Pentair iChlor 30 - no power

[bradde]

I have a Pentair iChlor 30 SWG that isn't getting any power. The display is completely blank. It's been off for about 2 months or so now. I thought that it was off because the weather got colder here in AZ, but I just looked in the manual and it says that the water temp has to be over 52 degrees, and that if it goes below that the unit should display the COLD condition on the panel. I don't think that the water temp has ever gotten colder than 52 degrees.

I've unplugged and plugged back in the unit and checked the breaker. Can anyone please tell me how to troubleshoot this further?

 

[ajw22]

Do you have a multimeter and know how to use it to check voltages?

Open up the Power Center and see if you have the green LED lit on the PCB. And check the fuse on the box or PCB.

Information on the power center can be found in Pentair Intellichlor ICXX SWG - Further Reading

 

[bradde]

Thank you for your response! I do have a multimeter. I'm not very good with it, but I should be able to check voltages.

There is no green light on the PCB that I can see, but there is a fuse on it. I'll check to see if it's blown.

Great link! I am going to study it and see if I can figure this out today.

 

[bradde]

I was wrong earlier. The green light on the PCB is on. My PCB looks a little different than the one shown on the ICXX page.

Sounds like the fuse is probably fine, since the green light is on?




Any ideas as to what I should try next? Where should I check the voltage with my multimeter? Please be specific as I am computer savvy, but handyman challenged.

 

[ajw22]

How old is the cell?

Is it under warranty?

 

[bradde]

The cell is over 2 years old, so I don't think that it is under warranty. The install date was in July 2020. I contacted Pentair by leaving a message on their website in August 2020 because I had thought that there might be something wrong with the unit. Sometimes it didn't produce chlorine and I couldn't get it into Diagnostic mode. They didn't get back to me until Nov. 2022 and were not very helpful.

 

[ajw22]

The red and black wires leading to the cell connector should have 20-40V DC.

I don't know exactly which pin is which in the connector. If I was there I would use the ohmeter setting to determine which pins in the connector connect to the red and black wire on the board. You may need to remove the board to to that.

Then reinstall the board, power up the Power Center and check DC voltage on the pins.

If you don't have voltage then you have a Power Center board problem

If you have 20-40V DC at the connector then the cell is bad.

Maybe @Jimrahbe knows which pins to test.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Brad,

I have an EasyTouch with a built in Surge card, so it is easy for me to measure the voltage.

With the cell connected and working, I get about 35 VDC.. With the cell connected but at rest (not making chlorine) I get about 40 VDC.

You want to measure between the large Red and Black wires. I have probes with very sharp ends that can poke through the insulation on the wires. If you don't, maybe you can follow the wires back to where they connect to the surge card.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[bradde]

Just to close this out. The SWG was bad and Pentair replaced it under warranty. The 3-year warranty was set to expire in July, so I was lucky to get in under the gun.

Thanks to everyone for your responses!