Hayward Aquatrol detecting no salt, and the output dial won't go above 70

[dickiesw]

I have a Hayward Aquatrol that was working well up until today. Suddenly, the unit is reporting 100 ppm salt when previously it was 3000 (I have also independently verified the salt content). If I try to reset the salt content, the instantaneous salt value is 0. I haven't cleaned the cell with acid yet, but visually there is no buildup inside of it. Also, the output dial will no longer go above 70, and is always reporting an output around 30 % below what the dial is at.

Any thoughts? Is my main board done?

 

[dickiesw]

I have been following the troubleshooting in this guide and would welcome feedback on the results that I am getting.

Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

I have verified the voltage across pin 1and 2 to the cell as around 31 V, and it reverses when I turn the switch to off then back to normal.

The diagnostics from the unit show 31 V and 0 amps output, with 0 salt. From the troubleshooting guide if I have 0 salt and 0 amps output there are faulty board components to inspect:

"LOW SALT Message & 0 Salinity, 0 Amps​

The salt cell does not have the DC voltage needed to function. The symptoms correlate to either of the following;

• Bad In-Rush Current Limiter (RZ3)
• K1 or K2 Bad solder (most likely suspect)
• Logic Controller failure (worse case scenario)

A replacement board should fix this issue. If you're technically inclined, you might save the existing board by inspecting the solder or by replacing the relay if determined faulty."

I have a backup cell that has not been reliable for me. If I use that cell, I get an instant salinity of -1800. I know my salt content to be around 2900-3000. This result seems to contradict the above information from the guide.

Is the cell that was reporting 0 ppm salt fried? Or does it just need a cleaning with a muriatic acid solution?

 

[dickiesw]

Update: I replaced the cell with a brand new one, and the unit is working properly now.