Pentair Ultratemp 140 Compressor Issue?

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J

jeffreyhsi

0
Apr 9, 2018
9
Valley Stream
Hi, all. I have a Pentair ultratemp 140 pump, installed in 2018. I didn't use it at all last year as I never opened my pool last summer, but after I opened the pool this year I noticed it was not heating the water. Fan runs but water exiting is cold and the air blowing out of unit is air temperature not cooler as is normal so compressor is clearly not running.

No error codes, although my temp up button wasn't working (easy fix with replacing the whole menu cover).

When I opened up unit to investigate, there are no melted wires at contactor and all wiring looks to be in good shape.

I tested my capacitor, and realized that went bad so I replaced it. But that didn't fix the issue. So I used my multimeter to test the voltage ...and I'm getting NO reading between L1, L2, and L3 to the compressor. There's 244V between T1 and T2.

I'm guessing that the compressor is bad but how can I double check? It's hard to reach all the way in there. Is it possible that it's something else? And is there an easy fix for the compressor or would it be a costly replacement?

Any help or advice would be great!
 
The little cutout with the black square in the middle of the contactor is flush with the face of the contactor which means that the contactor is not powered/pulled in. The black square will depress when the contactor pulls in. This should be the manual for your heater https://www.pentair.com/content/dam...ump-installation-and-users-guide-en-fr-sp.pdf The wiring diagram is on page 10. Since the contactor is not pulling in, I doubt that you have 24V at the contactor coil connections ( purple {24V hot} and blue/brown {24V ground} ) which are behind L1 and L3 on the contactor. This probably means that either the control board is not calling for heat or one of your safeties is open. Show me a photo of your control board and I should be able to help you further.
 
Great! On the "TBL" connection strip #1 and #2 should be your 24V into the circuit board with #1 being 24V ground. You should measure 24V between #1 and #2. If the heater is calling for heat, you should also measure 24V between #1 and all subsequent #s up to #8. If so, you should also measure 24V between "TBL" #1 and "TBR" numbers 1 & 3.
 
I'm getting 27V between TBL1 and TBL2, TBL1 and TBR1, TBL1 and TBR3. However I'm getting zero voltage between TBL1 and all of the TBLs up to #8. I am getting 27V between TBL2 and all of the TBLs up to #8.

Also, the black contact cutout DID pull in when the warming up timer finished and the unit called for heat.
 
If the cutout did pull in, did the compressor start or just the fan? If just the fan, measure resistance from L1 to L2, L1 to L3 and L2 to L3 and also measure resistance from L1 to ground, L2 to ground and L3 to ground. You can do this with the power OFF.
 

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I don't think the compressor made any noise, although the fan might be drowning it out. Otherwise I think it's just the fan blowing the whole time while it's warming up, and the compressor didn't start at all. I measured less than 1 ohm of resistance between L1 and L2. And about 1 ohm between L1 and L3, and L2 and L3. I'm getting zero resistance between any of the L's and the ground (green wire at the bottom, right?)
 
Sounds like a compressor problem. There should be a difference between L1 to L2 and L2 to L3 and L1 to L3 should add up to the total of the two. Looks like shorted compressor windings. How old is the heater? Compressor warranty is usually either 5 or 10 years, but may not include labor and other costs. Shorted windings are indicative of a burnup and require extra measures make sure that all of the byproducts produced by the burnt windings are removed from the system or the replacement compressor will also fail in a short time
 
Like I mentioned a compressor replacement on a burnout is tricky and somewhat difficult especially on a heat pump. What has happened is that the compressor motor windings have shorted and burnt up the copper windings insulation, leaving debris and possibly acid in the closed system. If possible you should monitor the compressor replacement to make sure that it is done correctly. Step 1 recover the refrigerant from the system. Step 2 remove the compressor. Step 3 install the new compressor. Step 4 replace or install a new liquid line filter/drier. Step 5 Install a suction filter/drier ( this can be tricy as there is not always a lot of space in a heat pump to do this ). Step 6 Evacuate the system to 500 microns and let it sit for 15 minutes ( if it holds 500 microns for 15 minutes= good, if it rises to 750 microns there is water in the system ( and you need to continue evacuating until it holds at 500 microns) and if it rises above 750 microns there is a leak ). Also, best practices indicate that you should flush air out of the system with dry nitrogen before brazing any copper line joints to prevent copper oxides from forming inside of the copper tubing. Step 7 recharge the system with new refrigerant ( usually by weight of refrigerant listed on the unit nameplate ). Step 8 run the heater for a short period of time (10-15 minutes ). Step 9 do an acid test on the system and neutralize if it shows acid in the system. Step 10 return after 5-7 days of running the system on an ongoing/regular basis and check for an excessive pressure drop across the liquid line and suction filter/driers. If excessive pressure drop is noted , replace filter/driers as needed. This will help insure that the replacement compressor will not die early on you for the remainder of the compressor warranty ( it does not reset to 10 more years with the replacement compressor ), as you do not want to go through this process again!
 
As to cost, you will probably be charged for filter/driers, refrigerant and labor. This can add up to a significant amount! Get the costs before giving an OK to the compressor replacement and weigh it against the cost of a new heat pump. If you replace the heat pump keep the old unit for its parts.
 
Compressor replacement can run $1,000 - $1,500 in labor and if the compressor is not under warranty then another $1,000 - $1,500 for the compressor.
 
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