No Flow Error, not switch

Jump to latest Follow Reply
P

paulMiller

0
Dec 8, 2010
6
New to group. AutoPilot Total Control. Have had many years. Came back after the summer and the system had gone offline because of the flow error. However, the trisensor and switch works perfectly, the cable rings out to the communications board in the Autopilot. I did remove and clean the circuit boards because there was some salt and flux that seemed to be a bridge on some of the circuits but the boards are perfectly clean now and appear in good shape.

I have tried to change the setup from Total Control without Flow Sensor in the Installer Menu but the unit resets then continues to display the flow error. This tells me a circuit board might be at fault because Tech Support suggested removing the flow sensor from the options would allow the unit to run. But, it does not.It seems silly to spend hundreds of dollars for a board where the only problem might be a small relay or diode or other discrete component.

I'd sure like to try to narrow down the location or problem before spending a lot of money on boards. Does anyone have any thought on where the location of the problem might be with these symptoms? Comments are really appreciated. Again, the switch is OK and the resistance at the communications board rings out to 1 ohm verified when the pump turns on. The board is 2006 vintage and the Total Control system is now completely stopped with no acid and no cell activity because of this error.

Paul
Daytona
 
Are you sure that you're getting enough flow through the cell to trigger the flow switch?

Have you checked the cell for scaling?

Have you checked the strainer screen?

Does the bypass look OK?
 
Welcome to TFP!

When you have a total control system you have two flow sensors, one in the chemistry controller and another in the trisensor. The error messages don't distinguish between them that I know of, so you need to check both of them.
 
Many thanks. In all the calls I've made I did not get pointed to the second flow sensor. I can see it clearly on the diagrams in the chemistry box. Setting the Total Control to "no sensor" is really for the trisensor obviously.

I have now checked the chemistry flow sensor, the float works properly, lifting with flow, I get zero ohms with the pump off and variable resistance with flow on. This appears to be a NC switch that opens with flow. I've tested this chemistry flow switch and it appears to be functioning properly.

The menu does not change (errors) and flashing red light. I disconnected the comm cable and nothing changed. I'll try another comm cable. I was hoping there was a way to disable the chemistry box but I'm not seeing that in the menu choices. Perhaps this is a communication issue.

I would like to bypass these errors so that I can manually control the pool. As it exists, the pump will work but this error prevents any chlorination or pH control. I must be missing something because if your chemistry box is offline or being repaired, does that mean you cannot feed with the acid tank and continue to manually produce chlorine with the cell? I can't do either.
 
Am I correct in saying you cannot disable a Total Control system so that it does not rely on the chemisty box? I am stuck not knowing what box is working or not working. Even Autopilot Tech Support did not know about the second flow switch. However, I did get the MSRP prices for new boards in a timely fashion.

Paul
Daytona
 
Paul,

Put the unit on pH CONTROL mode. Do this by going into the INSTALLER MENU, scroll down to SELECT SYSTEM and choose pH CONTROL, press SELECT.
Now you're on Manual control of the chlorine cell and pH pump. This means that you'll have to monitor and test, making necessary adjustments as needed until you've found the correct setting for both the chlorine and pH.
Let me know if you need additional instructions.

Sorry for any confusion from customer service.
 
Thanks Sean. pH mode now on. PHC in the top right corner. Continues to show "no flow" errors so the unit is not producing. I've checked again and the tri-sensor flow switch contacts at the comm board in the base of the total control box do show a close at 1 ohm with pump on and open circuit with the pump off so the flow switch is working. I suppose this means the switch signal is not getting past the comm board? Is there any way to check the signal leaving the comm board? It appears to be only a few discreet components on that board. Many thanks so far for the help.

Paul
Daytona
 
PH Control still reads the flow sensor on the chemistry controller. You can switch to purifier mode (sometimes called something else, the simplest mode) and unplug the chemistry controller (with the power off) and it will run standalone.
 
Paul, check your connectors in the 75003 unit. I recently spoke with a pool contractor that had a similar situation and it turned out to be one of the connectors not pushed in all the way, so it wasnt making a good contact.

Just to verify, it's saying Purifier off, check flow, and not check flow at sensor, right?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I changed system to Purifier mode and I get "Error Purify Off/Check Flow"

The switch on the trisensor is connected and working. So, it would appear to still be something from the comm board into the total control unit but I'm not sure what to check next. Thanks very much for the help so far.

Paul
Daytona
 
Since this problem is not going away and I can't get the Total Control system to do anything, does anyone have:

1) A schematic of the comm board that might show why the "no flow" is being sent to the Total Control system?

2) a way to put the system into purify mode so that it can generate chlorine? I'm onto my 10th jug of chlorine. A few more trips to the store and I'm thinking of changing systems because replacement board costs for this system are a concern and nobody can say which boards or how many are affected.

The diagnostics are cryptic at this point, too bad there isn't a way to home in on the problem. Thanks in advance for the help,

Paul
Daytona
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply