Pentair Protocol Adapter

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mowens333

New member
May 17, 2021
4
Denver, CO
Hi everyone, I am having an issue with my Pentair EasyTouch system. My set up currently has an EasyTouch outside that is hardwired to the protocol adapter in my basement next to my router. Two years ago, when turning my pool on for the summer I all of a sudden wasn't able to use my screenlogic app. I noticed that the red light wasn't working on the protocol adapter. I tested the wires and was receiving 14-16 volts at the protocol adapter in the basement but the protocol adapter wouldn't turn on. I ended up buying a new protocol adapter and the red light activated as soon as I plugged it in and everything worked great for the last two years. I just turned my pool on again for this season, and the red light won't turn on my protocol adapter again. I have tested the voltage and I am still receiving 14-16 volts at the wires in the basement. I purchased a new protocol adapter (again) and just tried plugging it in and it isn't working either.... I highly doubt i have two faulty protocol adapters and cannot figure out why the red light won't turn on if there is 14-16 volts being supplied.

Has anyone run into this issue before as to the protocol adapter not powering on? One other thing i noticed is if i test the wires in the basement i read 14-16 volts.... but if i plug the wires into the protocol adapter and test them again while plugged into the protocol adapter, it only reads about 3 volts. Not sure if that is of any significance but thought it was worth mentioning. Any advice would be appreciated!
 
The +15 VDC power comes from the com port J20, pins #1 and #4 inside the EasyTouch.. If the com port was bad, the EasyTouch could not control the IntelliFlo nor the SWCG from the panel itself.. I assume everything works except ScreenLogic.

I suspect the red light is nothing but an indication that the power supply inside the Protocol Adapter is working.. If you connect the PA up to the com cable and the voltage drops to 3 volts, that sounds like a bad PA to me.. Do both of your PA's drop the voltage to 3 volts when connected?

Could also be a poor connection on pins #1 or #4 of the cable where is connects to the J20.. If everything works at the panel, when the PA is connected and the voltage at the PA is only about 3 volts, then the cable has to have a connection issue. The PA can't load the com port voltage down without shutting the EasyTouch com port down.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
In an interesting turn of events, I just went into the basement to test the voltages mentioned above. I plugged the four prong insert into the protocol adapter and the red light turned on! I have no idea why this happened as I didn't do anything different. I also plugged it into my second protocol adapter and the red light turned on that unit as well. However, the data lights didn't turn on in either protocol adapter..... so it appears the protocol adapter is now getting enough power, to turn on but it isn't transmitting any data.

I have attached three pictures for reference below. In picture 1 you can see me testing the voltage in the four prong insert while not plugged into the protocol adapter. The black wire in this test read 16.7 volts (should be sufficient to power the adapter) which is the same reading it was the other day when it wasn't powering the protocol adapter. For reference, when I test the yellow and green wires with the four prong insert unplugged they read about 14 volts.

The second picture is the voltage test of the black wire with the four prong insert plugged into the protocol adapter. When plugged in, the voltage of the black wire dropped to 5.98 volts.

The third picture is the voltage test of the yellow wire with the four prong insert plugged into the protocol adapter and it is only reading 3.30 volts (down from 14 volts when unplugged). I also circled and noted that the data lights are not flashing even though the red power light on the protocol adapter is lit up. I tried using multiple ethernet cords (that came with each protocol adapter) as well as changing the location of the ethernet outlets being used on my router.... no luck in getting the data lights to turn on in either scenario with either protocol adapter.

This has all gotten a lot more confusing to me.... curious what ideas any of you may have. I appreciate the help!


Picture1.pngPicture2.pngPicture3.png
 
I would take your PA outside by the panel, disconnect everything from J20, run a short cable from J20 to the PA, and run a long Cat5 cable to your router, and see what the PA does.
 
You can just use a short piece of 4 conductor wire to connect the PA to the com ports and then create your own network cable from bulk wire. Just crimp on rj45 connectors on both ends. This is just a temporary setup to see if things are working.
 
More information to report..... Last night was the first time the red light had turned on the protocol adapter in a few weeks. I just went downstairs to check again and the red power light won't work again - Also, the voltage readings were about 2 volts less just now than i read last night. I noticed that the time last night when I was downstairs was when the spa was running at a much lower RPM than the pump runs when the pool is circulating. So I just went outside and turned the filter pump off to see if that somehow increased the voltage back up and got the power light on the protocol adapter to come back on.... no luck. I also tested the black wire on all three com ports in the easytouch just now and they all read the exact same voltages i was just reading in the basement.

Further background, when my pool company was opening the pool a few weeks ago for the year, they also noticed that the fireman switch on the Rheem heater was wired incorrectly and had fried the circuit board. They replaced the circuit board in the heater the same day they got the pool opened and I havent been able to get the protocol adapter or screenlogic to work since.

Matt
 
mowens333 said:
Thanks for the advice. Not really an option for me though because the the wire is about 100' long and buried under ground under our patio.

Matt
Click to expand...

Cat5 cable can be up to 300 feet long. I would think you can find a route from your equipment pad to your router within that length for the test.
 
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