Polaris Booster Pump not getting power

[Todd_ETX]

Greetings! Last week I noticed my Polaris was not working. The cleaner breaker was tripped. Reset breaker but no joy. My first thought was the booster pump motor is kaput. The motor what spins easily. So next I pulled and replaced the motor capacitor since it's only a $10 part. No joy. I'm running a Pentair Easy Touch BTW. So next I swapped out a spare relay. No joy. I checked the motor and it's not getting power that I can tell. I'm guessing I have something going on with my controller? My filter pump runs fine and on schedule. When I push the manual "cleaner" button on the controller it does not "clunk" like it does when I push the filter pump button. The red LED flashes red rather than constant red. When I go into the Menu on the controller screen, the buttons/functions are sluggish/slow and not acting right. Would a controller reset of some type fix my issue? A new "motherboard" (I'm not sure the actual technical name) would not we welcome as I'm seeing them for around $800. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[1poolman1]

Greetings! Last week I noticed my Polaris was not working. The cleaner breaker was tripped. Reset breaker but no joy. My first thought was the booster pump motor is kaput. The motor what spins easily. So next I pulled and replaced the motor capacitor since it's only a $10 part. No joy. I'm running a Pentair Easy Touch BTW. So next I swapped out a spare relay. No joy. I checked the motor and it's not getting power that I can tell. I'm guessing I have something going on with my controller? My filter pump runs fine and on schedule. When I push the manual "cleaner" button on the controller it does not "clunk" like it does when I push the filter pump button. The red LED flashes red rather than constant red. When I go into the Menu on the controller screen, the buttons/functions are sluggish/slow and not acting right. Would a controller reset of some type fix my issue? A new "motherboard" (I'm not sure the actual technical name) would not we welcome as I'm seeing them for around $800. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Check for power at terminals 1 and 3 of the booster relay. Should be 240v. If the circuit is set up as a booster pump, the Easy Touch usually won't energize the relay until the main pump is on as a way to protect the booster (flashing light).
Plug the relay into a known working socket on the circuit board, like the one for the light if it is working. Press the "light" button. If the relay "clicks" and the pump turns on (don't let it run for more than a few seconds) it may just be the interlock not allowing it to work or a bad board. You could designate "Aux 3" as cleaner (its unused now) and see if that works.

You don't need to remove the bottom screws that hold the board in place, just the top ones and fold the panel down, less chance of damaging something.

 

[Todd_ETX]

Check for power at terminals 1 and 3 of the booster relay. Should be 240v. If the circuit is set up as a booster pump, the Easy Touch usually won't energize the relay until the main pump is on as a way to protect the booster (flashing light).
Plug the relay into a known working socket on the circuit board, like the one for the light if it is working. Press the "light" button. If the relay "clicks" and the pump turns on (don't let it run for more than a few seconds) it may just be the interlock not allowing it to work or a bad board. You could designate "Aux 3" as cleaner (its unused now) and see if that works.

You don't need to remove the bottom screws that hold the board in place, just the top ones and fold the panel down, less chance of damaging something.

Thanks for the reply. Multimeter shows 240V. Plugging in the relay to other sockets gave me a solid red light but the pump did not power up. My pool light also now won't power on and it's led light on the panel is solid as well. It worked last week.
We had some power surges during the ice storm 2 weeks ago and when I think about it, that's when the Polaris quit. The Easy Touch screen was scrambled, but turning off the power brought it back.
So I guess I'm down to a bad board?
Any direction anybody can suggest on a replacement Easy Touch 4 screen?
Thanks for the help.
Cheers

 

[generessler]

HI. I always say this.... Can't help it. PLEASE be careful with mains power. If you're not 100% sure of how to work in a live box, hire someone.

Before you kick in $800 get friendlier with the meter. Remove the connections from the relay coil. Measure the coil resistance (ohms). Should be about 300. If very high or low, the relay is probably bad. That's good. It's not expensive.

If the relay is okay, reconnect it. Put the meter on DC volts, command the box to turn on the booster pump. Measure voltage across relay coil. Should see about 24v (or -24v if you have the leads reversed; no matter). If +-24v is not there, it's the board or the way it's set up. The manual has some diagnostics. Might as well try those to see what they have to say. One other thing to try is visually inspect the board for burned components. If you see any, yeah, the board will need either a rebuild or replacement.

If 24v is there, look for 240v AC at the relay output. (You were measuring input earlier, right?) If not there, again the relay is bad. Replace.

If the 240v is present at the relay output, then either the booster has a problem or the wiring to it. Go to the pump terminals and measure there. If again you see 240v, the booster is the problem. If not, something is broken in the run of wire from the relay to the pump.