Intellichlor IC-40 inspect cell light flashing

[Sodium Chloride]

Brand new constructed pool completed mid Jan 2021. All was working fine until adding tap water to raise pool water level in early June(Very dry spring caused level to drop to bottom of skimmer). Several days after adding water the inspect cell light started flashing green. I followed cleaning instructions in SWCG manual. The cell looked clean, no visible scaling, but I did the acid wash anyway. I called Pentair (everything is less than 6 mos old and under warranty), and they said to ensure that the water was balanced as per the table in the manual especially looking at metals. I took a water sample to the pool store to be analyzed. All my levels were out and phosphates were above 500. I am now in the process of having the water balanced, waiting 72hrs for chems to take affect. I called back Pentair and they had me email them my analyzed pool report. I was told besides having to wait for the water to balance again that my calcium was very high. I need to drain some water and replace it with tap water (I think adding tap water is what started the problem).
So the real question is, will bad pool water balance cause the IC40 inspect cell light to flash? Pentair seems very helpful and knowledgeable on the phone, but some forums are saying they're just stalling for time

 

[Jimrahbe]

SC,

The cell does not test "water quality" so really doubt that quality of your water has anything to do with the cell light flashing..

The sad part is that now you will have to prove that the cell does not work in a pool that meets Pentair's water quality requirements.

I am not sure they are stalling for time or not, but IntelliChlor salt cells are pretty hard to find right now.. Almost everyone is out of stock.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Sodium Chloride]

SC,

The cell does not test "water quality" so really doubt that quality of your water has anything to do with the cell light flashing..

The sad part is that now you will have to prove that the cell does not work in a pool that meets Pentair's water quality requirements.

I am not sure they are stalling for time or not, but IntelliChlor salt cells are pretty hard to find right now.. Almost everyone is out of stock.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks for your reply. Pentair is saying that the salt generator is sensing dirty water, so it's flashing the inspect cell LED. I will do everything I can to balance the water to their specs and post the results. It probably wont be before Tue 6/22. If the supply of IC 40's are low that may explain delaying tactics.

 

[Sodium Chloride]

The continuing saga of my less than 5 month old professionally installed salt pool; Still no luck with Pentair. They refuse to do anything unless water is balanced per their spec. Right now I have low FC 1PPM low TC 1PPM CC 0PPM and stabilizer is at 60 PPM. None of these should affect the IC-40 from producing chlorine, but Pentair rep insistent that water must meet all specs in their manual.

On start up the IC-40 goes through some sort of self check. The inspect cell will stay green for approx 3 mins before flashing. I have experimented with different output levels to see how long I can make the IC-40 stay on before the inspect cell light flashes. At 10% it takes 30 Mins before inspect LED flashes. At 20% it takes 15 Mins. at 60% it takes 5 mins. At 100% it takes 3mins.
Using the chart in the manual, these "on" times all come to approx 159 sec of producing chlorine before inspect LED flashes.

The question is... Is the cell actually generating chlorine during these times or does the IC-40 self check itself only when the cell is called on to make chlorine?
Am I getting 159 seconds of chlorine production before failure?

By luck I ran into one of the installers of my pool and explained the situation. He relayed info to the owner. The owner said he will contact the local Pentair agent and have him contact me.
My fingers are crossed.

 

[panic_button]

I've had 2 IC40's replace under warranty. Both were dropped shipped directly to me and my renter. Not once did Pentair want any water specs before sending out the replacements.

 

[Sodium Chloride]

I have been told that there are very few SWG's to be had so Pentair is stalling for time. It's now pouring here. There goes the chem levels in my pool for another 3 days!

 

[Sodium Chloride]

After the rail road xing LED's finish flashing, my Inspect LED will stay solid for various amounts of time, depending on the salt out put percentage I select, before failing. At 100% the inspect cell LED will stay solid for almost 3 mins before flashing. At 10% the inspect cell light doesn't flash for approx 30 mins(it does Light up for several seconds every 5 minutes). Once the inspect cell light flashes, the pump needs to be shut off and restarted to begin the cycle again. Is the cell actually producing chlorine while the inspect LED is solid or is it just in a self check routine?

 

[Sodium Chloride]

The continuing saga of my less than 5 month old professionally installed salt pool; Still no luck with Pentair. They refuse to do anything unless water is balanced per their spec. Right now I have low FC 1PPM low TC 1PPM CC 0PPM and stabilizer is at 60 PPM. None of these should affect the IC-40 from producing chlorine, but Pentair rep insistent that water must meet all specs in their manual.

On start up the IC-40 goes through some sort of self check. The inspect cell will stay green for approx 3 mins before flashing. I have experimented with different output levels to see how long I can make the IC-40 stay on before the inspect cell light flashes. At 10% it takes 30 Mins before inspect LED flashes. At 20% it takes 15 Mins. at 60% it takes 5 mins. At 100% it takes 3mins.
Using the chart in the manual, these "on" times all come to approx 159 sec of producing chlorine before inspect LED flashes.

The question is... Is the cell actually generating chlorine during these times or does the IC-40 self check itself only when the cell is called on to make chlorine?
Am I getting 159 seconds of chlorine production before failure?

By luck I ran into one of the installers of my pool and explained the situation. He relayed info to the owner. The owner said he will contact the local Pentair agent and have him contact me.
My fingers are crossed.

Good news. The SWG was replaced today under warranty. The tech did a simple test before replacing. He removed the SWG and put in a dummy section to replace the missing SWG. The SWG was set up like you would do an acid clean (placed vertical with an end cap to hold water) it remained electrically connected to the control panel. He poured pool water in the SWG and placed a screwdriver to hold down the flow switch to satisfy the flow sensor. He turned on the system and waited for the railroad lights to stop. There should have been bubbling if the SWG was producing chlorine. It didn't bubble. He took the new SWG and repeated the same test and it bubbled immediately. He installed the new SWG and everything is now working fine.

**He tested the water for salt level and balance before filling up the SWG**

 

[Jimrahbe]

SC,

Good to know..

Thanks for the feedback..

Jim R.