255][2, 25] in decimal for pump at address #1. The pump is probably responding with [255, 0, 255][165, 0, 16, 96, 4, 1][255][2, 25] but EasyTouch can't hear it.

This same scenario plays out when ScreenLogic sends a message to ET to flip the relay for an aux circuit. My guess EasyTouch isn't hearing that either.