Need help from the TFP hive mind. As the title says, my 3 year old Intellipro VSF pump suddenly stopped communicating with my EasyTouch 8 control panel. Initially, the pump control panel showed "Display Inactive" and when selecting the pump status on the ET it said "No Comms". I disconnected the comm cable from the pump and was able to set a manual program at the pump to at least get it to run (mainly to ensure the SWCG would run and to keep filtering/skimming going). Then researched the forum for similar issues/solutions. The ET would still comm with the SWCG and other features such as turning on/off waterfalls and light. My ET remote (handheld WiFi) would also communicate with the ET main panel and control those features. So, it looked like only the pump comm was an issue. I applied spray contact cleaner to the female and male comm cable and pump connectors. Reattached cable and it still doesn't communicate. However, now the pump display no longer shows "Display Inactive" it just shows the running manual program. And, the ET still doesn't control the pump, and selecting the pump status on the ET still shows "no comm". As a side note, while troubleshooting, I did see that the original pump type selected was "VS" but it had been running fine for 3 years as such. I did change it to "VSF", which I think wipes out pump schedules/associated features, but still no joy (have since changed it back to VS, but that shouldn't really make a difference). I've attached pics. Could use any thoughts on next steps before I have to call in an expensive pro. One thought is that the comm port/board on the pump just went bad.
Intellipro VSF Pump stopped communicating with EasyTouch 8 control Panel
- Thread starter Semi-retired
- Start date
- May 3, 2014
- 62,672
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Not sure it will solve it, but there is no need for doubling up the RS485 wiring on the comm ports. You should have one line that goes from the J20 on the motherboard that goes to the IC surge card. Then attach the other items on the other two surge card ports.
Thanks for the thought. Although i checked all comm port connections to be tight, I don't think that i will relocate different devices to the other comm ports at this time. Shouldn't really make a difference since devices connected to the same comm port as the pump still work, right? Trying to minimize the fiddling.
Also, as I continued to troubleshoot, I may have found the culprit... I found a slice in the ET to Pump comm cable. Not very big but can't really tell if it also nicked the internal green or yellow wires. Picture attached. I pulled back the protective outer sheath to get a better look. Does anyone know if you can effectively splice this cable or do you have to run a new one?
Attachments
Sr,
You can splice it, but make sure neither end is connected to anything when you do it.
It does not take much to take out the RS-485 com chips..
I would also what to check the Firmware in your Pump, using the pump's control panel. If 3.03 or 3.04 they have a known RS-485 issue..
Thanks,
Jim R.
You can splice it, but make sure neither end is connected to anything when you do it.
It does not take much to take out the RS-485 com chips..
I would also what to check the Firmware in your Pump, using the pump's control panel. If 3.03 or 3.04 they have a known RS-485 issue..
Thanks,
Jim R.
Splice or replace cable? I have found in the past that splicing low voltage wiring sometimes doesn't work due to resistance in the splice? I think a new cable is like $65
