Impatient, working late - blown equipment!

[SplashDIY]

I have just ruined the main board on the Aquarite AQR3 here. It's a complicated situation. I had originally installed a new Hayward 700 series variable speed pump - it failed almost immediately. It's sidelined while I attempt to get Hayward's attention - have been waiting for more than a week now, all silent.

I found a local used fixed speed pump (old Hayward Maxflo), but it's a 120 volt only version. The last thing I needed to do in the dark was rewire the leads coming off the power section of the main board and out to the load. And yep, I messed it up. Funny, a little voice had been saying to either come back to it the next morning (but another night with no circulation), OR go find a wiring diagram from documents inside the house.

You can see that one of the capacitors took the big hit. I have found a seller on eBay with a good rep, and have a replacement board coming from him. In question is whether the main transformer survived this abuse. There should be a way to measure impedance across transformer terminals, in the absence of available power to feed into it, right? I will give this some more thought. In a rudimentary assessment, either an open circuit or a short on either side of the transformer means it is now scrap.....

I screwed up - it happens. It's all good as long as I modify my approach for future work.

 

[C0d3Sp4c3]

It is not a capacitor but a Varistor. The jumper on your bd is set for the 120Vac operation and it looks like both Varistors went up in smoke due to the overvoltage. The yellow 20A fuse is a downstream component and it is not affected. Please reference the schematic diagram below.

Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

If you are comfortable working around electricity, get a side cutter plier and remove the 2x Varistor by cutting the leads. Please note, the bd should power up without the Varistor provided the circuit trace remains intact.
Make sure that the AC power supply to the bd is 120Vac. If you're not sure, use a Voltmeter. Or if you have a spare power cord lying around, disconnect the existing black and red wires from TB1. Splice one end of the power cord. Connect one wire to Terminal# 1 and the other to Terminal # 4. Plug the cord into any 120vac convenient outlet. If the mainboard works, you only need to replace the 2x Varistor.

 

[SplashDIY]

Thanks much for this valuable additional information. I should clarify - incoming power to the unit is set at 240 volts, wired to pass 240 along to the original pump unit. While waiting to hear back from Hayward (a newly installed unit failed immediately) I decided to sub in an old 120 V fixed speed pump. I did not check before moving the jumpers on 2-3 to 1-2, and 2-4. In fact, what I need to do was to move ONE of the load leads in to 2 and 3. That would have sent out the 120 supply that I needed. Currently I have incoming power removed, and the jumpers back to the correct position.

Given the above, would it be okay to cut out the blown varistors, keep motor wiring detached, and re-energize? If I see 240 V across L1, L2, and the display behaving normally, perhaps I can resume sending out 120 volts to the temporary pump. Since the varistors are there to provide surge protection, is it feasible to order replacement components and simply solder them in - assuming the rest of the board appears to be intact? (I can see some scorch marks on cabinet and across circuit tracks - if I remove the board I can do a more careful study of its condition).

Thanks for this!

 

[C0d3Sp4c3]

For clarification, the above-suggested troubleshooting is for a standalone Aquarite swcg system. Wiring a motor pump is beyond my pay grade. But I'm sure other members will not hesitate to chime in.

You must remove the burnt Varistors before subjecting the bd to the AC Power. Install one of the metal jumpers to terminals 1 & 2 and the other to terminals 3 & 4. Please refer to the jumper setting on the back of the metal door. Temporarily apply 120VAC across Terminals 1 & 4 or jury rig a power cord as described earlier. For testing purposes, connecting the flow sw and salt cell to the bd is unnecessary. If the power LED and display come on, replace the Varistors. Use cotton swabs dubbed in rubbing alcohol or acetone to remove burn marks on the PCB.

You can find the Varistor part number and ordering info here > Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

 

[SplashDIY]

This is a great guide, thank you again. The Aquarite here was receiving 240 volts from the service panel before I messed with it. (I was attempting to temporarily replace a 240 volt-rated pump package with a 120 volt unit). With this in mind, and if I am understanding this correctly, the 2 HOT leads will go to 1, 4. Jumpers will stay on 2, 3. This was how everything was set up before the new 240 volt pump failed. (new pump from Hayward; electronics failed almost immediately)

To put in the temp 120 volt motor, I will then send one of the 120 volt legs to the motor. Does that make sense? I should be able to see 120 volts across 1, 2 or 3, 4. Let me know if I am thinking about this in the correct way. I am going to power up per your procedure and see if this board has any life left in it. Great that you can order replacement components - in these times, I would not have expected that! (and now, back to the trenches, the 'other' part of this pool project)

 

[C0d3Sp4c3]

Remember, the motor pump and the swcg are 2 different pool equipment and my experience as a pool owner is limited to a Hayward Aquarite system only. I strongly suggest testing the Aquarite controller as a stand-alone system with no motor wiring. Completely remove the Varistors and power up the swcg from a 120VAC wall outlet or GFCI.

The Aquarite here was receiving 240 volts from the service panel before I messed with it. (I was attempting to temporarily replace a 240 volt-rated pump package with a 120 volt unit). With this in mind, and if I am understanding this correctly, the 2 HOT leads will go to 1, 4. Jumpers will stay on 2, 3. This was how everything was set up before the new 240 volt pump failed. (new pump from Hayward; electronics failed almost immediately)

That is correct for 240VAC operation.

To put in the temp 120 volt motor, I will then send one of the 120 volt legs to the motor. Does that make sense? I should be able to see 120 volts across 1, 2 or 3, 4. Let me know if I am thinking about this in the correct way.

I don't get this! How are you going to wire the Neutral? I would assume you're on a timer. But let's wait for others to chime in on that.
Anyone....?

 

[ajw22]

To put in the temp 120 volt motor, I will then send one of the 120 volt legs to the motor. Does that make sense?

A 120V motor has the hot leg on L1 and a neutral leg on L2.

Your 240V pump and Aquarite did not need a neutral wire.

Where are you connecting L2 to on your 120V pump?

Do you have GFCI CBs?