NO COMM; no 485 link or RF link lights

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J

James L.

Active member
Feb 20, 2025
31
Baton Rouge, La.
Pentair EasyTouch System with remote.
NO COMM; Inside antenna box, 485 link and RF link LED's no power; no flickering, nothing. Have power to "power" LED; it is lit.
Had power outage in the area, possibly due to lightning strike.
All pumps working normally.
Ideas? Thanks.
 
You'll need to determine what device on the rs485 bus isn't working...

If you think the transceiver card (aka antenna) is the problem, unplug it from the comm port (power down first!), and then see if the other devices are working... these may include your Intellichlor, your Whisperflo if it's a variable speed (i don't think the single speed version uses the comm port), an indoor controller, or a screenlogic.

Your outdoor board is ok if the following are true:
- your intellichlor is still controllable from the Easytouch and it can still report salt levels etc. to the Easytouch
- your whisperflo is variable speed (and is connected to the Easytouch comm port) and you can change the pump speeds at the Easytouch panel

If the transceiver card is the problem, the FCC:ID on the back of your remote (P4EASYTOUCH or P4EASYTOUCH2A) will determine which card you need to replace it - there are two and they're not interchangeable

If the Easytouch is broken you can repair it or find a replacement. As Allen said, you can replace the comm chip but if you've got really good soldering skills you can replace a failed processor... it's a bit tedious since it's got 112 tiny pins, and on a lightning struck board it may not be the only dead part (you'll also need a programmer to flash the firmware after the swap). See my blog post for a cpu swap: Easytouch V1 to V2 "brain transplant"
 
ajw22 said:
Blown chip.

Read Pentair Automation Systems - Further Reading

The RS-485 comm link can stop working due to a failure of the RS-485 chip or the circuit in the processor. The chip can be replaced, but a failed processor is not repairable.

How to Determine if your Easytouch Com (RS485) can be repaired explains how to troubleshoot the RS-485 chip on an EasyTouch.

@ogdento can help.
Click to expand...
Sorry for my ignorance here, but is this "blown chip" on the board in the antenna box, or on the motherboard in the main control box? Thanks
 
James L. said:
Sorry for my ignorance here, but is this "blown chip" on the board in the antenna box, or on the motherboard in the main control box? Thanks
Click to expand...
Could be either.

As was said above it depends if only the antenna is dead or all RS-485 devices are dead.

Your post says EasyTouch and your signature says Pentair Intelli-Touch. Which system do you have?
 
Show us pictures of your outdoor control panel and indoor remote.
 
Yup, you got an EasyTouch, not the IntelliTouch the builder promised.
 

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I talked to Pentair support. I described the issue and he said replace board in antenna clamshell. My board in the clamshell says 520949 version2040.
Issue: Easytouch main control box with Easytouch wireless remote P4HEASYTOUCH2A.

Board in antenna clamshell has 485 link and RF link LED's OFF; no flickering. "Power" led is on, glowing solid red.

Wireless remote says NO COMM, and won't control anything. All batteries are good; all wires are intact, good connections. Lightening in area preceding this. Was working fine before lightning.

All pumps and pool lights work normally, controlled from main control box.

So, I thought I needed to replace the board in the clamshell only. There is something else that needs to be replaced also?
 
Hey @James L., 520946z is the official replacement part number. But whether they call it a 520949, 520946 or 520946z, any card with a Laird radio and firmware 2040 will work. Pentair has a confusing system of assigning part numbers to their labels as well as their boards, so the 520949 number is for the label on the 520946 board.

Pentair often says to replace a board when it may be fine... have you or Pentair support ruled out the other devices as we described in your original post? NO COMM; no 485 link or RF link lights (I didn't see any answer about whether your pump - or anything else besides the transceiver - uses the comm port)

A working system will get rs483 LED activity about once a second, and only gets link LED activity when a button on the remote is pressed (and the transceiver receives it). In your case, no rs485 activity means your transceiver isn't getting any rs485 data... your outdoor board could be bad and can't send the rs485 data, another device could be interfering with the rs485 bus, your cabling could be wet/damaged, or your transceiver could be bad and can't receive anything. I'd hate for you to spend $$$$ on a new card and have it not fix your problem.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Jim,

The wireless links are a set.. You can't replace one end without replacing the other end..

Tell us more about what equipment you have, and what is not working.

Calling Tom @ogdento

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
See…

NO COMM; no 485 link or RF link lights

Pentair EasyTouch System with remote. NO COMM; Inside antenna box, 485 link and RF link LED's no power; no flickering, nothing. Have power to "power" LED; it is lit. Had power outage in the area, possibly due to lightning strike. All pumps working normally. Ideas? Thanks.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
OK, I'm back. Had to go rescue somebody with a dead car battery.

Unplugged transceiver card (actually, disconnected the 4 wires from the transceiver card itself).

So, Intellichlor is NOT controllable via the Easytouch control box on the wall.
The Easytouch box on the wall does NOT get salt levels from the Intellichlor unit.
Readout in Easytouch box says :"Chlorinator info: Salt-- 0 ppm; Status-- (COM LINK ERROR)

Easytouch box still turns pumps, lights on/off via the Easytouch buttons in the box.

The Intellichlor SWG unit can change sanitizer levels by pushing buttons on the SWG unit itself.
Sanitizer % lights are flashing: written on SWG says: "Flashing lights: low output mode."

Any ideas what I do to fix the problem(s)? And, complex soldering is out for me.
 
Last edited:
Ok so it seems like your Easytouch main panel has broken comm port... the transceiver could also still be dead.

Just for clarity sake... the lights and the pump (if it's a single speed) will still work if the comm port is dead.

I'll send you a pm with some options.
 
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