Lightning took out power to AquaTrol display

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jones6780

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Jul 7, 2016
32
Lizella, GA
Once again I had a near strike and my Aqua Trol RJ SWG has no power to the display. I have checked the circuits with the following manual, https://images.inyopools.com/cloud/documents/aquarite-troubleshooting-guide.pdf
down to page 11 step H. I have no voltage at step H. I have replaced the thermister and 2 varistors with no luck. Nothing looked burnt/damaged. I have emailed Hayward to see if there are any other steps to trouble shoot and recommendations for a surge protector.

Anybody got suggestions?

Russell:(
 
huh...I'm learning something new every day! Since you are referencing the AQR SWCG troubleshooting guidelines, I would assume that your PCB is similar to the AQR or Goldline series by Hayward.

The initial failure mode of the Varistor is always a short circuit followed by melting/exploding until the final mode which is an open circuit. So replacing the varistors (MOV) on the AQR board is unnecessary unless they are obviously burnt or melted. The AQR board will still remain fully functional without them for testing purposes.

As to measuring the 5VDC on the headers of the display bd, make sure that your Negative test lead is on the Black terminal or the R15 metal jumper. Do not reference the chassis or the PCB Gnd as they are not Negative with respect to the Positive test points on the board. If 5VDC is not present at pin 4 of the display header, then probe the 5V Linear Voltage Regulator (78M05). You should measure 18-20 Volts DC on the input side (pin 1) and then 5 VDC from the output side (pin 3). The surface mount 5V regulator on the AQR is mounted with the aluminum heat sink on the top right of the bd.

I think this Hayward Troubleshooting Guideline has more to offer. Also, you may want to consider installing a Surge Protective Device.
 
Thanks for the additional info. The Aqua Trol is goldline series with the addition of a timer unit to control pump cycling. As for testing I thought the 3-5v would be between the 1 and 3 pin, not 1 and ground or 3 to ground. Either way I do not have any display. Will check some more.

Looking at your link to the troubleshooting guide page 5, I don't have: (C) External Jumper control, (F) Comm Block, and just to the right of (C) I have a 6 pin connector for the timer. I also have 3 of the 50AMP Mini Power Relay 24VDC coil SPDT, instead of 2.

Your link to the troubleshooting guide page 32 said to check 5-10vdc "between" 2 & 4 where the other guide page 11 said check for 3 to 5 volts (DC) on pins 1& 3, not between them. Still it said if no voltage change main pcb. Trying to repair not buy a new board.
 
Thank you for the clarification, much appreciated. Looks like there are quite a few variations of Hayward SWCG out there. I am not an expert but just a hobbyist who recently acquired a used AQR board to tinker with. Hoping to help others like you who are willing to troubleshoot down to component level.

Your main pcb may look different but theoretically, they all function the same. J1, as you mentioned, carries the live AC power, so be careful! I am guessing the Jumper control is an option to select the Cell type. And the Comm block is used for automation communication protocol.

As I said, make sure the Negative test lead is always on the Black terminal or the R15 metal jumper when conducting voltage measurement. With the display bd in place, pins # 3, 4 and 5 should read 5 Vdc. Pin 1 is about 1.4 vdc, pin 2 is Negative and pin 7 is approx 4.75 Vdc. It is impossible to trace the double-sided tracks with all the components in place and I'm reluctant to destroy a good working bd.

You did not mention if any of the indicating light is lit. Hope this is not a case of a faulty 8-bit MicroController chip PIC16F73-1/SO or the 74HC4066 Quad Bilateral Switch.
 
I am just a hobbyist myself and just try to learn what I need to fix something. No power to display and no lights. Everything seems to have power but the display pcb. My pcb has 120vac output for the timed pump motor at E5/E6. I get 0.7acv. It is receiving power from the mini relay at K3. I am wondering if one or both of the 15000uf capacitors may be bad. Not discolored or swollen.

May have to bring it in and bench test more components.
 
Sounds like a good plan to me!

The E5/E6 for the timer option is non-existent on my AQR board. The K1, K2 and K3 24Vdc relay coil is independently driven by U5 (MIC5841YN). I traced the K3 as break and make contact between TB1# 3 and E5. And then E6 goes back TB1# 1. So if your incoming feed is 120VAC, the Black (L1) on TB1 #3 & 4 is switched by K3 dry contact via E5. The E6 is the Neutral and is directly connected to TB1 #1 & 2, respectively. When the K3 coil energized, you should have 120Vac across E5 and E6. But then again, I don’t have K3 on my AQR board other than a circuit trace. Please take a peek at my post# 2 here > AQR Low Voltage Power Supply You may notice, RZ1 a non-conducting MOV is tied across TB1 #1 and #3.

Those filter caps are not likely to fail, although possible but very rare. Unplug the flow switch and if you measured 30-33 Volts DC across the Red and Black terminals on the board, then the caps are GOOD. The thermistor connects the Positive Red terminal to the Filter Caps and then to the cell via K1 and K2 dry contacts.

Also, the Positive Red terminal is directly tied to D2 diode (below the comm block), then to the 470uf cap (C3) and finally to the input pin#1 of the 24V regulator. The 24V output is split, with one side tied to the R17 dropping resistor (200Ω) and cap C8 which then feed the 18-20Vdc to the input side of the 5V regulator. And of course, all chips on board including LED’s, and LCD are powered by the 5V regulator.
Make sure you have the 5 Vdc feed to the daughter bd connector as mentioned earlier before focusing on the display bd itself.
 
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I'll have to read your post 4 or 5 times while studying the pcb to let that sink in. It appears like somewhere on the low voltage side of the circuit as I don't have the K1 relay working to give 120vac to the pump or have the 5-10vdc to the display pcb.
 
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jones6780 said:
I'll have to read your post 4 or 5 times while studying the pcb to let that sink in. It appears like somewhere on the low voltage side of the circuit as I don't have the K1 relay working to give 120vac to the pump or have the 5-10vdc to the display pcb.
Click to expand...
I think you meant K3 and not K1. The K1 and K2 carry the DC low voltage (polarity reversal) to the salt cell. The 24 Vdc relays will not work if you don't have either the 24V or the 5V supply to the chips. The flow path to the Voltage regulator was described in the last paragraph in my previous post.

But let's rewind a bit and please confirm you have the correct voltage as shown in the below pic?
updated: Changed Pic and added more Test points. Please conduct the voltage measurement in order from 1-5.

 
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jones6780 said:
Correct K3 relay, 0 voltage on all points 1-5 on the post above. I have 32.6 on both pads of the thermistor.
Click to expand...
Really? In that case, you're down to only one component to test (boring). The D2 diode (just below the comm block) is receiving the 30-33 Vdc supply from the Red terminal and passing it to input pin# 1 of the 24 Volts Regulator.

Measure the voltage on both sides of the D2 diode with reference to the Negative Blk terminal. The cathode side should read .7 volt less than the voltage measured from the Red terminal. If zero volt, then the D2 diode failed in open circuit mode. Hence, the problem! There may be more downstream that could have induced the failure, but let's take it slow.

 

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Yay...you got it! Any 7824 Linear voltage regulator will do. They are very common and easily available at any electronics store like Rat Shack or Fry's for immediate replacement.
The pin configuration is as follows, Pin 1 = IN, Pin2 = COMMON and pin 3 = OUT (24V).

In the meantime, remove the U7 from the board and measure the resistance of pin 3 solder pad with reference to the Negative. Make sure the resistance measured is not anything close to zero ohms in forward and reverse polarity. You don't want the new replacement regulator to pop.

Finally, your feedback will certainly encourage others who might want to bring their dead bd back to life. Thanks...
 
I will have to order the part, nothing around here since Radio Shack closed.
Will follow up when the part gets in.

I went to desolder and the tab came off the regulator. Had a slight burned spot on the inside.


Thanks for your help and sharing your knowledge.

Russell
 
Russell,

Posting the AQR onboard Power Supply Schematic Diagram in case you want to expand your knowledge in understanding how the itty-bitty tiny components on your Main bd works. Follow the voltage distribution path from left to right (TP-1 to TP-5). Any question, please let me know.

Power Distribution_b.jpg
 
Replaced U7 using static ground strap as it was labeled as sensitive to electrostatic.
D2, 32.2 in 31.6 out
U7-pin 1, 31.5
pin 2, 0.0
pin 3, 0.22

Looks like the regulator is not outputting the correct voltage.

May have to replace U7 on the other board to see what it does.
 
All electronic devices are ESD but are usually ignored due to lack of appropriate workbenches at home.
Meadow said:
In the meantime, remove the U7 from the board and measure the resistance of pin 3 solder pad with reference to the Negative. Make sure the resistance measured is not anything close to zero ohms in forward and reverse polarity. You don't want the new replacement regulator to pop.
Click to expand...

Questions:
1. Did you measure the forward and backward resistance across the Negative Blk terminal and U7 pin 3 solder pad as mentioned in my previous post before installing the new 24V regulator?
2. If so, what is the resistance in ohms?

Please let me know before you pop another regulator on that board!
 

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