pentair ic40 SWG salt level indicator acting up

[marc1!]

hi , my salt cell good/bad- green-red, salt level indicator is acting strange. I have adequate salt levels, (i have tested nearly every day at the local pool store and i have gone from 2600 up to 3400 and this indicator continues to show low salt. The only time it wil go to green is for the day or so after i add a few bags of salt, OR if i unplug and turn the breaker off to the SWG and sometimes it restarts showing a green salt level and starts producing chlorine.

Today, i did the restart method mentioned above and it was red previously, and when it turned back on it was blinking, indicating salt levels are too high, but was making chlorine if i put it up to 60% production.

I am super confused here.

***actions so far included dailing testing at local pool store and keeping all other levels pretty dialed in. I have also removed SWG and cleaned with muriatic acid, but it was not dirty.

Any help appreciated

 

[Jimrahbe]

Marc,

Anyone with a saltwater pool needs the ability to test there own pool water. Going to the Pool Store for tests is just about as good as guessing.

At 2600 ppm, the cell will show low salt and will not make chlorine. At 2800 the cell will show low salt and still make chlorine.

It is very important to know the actual salt level of the pool water. I use the Taylor K-1766 salt test kit and a Speed-stir device.

The IntelliChlor cells are known to have an issue with bad flow switch assemblies. Inside this flow switch, is a thermistor that tells the cell what the water temp is. It uses this info to calculate the salinity of the pool water. When the cell is working correctly this reading can be off by as much as 500 ppm. When the thermistor goes bad it can make the cell think the salt level is very high or very low.

I suspect that your flow switch is bad.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Please get your own salt test kit. Either the Taylor K-1766 or TFT Salt

Your thermisiter onside your flow switch telling the cell your water temperature may be bad.

See what temperture the cell displays. Version 3.1 on adds the ability to determine system temperature. Pressing the “More” button after the display shows 1,000s of hours of usage, will show temperature as follows:

Lights	Temperature
No LEDs	Below 30F
40%	36 to 45F
40% and 60%	46 to 55F
60%	56 to 65F
60% and 80%	66 to 75F
80%	76 to 85F
80 and 100%	86 to 95F
100%	96 to 99F
100% blinking	over 99F
All LEDs blinking	Sensor bad

Press and hold the More button until the lights scroll and note which % light lights up. Then, immediately press the More button again and see which % lights light up.

Pentair Intellichlor ICXX SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[marc1!]

hi all thanks - i was purposely going to the store , i was under the impression their testing system would be more accurate than anything i had at home, but good to know.

Secondly i forgot to mention i tested the temperature read on the SWG and it seems to read about 10 degress higher than my heater system reads the pool. I dont even have a thermoter in the pool, but just ordered a cheap one to get a third temp reading.

Would the cell reading 85 rather than the true 75 degrees be a reason for the cell to not read high enough salt?

 

[mknauss]

What is the date on the tag under the cell?

 

[ajw22]

hi all thanks - i was purposely going to the store , i was under the impression their testing system would be more accurate than anything i had at home, but good to know.

We have found Pool Store testing to often be inaccurate an unreliable. We believe in the only accurate testing is what you do with your own test kit.

Secondly i forgot to mention i tested the temperature read on the SWG and it seems to read about 10 degress higher than my heater system reads the pool. I dont even have a thermoter in the pool, but just ordered a cheap one to get a third temp reading.

Are you running your heater?

The Cell is downstream from the heater and when the heater is on the cell will see higher water temperatures and thus report different salinity.

Would the cell reading 85 rather than the true 75 degrees be a reason for the cell to not read high enough salt?

Yes, the cell adjusts the salinity it reports based on its measurement of the water temperature.

Replace your flow switch assembly.

 

[marc1!]

What is the date on the tag under the cell?

10/08/2021

 

[mknauss]

Should be under warranty. See that before buying anything.

 

[ajw22]

10/08/2021

Pentair gives a 2 year warranty on cells. Make a warranty claim with Pentair.

 

[marc1!]

woke up this morning to the salt cell reporting low salt again. has to be a bad sensor like someone mentioned above.

 

[Jimrahbe]

marc,

Keep in mind that water temp has a lot to do with the salt readings.

At the beginning of any season, my salt cell will report low salt in the morning and then good salt in the afternoon.

I never pay much attention to what the cell reports until the water temp in the morning is above about 60 degrees.

A bad thermistor in the flow switch just makes it worse.

And... The cell only measures salt when it starts up and then every 12 hours. It does not continually measure the salt levels.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[marc1!]

that seems to be what is happening. i notice that in the evening my system reboots itselt and often times ill get a good salt reading then, sometimes even a high salt reading and system will produce chlroine but my filter isnt set up to be on during that time so i have to manually turn it on.

this is a dumb question, but what is causing my salt cell to reboot in the afternoon? is there another timer im not aware of?

i also just did a manual reading of my salt with the test suggested above and got a reading of 3800

so is it safe to assume its my flow switch or thermistor?

 

[Jimrahbe]

marc,

The cell tests the salt when it starts after being off.. then it will test the salt again in 12 hours. When it tests the salt, it looks like it just rebooted. It will turn off, the salt light will flash like at a railroad crossing, until the salt level is measured..

If the cell is rebooting more often than every 12 hours something else is wrong.

What is controlling the AC power going to the cell's power center??

Do you have an automation system?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[marc1!]

i have the egg timer looking thing within my electric control box. besides that, i have no other timing systems other than the timer build into my variable speed pentair pump

Again, first time owning a pool and still teaching myself some things, so please bear with my ignorance - im not sure i understand the purpose of the egg timer. is that connected to my SWQC ? i assume its nothing to do with my pool pump since that has its own internal timer settings.

 

[mknauss]

Post some pictures of your electric control box and egg timer.

 

[marc1!]

 

[mknauss]

It does not appear to me that you have the Start/Stops dogs on the timer so whatever is hooked to it is on continuously.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Marc,

Please tell us the schedule that you have inside the pump? When does it run, and at what speeds??

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[marc1!]

thank you all again for the help.

i have a 3 speed pentair pump set to run on the following schedule.

6 am- at 3100 for three hours
1900 for 7 hours
1200 for two hours

 

[Jimrahbe]

marc,

Is 1200 RPM fast enough to close the flow switch, even when the filter is a little dirty?

I ask because if the flow switch opens due to low flow, when it come back on the cell will reboot..

Thanks,

Jim R.