Hayward OnCommand losing time?

[jeff2656]

My pool was turning on at odd times, far off schedule, and eventually I determined the clock had gone crazy. It seemed to run very slow at first - and now it doesn't run at all.

I saw a similar thread that troubleshooted the problem right down to the problem 'Real-time Clock' chip and/or relevant Capacitor. [Aqualogic Losing Time?].

Understood I can perhaps replace the entire circuit board (~$450) but if someone could help, I'd like to first try swapping just the electronic components ...

The control board has several labels (1. G1-066082A-1 REV B; printed onto the board); (2. G1-011082A-1T; 1404B; Rev B; green label at left); (3. G1-015082A-1B; 1414; 04684; bar code label at left); and (4. 090037-100-01 1414; white label at the bottom).

The other post mentioned U2 was the real-time clock and this one could be the same (8-pin). There's a second 8-pin "U5" near U2 though so not sure what that one is for. There is a "C8" capacitor that looks like a small toy wheel in a wrapper; 0.33F & 5.5V. (It's 0.33F and not 0.33uF, by the way, as discussed in the other thread.) This capacitor and the area around it looks a little discolored, heat-damaged, but not totally scorched.

The controller doesn't forget the time and settings even with no power for 5 minutes. I'm guessing ... this is an indicator the Capacitor is actually okay, but the real-time clock (8-pin) chip is not working? Or another component that drives the timer.

Oh, and this I don't understand: there is also a U1 (28-pin), U2 (8-pin) on the display circuit board. I don't see any capacitors on that board considered enough to keep the clock during power loss. My focus is on the control board "U2" and "C8" ... but should it be?

Any and all helpful tips appreciated!! Thanks ...

 

[jeff2656]

Other post also mentioned Crystal (X2) that may have been key to getting clock running properly. On my display board I see an X1 but it seems different. On the control board there is a Y2, very close to U2. Sorry ... I can't read most of the chips because of coating.

 

[evolvah]

Exactly my case and the symptoms! How did you solve the problem? I hear the board in the back is responsible for keeping the time. Based on the symptoms, I'd suspect a capacitor is failing until it completely fails and the clock stops.

 

[lokipin]

looks like you guys are on to something. I'm having the same problem with my Hayward ecommand 4 losing time. The capacitor on my PCB board is labeled C3. I wasn't able to read whats on the outside, because wrapper has partly melted away.
Glad you were still able to read whats on the outside of your C8 wrapper. I found what seems to be the replacement part on ebay. The part looks identical.
I hope this helps.
T

 

[lokipin]

The part seems to come from China, so who knows.

 

[lokipin]

Found them on mouser.com for $2.00. They have the part in stock.

 

[daddyduck!73]

My pool was turning on at odd times, far off schedule, and eventually I determined the clock had gone crazy. It seemed to run very slow at first - and now it doesn't run at all.

I saw a similar thread that troubleshooted the problem right down to the problem 'Real-time Clock' chip and/or relevant Capacitor. [Aqualogic Losing Time?].

Understood I can perhaps replace the entire circuit board (~$450) but if someone could help, I'd like to first try swapping just the electronic components ...

The control board has several labels (1. G1-066082A-1 REV B; printed onto the board); (2. G1-011082A-1T; 1404B; Rev B; green label at left); (3. G1-015082A-1B; 1414; 04684; bar code label at left); and (4. 090037-100-01 1414; white label at the bottom).

The other post mentioned U2 was the real-time clock and this one could be the same (8-pin). There's a second 8-pin "U5" near U2 though so not sure what that one is for. There is a "C8" capacitor that looks like a small toy wheel in a wrapper; 0.33F & 5.5V. (It's 0.33F and not 0.33uF, by the way, as discussed in the other thread.) This capacitor and the area around it looks a little discolored, heat-damaged, but not totally scorched.

The controller doesn't forget the time and settings even with no power for 5 minutes. I'm guessing ... this is an indicator the Capacitor is actually okay, but the real-time clock (8-pin) chip is not working? Or another component that drives the timer.

Oh, and this I don't understand: there is also a U1 (28-pin), U2 (8-pin) on the display circuit board. I don't see any capacitors on that board considered enough to keep the clock during power loss. My focus is on the control board "U2" and "C8" ... but should it be?

Any and all helpful tips appreciated!! Thanks ...

I am having the same problem. I calledhayward and their solution is to order a new board, no in depth technical support, just order a new board. Thanks to these postings I have ordered a new capacitor and real time clock. It does not make any sensse to me to buy a new board for a product that is 10 years in service. After checking the reviews and local discussions I have made the decision that if the componets do not fix this unit I will move to Pentair 522353 which has much better reviews and is based on updated technology and can be controlled rom cell phone. Thanks for all you great information on this site !!!

 

[wjav]

Anybody found a difinitive solution for this problem? I have the same issue and it drives me nuts that the solution for a $2 part is a $500 board!.

 

[wackydaddy]

Hello, new here because I am having the same timing issue. I'd like to replace the C3 capacitor but lead times are months away. Any chance someone ordered a handful and would be willing to sell me one?

ELNA 0.33F/0.33 Farad/330000uF 5.5V Memory Backup Capacitor DX-5R5V334U

 

[Rom2]

Same issue-same lead times ie months away - but digikey has the DXJ version which appears to be the high Temperature tolerant version of this capacitor.

DXJ-5R5V334U

Ordered one for $2 so i'll see if it fixes anything in a week or so....

 

[Camen]

Anyone here have an update? Mine just lost 30 mins of time over the last 6 hours! I'm handy with a soldering iron.

 

[dpavlek1]

Other post also mentioned Crystal (X2) that may have been key to getting clock running properly. On my display board I see an X1 but it seems different. On the control board there is a Y2, very close to U2. Sorry ... I can't read most of the chips because of coating.

Which chip is the timing chip U2 or U5? Thanks

 

[melaza77]

I did the c3 replacement and it work perfectly, thanks to everybody that did research here

 

[quen1022]

I've had the same problem (board losing time, Haywood saying replace the board, pool people willing to do it (but with long lead times and $1k + labor).
Finally found a pool guy who has a Haywood contact who referred to this post and is happy to steer me towards this solution of replacing a capacitor.
I sourced the capacitor - looked at Mouser.com (out of stock as of 2022/07/17), amazon, tti.com, digikey.com ...
Finally ended up buying 2 on ebay 1 PCS Panasonic CAPACITOR SUPER .33F 0.33F 5.5V SUPERCAP Radial Super Cap 2050000757051 | eBay and will be installing next week.
"1 PCS Panasonic CAPACITOR SUPER .33F 0.33F 5.5V SUPERCAP Radial Super Cap"

 

[theck99]

First off thank you for all the information people have added on this subject matter.

I recently moved into a house with a pool and have been slowly learning how to maintain it. The pool was installed with an Hayward OnCommand controller. From day one I thought this pool was possessed. It would randomly turn on and off. I have finally had a moment to mess around with the controller and found that time keeping of the unit was not working. The time would start and stop advancing randomly.

I jumped online to find a solution and stumbled on to this thread and found enough information to solve the issue. Background I'm an Electrical Engineer and design single board computers and just about any other electronics equipment.

I'm currently working remote in Houston for a company in Illinois. I don't have my electronics lab available to better diagnosis this issue and determine root cause. I decided to replace the capacitor and crystal and see what happens. I do on the other hand have most of the equipment needed for this repair and was able to replace the capacitor and crystal with out to much effort.

Digikey P/N	Description
XC2129CT-ND	32.768 kHz ±10ppm Crystal 6pF 50 kOhms 4-SOJ, 5.50mm pitch
283-2790-ND	CAP 470MF -20% +80% 5V T/H

I picked these parts as they were available from stock and I could get them within a couple of days. I decided not to replace the Real Time Clock IC for three reasons one it wasn't in stock anywhere. Second it made no sense to me as ICs are well characterized and tested by the manufacture and usually don't just become intermittent. As my failure was intermittent time keeping, I figured the IC was operational. Third I'm lazy and didn't want to fight with removal of this IC with my limited tools available at home.

Note I wasn't going to order the capacitor because it makes no sense to replace. I was not losing set time after power failures which would have pointed to a backup issue. I decided to replace it regardless and chose a slightly larger value because it was in stock. The crystal was what I figured would solve the issue.

I removed all the conformal coating with rubbing alcohol and some q-tips. Let me say the workmanship of this Hayward PCB is not so great, screams made in China on the cheap. Removing the Crystal required two soldering irons as I didn’t have a tweezer iron or hot air rework tool. It came off without a fight. The capacitor was a bit of a pain cause the ground copper in the PCB was wicking a lot of heat from the soldering iron. Some PCB pad clean up with solder wick and solder removal from the capacitor mounting holes and I was ready to solder the replacement crystal and capacitor. After soldering the crystal and capacitor I touched up the RTC IC pins and its bypass capacitor to ensure I wasn’t going to have to remove the control board after re-installation on the OnCommand box yet again. I also removed as much flux form my rework as I could because it looks ugly. I didn't have conformal coat spray so I left the circuit uncoated. This should be recoated but I really need to get the pumps running before my 94°F pool goes south.

I re-installed the control board in the OnCommand box and applied power. I set the time and turned on the pumps. Time advanced after the first minute and has been keeping time for the last three hours. I’m confident this issue is solved for me because this is the first time the unit has kept time for this long.

I will update if anything changes.

Good luck and hope this helps you repair your Hayward controller.

Caution! Disconnect power before working on this circuit board.

Attached Image IMG_3426.JPG notes:
This is the board before rework.
A: Crystal
B: Capacitor
C: RTC IC
D: RTC IC Bypass Capacitor

Attached Image IMG_3466.JPG notes:
This is the board after rework.

 

[sgmazzini]

First off thank you for all the information people have added on this subject matter.

I recently moved into a house with a pool and have been slowly learning how to maintain it. The pool was installed with an Hayward OnCommand controller. From day one I thought this pool was possessed. It would randomly turn on and off. I have finally had a moment to mess around with the controller and found that time keeping of the unit was not working. The time would start and stop advancing randomly.

I jumped online to find a solution and stumbled on to this thread and found enough information to solve the issue. Background I'm an Electrical Engineer and design single board computers and just about any other electronics equipment.

I'm currently working remote in Houston for a company in Illinois. I don't have my electronics lab available to better diagnosis this issue and determine root cause. I decided to replace the capacitor and crystal and see what happens. I do on the other hand have most of the equipment needed for this repair and was able to replace the capacitor and crystal with out to much effort.

Digikey P/N	Description
XC2129CT-ND	32.768 kHz ±10ppm Crystal 6pF 50 kOhms 4-SOJ, 5.50mm pitch
283-2790-ND	CAP 470MF -20% +80% 5V T/H

I picked these parts as they were available from stock and I could get them within a couple of days. I decided not to replace the Real Time Clock IC for three reasons one it wasn't in stock anywhere. Second it made no sense to me as ICs are well characterized and tested by the manufacture and usually don't just become intermittent. As my failure was intermittent time keeping, I figured the IC was operational. Third I'm lazy and didn't want to fight with removal of this IC with my limited tools available at home.

Note I wasn't going to order the capacitor because it makes no sense to replace. I was not losing set time after power failures which would have pointed to a backup issue. I decided to replace it regardless and chose a slightly larger value because it was in stock. The crystal was what I figured would solve the issue.

I removed all the conformal coating with rubbing alcohol and some q-tips. Let me say the workmanship of this Hayward PCB is not so great, screams made in China on the cheap. Removing the Crystal required two soldering irons as I didn’t have a tweezer iron or hot air rework tool. It came off without a fight. The capacitor was a bit of a pain cause the ground copper in the PCB was wicking a lot of heat from the soldering iron. Some PCB pad clean up with solder wick and solder removal from the capacitor mounting holes and I was ready to solder the replacement crystal and capacitor. After soldering the crystal and capacitor I touched up the RTC IC pins and its bypass capacitor to ensure I wasn’t going to have to remove the control board after re-installation on the OnCommand box yet again. I also removed as much flux form my rework as I could because it looks ugly. I didn't have conformal coat spray so I left the circuit uncoated. This should be recoated but I really need to get the pumps running before my 94°F pool goes south.

I re-installed the control board in the OnCommand box and applied power. I set the time and turned on the pumps. Time advanced after the first minute and has been keeping time for the last three hours. I’m confident this issue is solved for me because this is the first time the unit has kept time for this long.

I will update if anything changes.

Good luck and hope this helps you repair your Hayward controller.

Caution! Disconnect power before working on this circuit board.

Attached Image IMG_3426.JPG notes:
This is the board before rework.
A: Crystal
B: Capacitor
C: RTC IC
D: RTC IC Bypass Capacitor

Attached Image IMG_3466.JPG notes:
This is the board after rework.

Thank you for the detailed article. Where did you get the parts from?

 

[Dennisz]

Did anyone figure out the P/N for the RTC chip? Just replaced the crystal, still no luck, waiting on the battery.

 

[Pot Pie]

I have suffered the same Hayward On Command timer failure. After replacing the same toy capacitor (.33f 5.5v) there was no improvement. I am too cheap to go the $600 new board route and not brave enough to do board removal and crystal install. Then a workaround hit me one evening. My Hunter Aquawise WiFi sprinkler control box has one unused controller output and is mounted outside near my On Command box. I will let my marvelous WiFi sprinkler controller send 24 vac signal from unused zone twelve to power a $7.00 SP/ST normally open relay (R) I installed in the Hayward cabinet.
Next, I set the Hayward timer to run 23 hours and 45 minutes (won't accept a 24-hour setting), which provides 24 vdc to the pump motor relay via the red wire to the relay coil. Lastly, I removed the red wire from the On Command motor relay and instead connected that red wire to the added normally open relay (R) contact. Finally, I added a second red wire from the other relay (R) contact to complete the circuit and energize the motor relay.
My Hunter Controller is programmed to turn zone 12 on at 9:00 am and off at 12:00 pm. Then again on at 2:00 pm and off at 5:00 pm. I can set any time period I want and I can do it from my iPhone anywhere in the world. I love my Aquawise.
Bonus fix. My AQL2-SS-RF remote quit working about 2 years ago, but to replace it was north of $300. Remember, that's not my style, and my engineering mind knows solid state devices are temp sensitive. So, I stuck my remote in the freezer. A couple of days later I took it out of the frig and it began to signal again. It was hit and miss for a while and after moving it to the refrigerator the remote was more reliable. The healing continued as it now functions without cooling, but it is still not that happy outside in Florida summer. BTW, I have some capacitors left over.

 

[theck99]

Thank you for the detailed article. Where did you get the parts from?

www.digikey.com

 

[DCWINTERJR]

Hayward OnCommamd controller Not keeping time . I did this repair working great C8 cap replacement. Got the part at Digikey for 2 dollars shipping cost me 8. Part number : 604-RSCXJ3345R5F13013U-ND.