Multiple issues after lightning strike

[JShaw]

A week ago we took a lightning strike a little too close and now I’m having all kinds of issues. Equipment is Pentair easy touch, vs pump, intellichlor and heat pump.

Everything is getting power. The easy touch panel acts completely normal but won’t turn on the pool pump. I hear the relay click like normal but nothing. I can manually run the pump from the control panel on the pump and it runs perfect, even the intellichlor.

I replaced the load center surge board bc I had an extra and no change. The pool light won’t turn on either but I can hear the relay click when I activate it.

Any recommendations on where to begin troubleshooting?

Just for more info there is a GFCI outlet at the bottom of the panel box that keeps tripping even with nothing plugged in. I had the irrigation system and landscape lighting plugged in there and both are now not operating either even when plugged to another outlet. The landscape lighting powers up but shorts out on one line. The irrigation doesn’t activate the well pump relay.

 

[Jimrahbe]

J,

With the EasyTouch in AUTO, (not Service mode), does your pump's display show "Display not active"... It should. If not then most likely your have lost your com port.

How do you control the EasyTouch? ScreenLogic or Pentair remotes or ??

If this were me, the first thing I would do is replace the GFCI outlet on the EasyTouch and see if your pool lights don't start working.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[nuttyp]

Lightning is nasty, sorry for your woes. Hopefully the GFCI outlet is solved with a simple replacement. But you already know that alternative power to the other devices does not help, so.... I suppose I would grab my trusty multimeter and start disconnecting and debugging each item one by one. For each item first test to ensure they are getting 120V supply on the main input.

For the pump interface you may need to figure out if that is a dry contact closure from the EasyTouch or whether it provides voltage - the ET manual or pump manual would probably show that. Then with interface disconnected use meter to test for proper signal from ET, and/or substitute that signal to the pump. If dry contact then a simple jumper wire would test whether the pump controller responds. If it provides a variable or other voltage it gets trickier. In other words, substituting the correct signal to the pump is one way to determine if it's the pump controller or the ET. Sorry if you already knew that!

Debug of the irrigation controller is similar. Measure to verify whether ctlr is truly getting 120v. And determine if the well pump relay line in is getting line voltage (usually 240v but sometimes 120v). Then measure to see if controller is sending (usually 24vac) to the well pump relay coil, and finally does the relay output the (120 or 240) to the pump. It would be unusual to fry the well pump itself, but still possible.

I guess you already know the landscape stuff is fried. If you're not familiar with all that then an electrician is in order. For long term protection a whole house surge protector can be installed at the main power panel - or power companies usually sell that as a service and install something on the meter. Of course we don't really know there was a power surge, as the lightning itself could have induced damaging currents directly into portions of the wiring. Even if the lightning strike was 100 ft or more away it can spread out across the landscape and get picked up by irrigation and other wring. A friend of mine had lightning hit about 50 yards away and it blew the irrigation controller right off the wall.