In Florida...bought home in Jan 2023. Pool has been trouble free until lately. Our pool guy told us that the Muriatic Acid dispenser level has not gone down... which probably means that the pump is not dispensing the acid. Noticed that the IntellipH control panel has a RED light on SYSTEM STATUS. Tried to dispense manually and can hear/feel the muriatic pump click, but didn't spin or dispense, so I replaced that (522474), because was literally falling apart. After installation, I still have the RED light and still doesn't dispense. All the lights on the IC20 INTELLICHLOR are green and seems to be okay. Suspect now that the FLOW SWITCH needs to be replaced. May try the acid clean on the IC20 to see what that does for me. Suggestions, please!!
Hi from sunny Florida! Need help with IntellipH
- Thread starter maxg
- Start date
- May 3, 2014
- 62,676
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Welcome to the forum!
@Dirk is our resident IntellipH expert.
I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool
@Dirk is our resident IntellipH expert.
I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool
Looking for some help!! Adding to my previous post on Dec 23. I decided to do the Acid wash on the Cell. The Cell did have a lot of build up on it and proceeded to do the wash. Could not believe all the foaming... it started coming over the top. After the bubbling stopped, rinsed the cell and put back together again. All the lights on the Cell are green. I was hoping to the RED light (System Status) would go off on the INTELLIpH unit, but nothing doing... still on. Just got a new FLOW SWITCH delivered and installed it. Same MO, Same MO. The RED light still on. What next? Replace the Cell? Need some input. DIRK, Help!
- May 23, 2015
- 25,697
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Show us some pictures of your equipment pad please.
Does the EasyTouch panel drive the IC20 or is there a separate power center for that?
You may need to remove the front panel of the iPH controller and look inside there. There could be a problem with the serial communication wiring or the IC20 driver board may be fried. There are know issues with the connections of the IC through the iPH where the printed circuit board connector overheats and burns the board contacts.
Does the EasyTouch panel drive the IC20 or is there a separate power center for that?
You may need to remove the front panel of the iPH controller and look inside there. There could be a problem with the serial communication wiring or the IC20 driver board may be fried. There are know issues with the connections of the IC through the iPH where the printed circuit board connector overheats and burns the board contacts.
Thanks, JoyfulNoise. Will have to open the controller up. We just went through Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Milton spewed a lot of salt water. Could be the problem!?? The power for the cell comes from the iPH control unit. The display on the iPH unit keeps says that the cell is OFF, or has stopped even though the cell has all green lights. Have to get pics off my phone. Will send them soon.
- May 23, 2015
- 25,697
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Usually the power for the IC comes from a transformer in the EasyTouch panel (assuming it was spec’d as an ET with SWG load center) and then that low voltage, high current AC power is routed through the iPH. The iPH then provides the control logic to the IC. The problem with the Pentair design is that the board connectors used to shuttle the power around are not adequately designed to dissipate heat and they usually get burned up over time. This is most often see when a higher current IC60 is used because they tend to draw and dissipate more power. So it would be unusual to see that with an IC20 … BUT, as you have provided more detail, water logged equipment can definitely get damaged easily. The iPH controller isn’t perfectly waterproof, especially not to hurricane levels, so it’s definitely worth opening up all panels, even the EasyTouch panel, and inspect all the internals for salt water damage. Feel free to post up photos of what you find and we can better assist you in finding the root cause.
@Dirk is probably still working off his Holiday eggnog hangover but he will be by soon enough to share his insights with his iPH. He’s done extensive modifications to his ET and iPH panels so he has a lot of detailed knowledge about them.
@Dirk is probably still working off his Holiday eggnog hangover but he will be by soon enough to share his insights with his iPH. He’s done extensive modifications to his ET and iPH panels so he has a lot of detailed knowledge about them.
Thanks for your input. l believe I might have found the problem... or close to it. Opened the iPH control box and found two terminals that were badly corroded. Not too sure that my uploading pics will work but I'll try. Wondering if a replacement circuit board can be found or just replace the whole controller?
Attachments
Last edited:
- May 23, 2015
- 25,697
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,639
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Hi. Sorry. Been busy with the holidays.
OK, so you've got the Power Center. That's the box with the big transformer in it. You've also got the beginnings of the burned connector Matt was referring to.
Usually, when that connector burns up, the IntelliChlor (IC) stops working altogether. So it may be that, or it may be the bus (the wires and connectors and circuits that do the communicating). That's the green and white wires. The red and black wires carry the power for the IntellipH (IpH) and the IC.
So before you go replacing anything expensive, I would do the following.
Take apart any connectors that have the red, black, green and white wires. Scratch, sand, scrub as best you can any metal inside the connector. Clean the pins, both male and female. Blow out your "scratchings." Then apply some dielectric grease (like this stuff) to all the pins to protect the connectors and inhibit future corrosion. This includes the black twist connectors on the outside of the IpH and the Power Center.
Do the same anywhere you can see the four wires (red, black, green and white) going into terminals. In your Power Center, I see a cable with two wires, red and white. That is not usual, and I can't explain what I'm seeing, but clean and grease those, too.
Then you need to do the IpH connector "fix." It's going to require some soldering. You can use wire nuts or Wago for the big wires (grease those connections, too), but you'll need to solder two jumpers to their respective pins. This all happens inside the IpH. Other than cleaning the pins of the green and white wires inside this connector, you DO NOT join the greens and the whites together before the connector as you do the reds and the blacks. Like this:
Taken from this post, which you might want to review.
www.troublefreepool.com
If you have any questions, shout 'em out.
IMPORTANT: this "fix" will void your warranty. I'm assuming your IpH and Power Center are out of warranty. If not, then call Pentair and let them deal with this before you do anything else.
OK, so you've got the Power Center. That's the box with the big transformer in it. You've also got the beginnings of the burned connector Matt was referring to.
Usually, when that connector burns up, the IntelliChlor (IC) stops working altogether. So it may be that, or it may be the bus (the wires and connectors and circuits that do the communicating). That's the green and white wires. The red and black wires carry the power for the IntellipH (IpH) and the IC.
So before you go replacing anything expensive, I would do the following.
Take apart any connectors that have the red, black, green and white wires. Scratch, sand, scrub as best you can any metal inside the connector. Clean the pins, both male and female. Blow out your "scratchings." Then apply some dielectric grease (like this stuff) to all the pins to protect the connectors and inhibit future corrosion. This includes the black twist connectors on the outside of the IpH and the Power Center.
Do the same anywhere you can see the four wires (red, black, green and white) going into terminals. In your Power Center, I see a cable with two wires, red and white. That is not usual, and I can't explain what I'm seeing, but clean and grease those, too.
Then you need to do the IpH connector "fix." It's going to require some soldering. You can use wire nuts or Wago for the big wires (grease those connections, too), but you'll need to solder two jumpers to their respective pins. This all happens inside the IpH. Other than cleaning the pins of the green and white wires inside this connector, you DO NOT join the greens and the whites together before the connector as you do the reds and the blacks. Like this:
Taken from this post, which you might want to review.
Hacking IntellipH to work in cold water
If you really want to have some fun add a couple of sensors to that thing. Then you don't even have to break out the test kit. Did you write up on the forum somewhere how to accomplish that? I'd like to read about it.
www.troublefreepool.com
If you have any questions, shout 'em out.
IMPORTANT: this "fix" will void your warranty. I'm assuming your IpH and Power Center are out of warranty. If not, then call Pentair and let them deal with this before you do anything else.
Last edited:
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,639
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
The potential bad news is that the overheating you're seeing on the white connector inside the IpH can fry other parts on the IpH circuit board. So a replacement might be in your future. But let's try the "cheap" stuff first.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,639
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Also, examine this white box. It's a relay that connects and disconnects the bus. Any yellowing? If this is fried, that could account for the IC working, but the IpH not communicating with it.
Thanks Dirk. Let me digest all of this first!! I'll dig in again tomorrow and get a better look at things. Appreciate all the advice Dirk... and Matt!