Pentair Mastertemp 400-Blank Screen-No Power

Hey everyone, I've got a Pentair Master Temp 400K BTU pool heater, and the 1.25 amp glass bulb blew out. Now, there's no power going to the switch membrane pad. I tried using a 1 amp glass fast-acting fuse from Home Depot, but I ended up blowing all five of them. Can someone help me out? Thanks a bunch!
 
Welcome to TFP.

Buy a bunch more 1.25A fuses.

Post pics of the insides of the heater.

How old is the heater?

What started this problem?

Open up all the panels and look for signs of rodents in the heater and chewed wires.
 
Welcome to TFP.

Buy a bunch more 1.25A fuses.

Post pics of the insides of the heater.

How old is the heater?

What started this problem?

Open up all the panels and look for signs of rodents in the heater and chewed wires.
Buy a bunch more 1.25A fuses. — done 2 amps from Home Depot.

Post pics of the insides of the heater. — attached below.

How old is the heater? — IDK but I have the serial number attached below.

What started this problem? — it started when I automate it DIY using

Wireless Temperature Controller Thermostat see attached pic​


Open up all the panels and look for signs of rodents in the heater and chewed wires.— see attached pics
 

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Still replying, but for any signs of rodents in the heater, there are none chewed wires visibly seen.

I also remembered that I opened the drain plug because I want to use the plug to check temperature. Water comes Out from the heater drain and I was thinking that could cause the burning of fuse.
 
Explain what you are doing here. It makes no sense to me…

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I apologize for showing you the diagram without explanation.

1. Using the remote that I got from Amazon which is attached below. The outlet portion with temperature sensor is connected to pentair MT 400 (PMT) cold water intake and the portable remote temperature controller can increase and decrease the temperature.
2. Since I can start and stop the PMT with smart switch using 24vac, I was wondering if I can also control the temperature. Therefore that’s what I did.
 

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You do not put external 24V into the heater if that is what you did.

How did you try and control the temperature?
 
Control is an elusive concept because my naive theory put me in a pickle.

Short answer I did not able to control the temperature. And it was an expensive lesson.

But this made me realize that I should done it differently. I should have done NOT to connect the external 24vac directly to MT 400 24v remote connector, instead connect external 24vac to a smart relay, say sonoff 4ch pro v3 and connect the MT 400 24v to com and no (normally open).

So if the target temp is 92 and the remote sensor detects 90 then, the 120 v power from the outlet turns on, continue the power line thru 120 to 24vac transformer, then 24v power will trip the smart relay thus closing the com and no which closes the circuit on MT 400 24vac thus turning on the power of MT 400.

So if the target temp of 92 is reached via remote sensor detects 92 and over 92 then, the 120 v power from the outlet turns off, the power is cut off from line thru 120 to 24vac transformer, no power here now, then since there is no power detected by smart relay thus opening the com and no which open the circuit on MT 400 24vac thus turning of the power of MT 400.

The set temp on MT should be max at 105 since there is no control remotely is possible from this set up.

To summarize
- set target temp, say 92, water temp is 90, turns on 120v outlet, coverts to 24vac by TF, 24vac closes com and no on smart relay which turns on MT 400 which temp set at 105.
- if target temp reached the 120v outlet turns off which will not provide power to 120 to 24v transformer thus will cause to open the com and no which will cause the MT 400 to turn off.
 

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Thanks ajw22, but the 24vac connects that I refer to is actually a fireman's switch. See attached pix.

But because wire that I connect to fireman's switch is wire with 24 vac coming from external transformer. Which cause to trip something and now causes to burn the fuse.

The burning of the fuse is very linear because it follows these steps.
1. it lights the board controller and i am able to use the membrane that connects into it, then it clicks.
2. after the click, the blower starts spinning and then it also followed by a click
3. after the click the noise becomes louder like a jet engine like maybe trying to ignite because all the air in the exhaust are not hot, the air is cold.
4. after the loud noise the fuse burnt and while the loud noise continue on for 15 seconds it eventually turn off.
 

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You do not put 24V from an external transformer on the fireman’s switch. Or inject external 24V anywhere into the MasterTemp heater wiring. Doing so will blow fuses or do worse damage.
 
Knowing that the issue traced back to the gas valve switch, and not wanting to tamper with gas pipes, I regretfully hired a professional to test and install the new gas valve switch. Surprisingly, the process was not as labor-intensive as I thought; it took them less than 30 minutes, and the burning of the fuse stopped. The whole series of clicks followed by the whooshing sound, which was a sound I had not achieved before, was a great feeling to hear. However, as we were finishing the repair, an unexpected issue arose: there was no heat, only cold air in the exhaust.

The repair guys took out the new igniter and performed a series of tests, only to find out that the new igniter was also not heating up. They ended up replacing my new controller, new wafer, and new ICM, reinstalling my old controller, wafer, and ICM. And voila, the heat soon filled the area where I was standing.

It was a first-world problem that had never been sweeter to fix, especially after the agonizing two-plus weeks of troubleshooting. Plus, my wife added pressure, making it even more challenging because, as she rightly pointed out, I made the bed, so I had to sleep in it. I paid those guys pretty much with a blank check, and at that time, it seemed fair and just. Then, I returned all the items that were not needed because the old ones were still functioning. In the end, I gained $50 back compared to how much I paid the repair guys. But kidding aside, the lesson that I learned throughout what I called the "heck week" was the knowledge that I gained.

I learned that Pentair originally manufactured high-altitude research balloons and not pool equipment, which I found interesting. I also learned about the components inside the heater; after opening the top lid almost a hundred times, my fingers developed their muscle memory of where wires, nuts, and bolts go. A community of like-minded individuals like you all made it less difficult to find the problem sooner rather than later. I know that at the end of the day, Tom Brady took it to the end zone (just an analogy), but I moved the ball across the field to help the process. I consider this mystery of the burning fuse case closed.
 
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