Jandy Aqualink RS6 - constantly cycling on/off (think freeze protect issue)

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stuartc

Member
Jun 30, 2023
9
DFW, Tx
Pool Size
30000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi all, I have the Jandy Aqualink system and have a problem when the weather is hitting the freeze protect temperatures. When in normal service mode and the weather is close to the freeze protect setting the pump is trying to start then immediately turns off almost like its tripping. It does this constantly at seemingly random intervals of a few seconds to 30seconds. If I go to the panel, enter service mode I can turn on the filter pump just fine without issues.

I thought it may be a faulty sensor so I changed both the water and air temp sensors, but this has not fixed it. I have searched high and low including reading through the troubleshooting guides with no luck.

Any ideas on what it could be?
 
Welcome to TFP.

What pump do you have? Some pumps have their own freeze protection.
 
Read Jandy Aqualink RS - Further Reading

In iAqualink, you select which equipment is enabled for Freeze Protection. If both are enabled, the system switches between the Spa and Pool every 30 minutes.

Freeze protection for the filter pump is on by default and cannot be disabled. The Freeze Temp can be adjusted between 34°F (1°C) and 42°F. The default freeze protection activation temperature is 38º F (3°C) and will deactivate within two degrees.
 
That is the motor.

Post a picture of the pump.
 
You have a Pentair (Pac Fab) Challenger Single Speed pool pump. It has no sensors.

The best thing to do is try to reposition the air temperature sensor to an area that has less temperature fluctuations.
 
Same here, I got the same problem with Jandy RS6 + Pentair challenger pumps. It must be the sensor position + the wind because when I test with an iced water glass everything works perfectly. I am going to to try and find a better spot for the sensor. It is really idiotic design that doesn’t have a minimal running time to a couple of minutes so it doesn’t constantly turns on and off when the temperature hovers right at the freezing protection temperature…

Did you manage to fix it?
 

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No, moving the temp sensor did not change the issue. I checked the temp sensor vs temp on other thermometers and its spot on so I am thinking that is fine.

I still have the same issue: when the temp gets to the freeze protect threshold the pump turns on then off erratically at random time intervals. Last night it ran for a few minutes then turned off, turned on then stopped literally immediately. Its only on the freeze protect as my pump turns on and off on the program schedule without issue. Temp and water sensors replaced, no fix. Moving temp sensor does not fix. Thinking through it logically, as the pump can run as it should would mean the relay is fine. The temp sensors are fine.

My only guess is that the board is sending out the signal to start the pump but then something is giving a command to stop it. Any ideas?
 
stuartc said:
My only guess is that the board is sending out the signal to start the pump but then something is giving a command to stop it. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

The only thing that is happening is the AUX relay your pump is powered by is closing to turn on the pump or opening to stop the pump.

There are no "commands".
 
The issue is due to rapid temperature changes. I have been monitoring this closely and when this behavior happens is when the temperature hovers between the freeze protection threshold + 1-2F. I don’t know why it fluctuates so much but that is what’s causing the constant on/off behavior in my case. What I did is set the threshold lower to 36F and once the temperature drops and hovers between 36-38F then I set it back to 38F and it works immediately without any erratic behavior.

Same as you, I tried to move the sensor and that didn’t do anything. It almost feels as if is way too sensitive. Are we hitting some design flaw of the system? I ran out of ideas… Iced water test works perfectly every time.

Where do people keep these sensors? Shall I put it inside some sort of enclosure to reduce its sensitivity? Right now I have it behind a box full of pool equipment and the house wall. I thought this will block the wind and make it fluctuate less but no luck.
 
Something I tried and it had a positive effect so far: Do a hard reset/ power cycle all the pool equipment including the Jandy control panel. I literally switched off the breaker in the electrical panel, waited for a minute and turned it back on. That somehow stopped the sensor from reading multiple values per minute, in a crazy way. After coming back online it immediately kicked in freeze protection and has been stable ever since. I don’t know yet if this is just a temporary fix, I will continue monitoring the situation.
 
Thanks for the info - will give this a go. I did phone the Jandy tech support line and discussed it with them. They said I had tried everything they would suggest and I should call in a local specialist to take a look at. I’m on the fence about this as the system is really old so add in the cost of a tech trying to fix it, would consider cutting my losses and just upgrading everything.

But will give your suggestion a go first. Will revert.
 
I power down the system and left if for 30min then powered back up. Unfortunately the issue persists that when it goes into freeze protect mode it randomly cycles the pump on/off. I'm going to get in touch with a pool company and see what they suggest here.
 
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