Pentair flow light.

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rmcconkey

rmcconkey

0
Mar 16, 2016
28
Akron/NY
I have been having an issue with my Pentair ic 40 salt cell. The flow light turns red periodically throughout the day. Recently swapped out the flow switch and it still malfunctions. This happens several times a day. Cartridge filters have been cleaned and cell acid washed. Cell has been run about 4 months for the last 4 years and stored inside during the winter months.


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21000 gallon free form gunite pool. Pentair easy touch system controlling:
Pentair intelliflo 3 Hp variable speed pump
Pentair ic 40 salt water generator
Pentair Ultra Temp 120 heat pump
Pentair 420 clean and clear filter.
 
Last edited:
rm,

Either you have flow or you don't... When the low flow light comes on you need to check the actual flow first before thinking it is the flow switch.. The flow switch itself, rarely fails... The thermister inside the flow switch seems to be pretty unreliable, but it just helps the SWCG calculate the salt level, and is a totally different issue...

If you can feel a good strong flow coming out of your returns, then the flow should be closed...

What speed are you running your pump? My "guess" is that it will have to be 1500 RPM or greater to get the switch closed because you have a heater. Does the flow switch close at higher pump speeds???

The connections for installing a new cell are always suspect as a lot of people try to strip the wires before using the connectors.. You should not strip the wires.

You can install the switch backwards, so I would look at the arrow on the flow switch and make sure it is pointed in the right direction.

If all else fails, you can (as a test only) connect the Red and Black wires coming out of the cell (not the flow switch) and see if the flow switch is green. With the Red and Black wires connected together the cell will think the flow switch is closed... Do this as a test only..

You should never acid wash a cell due to a low flow issue..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
rm,

Either you have flow or you don't... When the low flow light comes on you need to check the actual flow first before thinking it is the flow switch.. The flow switch itself, rarely fails... The thermister inside the flow switch seems to be pretty unreliable, but it just helps the SWCG calculate the salt level, and is a totally different issue...

If you can feel a good strong flow coming out of your returns, then the flow should be closed...

What speed are you running your pump? My "guess" is that it will have to be 1500 RPM or greater to get the switch closed because you have a heater. Does the flow switch close at higher pump speeds???

The connections for installing a new cell are always suspect as a lot of people try to strip the wires before using the connectors.. You should not strip the wires.

You can install the switch backwards, so I would look at the arrow on the flow switch and make sure it is pointed in the right direction.

If all else fails, you can (as a test only) connect the Red and Black wires coming out of the cell (not the flow switch) and see if the flow switch is green. With the Red and Black wires connected together the cell will think the flow switch is closed... Do this as a test only..

You should never acid wash a cell due to a low flow issue..

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
The pump is running at 2400 rpm. I tested the switch at 3400 as well and still the red light is intermittent throughout the day. I suspect a bad cell at this point but will attempt to check voltage going to the cell first to make sure it's in the 24 volt range. I did acid wash the cell due to some minor deposits on the fin. Can you explain stripping the wires?? The new flow switch came with stripped wires. I stripped wires on the cell and put them in the connectors. Was this not the proper procedure to install the new switch.
 
rm,

The only connectors that I have seen are the kind where you stick the wires in un-stripped and watch through the plastic to make sure the wires are fully inserted and then you squeeze the round button in with a pair of pliers. Stripping the wires can cause a poor connection..

They look like this... Amazon.com: UR-3M - 3M Scotchlok IDC Butt Connector, 100 Pack: Everything Else

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
rm,

The only connectors that I have seen are the kind where you stick the wires in un-stripped and watch through the plastic to make sure the wires are fully inserted and then you squeeze the round button in with a pair of pliers. Stripping the wires can cause a poor connection..

They look like this... Amazon.com: UR-3M - 3M Scotchlok IDC Butt Connector, 100 Pack: Everything Else

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I will retry with new connectors. Funny that the new switch comes already stripped. This will be my last try before I purchase a new cell or eliminate it entirety. The ph rise is some what of an annoyance.

Thank you
 
The first thing you should do is short the red and black wires coming from the cell..If that does not give you a constant green flow light, than it has to be a cell problem.

Everyone is different of course, and in my case my pool never closes, so I depend on the cell for a longer period of time.. If my cell went bad today, I would have a new one on my porch tomorrow... I can't imagine not having anything but a saltwater pool.. :)

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Jimrahbe said:
The first thing you should do is short the red and black wires coming from the cell..If that does not give you a constant green flow light, than it has to be a cell problem.

Everyone is different of course, and in my case my pool never closes, so I depend on the cell for a longer period of time.. If my cell went bad today, I would have a new one on my porch tomorrow... I can't imagine not having anything but a saltwater pool.. :)

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
I called pentair several times today and last week. He said last ditch effort take your salt level from 3300 to 3600. I did so this afternoon and so far for the several hours it's been producing without a problem. I have always had my level around the 3300 to 3400 range. Almost like the low salt and low flow led's are wired backwards. Time will tell I'm sure it's on it's way out.
Thanks again
 
rmcconkey said:
I called pentair several times today and last week. He said last ditch effort take your salt level from 3300 to 3600. I did so this afternoon and so far for the several hours it's been producing without a problem. I have always had my level around the 3300 to 3400 range. Almost like the low salt and low flow led's are wired backwards. Time will tell I'm sure it's on it's way out.
Thanks again
Click to expand...

That makes zero sense.. It would be impossible for any thing to work if they were wired back wards.. And the salt level has zero to do with the flow ....

Not sure that particular Pentair guy knows what he is talking about..

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
That makes zero sense.. It would be impossible for any thing to work if they were wired back wards.. And the salt level has zero to do with the flow ....

Not sure that particular Pentair guy knows what he is talking about..

Jim R.
Click to expand...
I agree with you one hundred percent. Tommorow will prove that wrong I'm sure. I teach engineering to high school students for a living and I laughed at his recommendation but dropped a bag of salt in anyways. We will see what the morning brings. 3 different tech representatives and all had different ideas. I definitely believe that the original flow switch is not defective. This all started when I cleaned the filters before our trip to Florida. Cotton from the local trees washed through the backflow preventer and into the cell. Thats when this all started.
 
rm,

So what does the flow feel like coming back to the pool returns?

If the cell is old, and not producing chlorine, then adding extra salt can often help it last through the season.. It will not fix a flow problem, and of course, low flow will prevent the cell from working at all.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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Little update. Cell has malfunctioned once a day in the last couple days. Usually around dinner time the low flow light comes on for a short period of time and then goes back to green. According to my Taylor kit chlorine levels are maintaining. Hope to get to October and will have a new one on the shelf for next season.

Thanks for the help.
 
What do you have scheduled to happen at around the same time??? Valve movement or speed change or ???

Most things that are intermittent are not sensitive to hunger or dinner time.. :)

Thanks for the update,

Jim R.
 
Nothing changes. Turns on at 9 am and shuts off at 9 pm. No water features or jacuzzi. Runs all day perfectly and towards early evening it goes red and then back to green. I'm a little anal so I'm checking constantly between the easy touch in the house and the panel itself. I cant explain it. I added a little more salt in it yesterday. Levels are at 3450. As much as I dont relay on the pool store I may have them check the number not that it should have much to do with low flow.
 
Greetings from another Pentair Intellichlor IC-40 owner with a intermittent flow light problem. Are we stupid or what? I've had my unit since 2015. Several years of no problems until last year and this year. Now, this IC-40 defies all facts of electronics, i.e., if a circuit board, P/S, or lamp fails, it doesn't come back to life. Well, this has me scratching my head. I went the route of replacing a perfectly good (in hind sight) flow switch because it lit the red light. What I did notice was that the red and black conductors from the Cell had a blackish tarnish on them but the leads from the switch were pristine copper color, (Outer insulation was normal, no discoloration.) After several weeks of uninterrupted use the happy Green flow light turned Red again. I wire brushed the tarnished leads, spliced them and was off to the races again. Not long after, I was staring at a RED flow light. With all of the bells and whistles on the touch panel do you think someone would have either test points or error codes that positively isolate where the failure is. This is an awful expensive luxury to be so failure prone. Indecently, my Cell blades are clean as the day they were installed. The fear instilled in me was that I'd only get 4 years out of the cells was for not. What leads supply the 24 V.D.C.? It seems that if this was a car, they would have you change the engine, then the transmission, only to find a defective spark plug. Another expensive pool item is my Dolphin S200 Pool Cleaner. That is what engineering should be. I am very pleased with it.

30,000 gal. igp
3450 pump
Hayward Sand Filter
IC - 40
Dolphin Pool Cleaner
 
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So did you replace the ic 40. I have no issue buying a new one if it's bad. To be honest I'm not certain it's bad like you said there is no true way to diagnose the cell. Mine went red a few times today but is still producing 95 percent of the day. I'm going to run it till it goes dark. Pentair told me to test to see if it had 24 to 36 volts. When it went red for flow I pulled the cable and test red 24 volts.

Not to jinx myself but my dx6 has been flawless for the last 4 years and is amazing.
 
Today I ordered a new IC-40 on "eBay" for $520.00 and a third party 3 year warranty for $39.99. It arrives here next week. I spoke to Pentair Tech. support and he felt my problem was the cell. This morning I tested to my satisfaction 27 D.C.V. coming out of the power supply but only 3.4 V.D.C. coming from the cell's red and black wires. I was toying with changing manufacturers but didn't read anything out there that had rave reviews. Pentair also makes a unit with more bells and whistles, called the iChlor that, with an extension pipe will directly fit the footprint of the IC-40 and can use the existing power supply. However, it was up there in the $800.00 bracket and seemed as trouble prone as the IC-40.
 
Hi KENTREK
Just curious where you found information that stated that the IChlor has more "bells and whistles" than the IntelliChlor?
The iChlor comes in 15 and 30 models. Since TFP recommends doubling that in many cases, the iChlor30 would be too small for a 20k gallon pool for instance.
Thanks...
r..
 

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