Malfunctioning Aqualink, Spa Empties when Air Blower is turned off

[strugglingHO]

I had a spillover spa added to my pool two years back along with a JANDY RS 3.0 automation system but for some reason was never able to automate the spillover function, I could only switch suction and return to my spa or my pool.

After contacting JANDY and begging them to help me (they only help pool pros) i was told that i have a "Pool OR SPA" system and i need a "Pool & SPA" system for this logic to work. They said i needed to have the motherboard swapped out in order to do this. I couldn't believe this was true since it should be a simple programming logic but they insisted. Last year I hired a new pool company and the guy was certified in JANDY automation, when i brought up this issue to him he seemed perplexed and didn't seem to know what i was talking about with the motherboard. I even showed him the part number they told me i needed and asking him to order it. After messing around with my pool for a while with his JANDY support on the phone he said it was fixed. I can now automate spillover from my app but now i have new problems:

1) the scheduler would no longer stop filtration automatically at the preset time when the system is set to spillover. if i try to do it manually it tells me i need to turn off the filter pump before i can turn off the spillover. Annoying but i have temporarily accepted it. 2) And this is the main issue, when put in spa mode everything works fine until i turnoff the airblower or the airblower turns off on its own. Whenever the airblower gets turned off, the Jandy Valve actuator automatically turns the "return" valve to the pool side and while still sucking from my spa and ends up emptying my spa. I only just realized this happens when the blower turns off so in the past when i tried explaining to the pool guy that the spa emptied out of nowhere after a while he didn't understand me and thought i must have played with something. Now that i figured out the problem this season I cant get a hold of him to expplain the problem and dought he will come back to fix it.

Does anyone know how to fix either of these two issues? do you believe this guy Jerry-rigged my setup? Rather not get a new motherboard at this point if i can resolve these two issues.

any help is greatly appreciated. Let me know if you need more info to help me resolve this situation.

thanks
Struggling Homeowner

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

What AUX circuit is the blower on?

Post pics of your Jandy panel with the front open showing the wiring.

 

[strugglingHO]

Hi @ajw22 ,

It looks like my blower relay is connected to Aux2, the third relay from the left. Also, the return actuator is connected to the spot where my finger is pointing on the right

 

[ajw22]

Show me the position of all your dip switches...

 

[strugglingHO]

@ajw22

 

[ajw22]

What Aqualink controls do you use to turn your spa on and off? And your blower on and off?

 

[strugglingHO]

These are the controls that are setup already. Spa mode on the "my devices tab automatically turns suction and return to spa however spa mode on the "one touch" section also turns on the booster pump and air blower. I guess these were configured differently
I also have manual control of air blower under equipment setting

 

[ajw22]

It looks like dipswitch 6 is On. Power down the Aqualink, change 6 to OFF, power it up, and see if anything works differently.

 

[strugglingHO]

Also @ajw22 "spillover" is set as "equipment" as opposed to a one touch option or home

 

[ajw22]

I think using the One Touch section is causing your problem. It seems to do quirky things.

Let's see if @PoolGate @HermanTX @MSchutzer can help you go through your iAqualink setup and schedules and One Touch usage. I believe your spillover and blower connection is in there.

 

[strugglingHO]

@ajw22

It seems the toggle pin must be broken as there is nothing there to move but it seems like it's in the same off position like the rest, no?

 

[ajw22]

@ajw22

It seems the toggle pin must be broken as there is nothing there to move but it seems like it's in the same off position like the rest, no?

View attachment 578518View attachment 578519

Looks on to me with the tab to the right but don't worry about it. I don't think that is your problem.

 

[strugglingHO]

@ajw22

Just noticed that if I press "spa mode" on the One Touch section it does not stop the pump when it starts to turn the suction and the return actuators where as on the Home Screen the pump stops when you press spa mode to change the actuators

 

[strugglingHO]

I think using the One Touch section is causing your problem. It seems to do quirky things.

Let's see if @PoolGate @HermanTX @MSchutzer can help you go through your iAqualink setup and schedules and One Touch usage. I believe your spillover and blower connection is in there.

thanks for trying! @PoolGate , @HermanTX and @MSchutzer any help would be appreciated to help resolve these two issues

thanks

 

[HermanTX]

1) the scheduler would no longer stop filtration automatically at the preset time when the system is set to spillover. if i try to do it manually it tells me i need to turn off the filter pump before i can turn off the spillover. Annoying but i have temporarily accepted it.

Can you show a screen shot of your schedule set up. See example below. BTW I do not have spillover set up on my pool because my plumbing was set up differently. Do you use One Touch to turn on Spillover?

Below is One Touch for my Spa. You have to select each component to either be on or off. Also need to page up and page down to ensure something is put ON that should not be. Show your One Touch screen.

2) And this is the main issue, when put in spa mode everything works fine until i turnoff the airblower or the airblower turns off on its own. Whenever the airblower gets turned off, the Jandy Valve actuator automatically turns the "return" valve to the pool side and while still sucking from my spa and ends up emptying my spa. I only just realized this happens when the blower turns off so in the past when i tried explaining to the pool guy that the spa emptied out of nowhere after a while he didn't understand me and thought i must have played with something. Now that i figured out the problem this season I cant get a hold of him to expplain the problem and dought he will come back to fix it.

This could be related to how the Actuator was set up to work with a Pool only PCB.
Your picture shows the RETURN JVA is in the right socket. Also, the socket for AUX 3 is empty which is correct because the Dip Switch for Spillover is ON.
Can you confirm which of the RELAYS (the black terminals) are connected to which of the AUX sockets above it?
The first 3 are used, then the 4th is skipped (that is Aux 3) and the 5th one is used (counting from left to right)
It is hard to see the wiring from the black terminal relay to the aux sockets.
Show screen shot of Label of Aux (see example)

There is a way to ensure your pump stops before turning a valve (when in schedule mode)
See the icon PLOCKOUT


Just a couple other points
You have a heater in your equipment profile but I do not see any connection to the GREEN connector (top right of PCB).
I also do not see any connections for an air sensor or a water sensor on that same GREEN connector.
You have 2 RED connectors so that tells me you have a recent revision CPU. Can you take photo of back of PCB where the revision is noted on the CPU?
You have an ant problem - hopefully you are addressing that because they can cause issues in wire connections