Help to troubleshoot tripping breaker on Pentair EasyTouch

[almadillo]

I have a pentair easytouch system ... it was installed about 5 years ago.
The low voltage breaker which controls the relays keeps tripping.

I have unplugged all the relays (there are 3 plugged in to the back of the circuit board) and the breaker still trips.

I contacted pentair support who said I need to contact a local pool/service company.

Any suggestions how to troubleshoot before I call a tech?

 

[Jimrahbe]

al,

I suspect that one of the relay driver chips is bad. These chips are the only ones that plug into the circuit card, so you can remove them and see if the problem goes away. If you remove the chips, make sure you note their orientation as they can be installed backwards..

If not one of those chips, then I would assume one of the voltage regulators on the circuit card is bad.

Just because I suspect something, does not make it true, so let's see what Tom has to say... Calling @ogdento

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ogdento]

feels silly to post this, but I agree with @Jimrahbe! pull the chips off and try again.

there was just a "for parts" easytouch board on ebay for some silly price and the picture showed one of the relay driver chips was oriented incorrectly

 

[almadillo]

Thank you.

I'll give it a go and see what happens.



Alan

 

[ogdento]

if you have trouble, check out this little guide i put together... scroll down and you'll see some photos...

Help! My aux circuits (or valves) stopped working!!

If you run into a situation where a valve or auxilary circuit on your Pentair pool controller no longer functions at all, don't despair! As...

saturationregion.blogspot.com

 

[almadillo]

Well, both of you are correct.

And thanks for the guide!

One of the chips is causing the trip. Looks a little burned as well. (And looks like I did not put the other one in correctly ..... )



Now to get a new one and replace it .... any idea if I will need to reprogram the setup?

Amazon has them .... will ship overnight .... cross my fingers they are okay!


Alan

 

[Jimrahbe]

Alan,

I hope you bought two new chips.. I'd want to replace them both..

These chips have no programming, so you should not need to do anything other than install the new chips and fire it back up.

Glad we were able to get you pointed in the right direction,

Jim R.

 

[almadillo]

Alan,

I hope you bought two new chips.. I'd want to replace them both..

These chips have no programming, so you should not need to do anything other than install the new chips and fire it back up.

Glad we were able to get you pointed in the right direction,

Jim R.

I bought a pack of 10 ..... they were cheap and shipping is free. Thanks!

Should arrive tomorrow. I'll post an update.



Cheers!
Alan

 

[ogdento]

Yeah let us know what you think of the chips... I'm old-school and for some dumb reason I like to spend 10x more for parts from Mouser, Digikey, etc. (reputable electronics houses)... but folks have been getting them on Amazon lately and I'm hoping they're just fine!

 

[almadillo]

Wow.

The chips went in almost easily ... your guide is right ... the legs had to be bent inwards slightly. And I need better eyes as well ....

And the board works again! No more tripping the relay breaker! Woo Hoo!

Thank you both so very much for the advice and the guide. Saved me a lot of headache and a service call.

I bought these from amazon .... says Toshiba on the chip. $10 for 10 of them

Amazon.com

Seem to work okay ... hope they last longer than the last ones ....


Cheers!
Alan

 

[Jimrahbe]

Alan,

We were just trying to pay you back for being a long time supporter...

Glad we were able to help,

Jim R.