Pool renovation - Moved from Jandy to Pentair Intellicenter I8SIC60 automation - missing options?

[RichTJ99]

Hi,

I went from a Jandy automation system to a Pentair Intellicenter I8SIC60 (vendor made a custom IC60 package for me).

I have:
Pentair VS Pump
Jandy Booster (for cleaner) (aux2)
Raypak heater (Aux4)
Lights (Aux 1)
Spa air blower (aux 3)
IC60 salt generator
My pool has a spa & pool area

I did the installation of my Jandy in 2013 myself. This time during the renovation my electrician did the installation but am having some issues. I am following some youtube videos such as this one:

My Intellicenter has an intake & return on the board which is where i plugged the intellivalve modules. When I went through the setup wizard, i have valve A & valve B as an option but no intake or return valve selections available.

1. Intellivalves - I followed this video:

which shows how to program. The steps seem to be program the spa section, then the pool section, hit save & then goto auto - this makes sense to me.
- I just dont get why I dont see intake & return but do see A & B for the valve options in the software. The valves are plugged into the intake / return spots on the board.

2. Wireless controller (Pentair Intellicenter Wireless Remote W/ Charging Cradle 522036 | PoolSupply4Less) - I got this so no one needed an app at the pool. I have it wired into Com port J5 (I have tried J4 also but didnt work). I have set the main unit & wireless unit to may different channels (24, 21, 19, etc) - I dont really get why it doesnt see my panel.

I have hard wired ethernet to the panel & can access everything online but would like to allow visitors to work the pool without me - I have no idea why it doesn't work.

- I dont see anything to 'link' the two.


Other item - hope it is not an issue BUT - my electrician had teh com port J4 connected to com port the intellichlor SCG port Jp2 . It does look like it should have been jumped over to the SCG board JP4 - currently the jumper (Com J4 is not connected to anything on the SCG board but i can move it to JP4).

Anyway I have other questions but the missing valve options & the wireless remote not connecting are confusing to say the least. I am very comfortable with wiring & setup - i was trying to make it easy on myself by hiring a professional but they are not really pool guys.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Jimrahbe]

Rich,

The operation of the Intake and Return valves are fixed.. Just plug them in and they work.

Valve A and B are for other things like water features, etc..

Some of the IntelliCenter guys can get you help on the other items

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[RichTJ99]

Attached are the main panel photos - just some of them - not sure if maybe something obvious is likely unplugged - or in the wrong spot?

Also attaching some wireless module photos - I did make some changes:

SCG now has com jumper going from main board J4 to SCG board - JP4 as per manual.

Wireless control module Com port is now on JP2 (on SCG board) - Pentair Pump is on J5 on main board.

 

[ajw22]

- I just dont get why I dont see intake & return but do see A & B for the valve options in the software. The valves are plugged into the intake / return spots on the board.

As Jim said, Pentair does not expose INTAKE and RETYRN valves to you since their functions are hard coded and you cannot access them.

2. Wireless controller (Pentair Intellicenter Wireless Remote W/ Charging Cradle 522036 | PoolSupply4Less) - I got this so no one needed an app at the pool. I have it wired into Com port J5 (I have tried J4 also but didnt work). I have set the main unit & wireless unit to may different channels (24, 21, 19, etc) - I dont really get why it doesnt see my panel.

You have the panel and the remote on the same channel?



What firmware level is in your IntelliCenter panel?

What firmware level is in your Wireless Remote?

They must be the same.

 

[RichTJ99]

Hi

Thank you for the help.

The main unit and wireless unit are both on the same firmware and both on channel 21. I am not sure why it won't automatically connect as I am sitting in the room with the equipment I thought it would be sort of simple.

I have no idea if there's a possibility that the scg going from J2 to JP4 on the main board could have closed an issue?

The board it's plugged into I toggled it between host and repeater doesn't seem to make a difference.

I'm certainly open for any suggestions.

In terms of the intake and return valves is there any way to manually toggle them so I could see if they're plugged into the right ports?

Of course nothing's labeled but if I could just hit the port button to turn the intake and return actuator valve switches on I could figure which is which.

Thanks again
Rich

 

[ajw22]

In terms of the intake and return valves is there any way to manually toggle them so I could see if they're plugged into the right ports?

In the Outdoor Control panel you can go into SERVICE mode.

In Manual Circuit Control if you hit the page down arrow you should find entries for your valves including INTAKE and RETURN. Select one and it will turn that valve.

I would go out to my panel and take a pic but there are storms rolling though.



I don't have the Wireless Remote. I put in a wired Indoor Control Panel which is the identical display except hard wired to the outdoor panel.

If you want to show me pics of your Wireless Remote installation I might see somethings. Show me the antenna install and the connector where you wired the RS-485 from the antenna to. People often get wrong the yellow and green wires and swap them.

What firmware level do you have on your system?

 

[RichTJ99]

Hi,

So I went up (also avoiding the storms) - thanks for taking a look. The firmware level on both units is 1.064. Of course i forgot to test the actuators when i went up - been a long weekend but will do so in the morning.

So the wiring is a mess - will talk to the electrician about cleaning it up. I wouldnt mind if it was my mess but ....

We had a fairly large pool party on Saturday so the goal was just getting it functional in service mode (worked great) but now i want to get the automation working properly. I found installing the Jandy myself was a great learning experience so dont mind double checking the electricians work.

Pentair Remote 1-4 JPG's are of the transceiver (host or repeater mode options) - channels are the same but still not working. Currently plugged into SCG Com port J2.

SCG Error Message 1-2 jpg's show the SCG giving an error - i dont think i turned it on as we didnt add salt yet - pool guy is coming this week to add salt for me.

SCG Wiring 1, 2, 3 jpgs - shows the wiring

Tripped breaker 1,2,3 jpgs - this is new. It was tripped, i reset the breaker, then reset the black 'reset' button on the panel then the breaker tripped again. Not sure whats happening but those wires go to the other side of the building in a conduit so i will talk to the electrician

VS pump - i wired this & seems to work OK - able to change speeds, etc.

Heater - works & is tested BUT the drill in water temp sensor isnt in yet - another item for next week.

Intellivalve.jpg - plugged in - green/yellow arent?

Other wiring - misc photos of all the wiring.

Thanks again for looking!

Rich

 

[RichTJ99]

Ran out of attachment space - sorry for the extra post.

 

[ajw22]

Some observations:

If your Intellichlor does not have communication and you have the remote connected to the Intellichlor surge card it is likely that is why the remote antenna is not communicating.

That 18V CB popped may also be part of your problem. I would get the 18V CB working first before anything else.

Power down the Intellicenter and pull every connector off the board except for the connector that powers the board and see if the 18V CB resets. If it does not then you have a fault in the board.

If it does reset then power down the Intellicenter and connect one connector. Power it up and see if the CB pops. Repeat for each connector until you find the one that is causing the CB to pop.

Once you get the 18V CB resolved. You can put two wires under each RS-485 screw. Move the remote antenna wire to a connector on the main board and share the connection.

I have to go back and stare at your pics more to see what is going on with the Intellichlor communication. The wires are a jumble and difficult to see all the connections.

 

[RichTJ99]

Thanks - do you think the electrician using the com port 'jumprer' cable from scg jp2 to main panel JP4 could have caused a problem?

It was supposed to go to scg j4 to main panel JP4 which is how I changed it.

Not sure if the scg jp2 to main JP4 might have caused an issue.

Also - initially they used the high power wireless that came with the kit plugging it into the Ethernet port on the board with the 24v wifi poe adapter which was also plugged into the com port as a loop.

I pulled it out as I don't think I need that part at all since I have Ethernet in that room.

 

[RichTJ99]

This is the high power wireless. The cat6 in it went into the power over Ethernet cable - plugs into the 24v wifi port then plugged into the Ethernet.

The com port was plugged into the j3 port on the scg. Jp2 was the jumper cable that went to j4 on the main panel.

 

[ajw22]

Thanks - do you think the electrician using the com port 'jumprer' cable from scg jp2 to main panel JP4 could have caused a problem?

It was supposed to go to scg j4 to main panel JP4 which is how I changed it.

Not sure if the scg jp2 to main JP4 might have caused an issue.

No. All the RS-485 comm connectors are equal. They are just daisy chained together.

The wire from the surge card to the main board connects the three sockets on the surge card with the two on the main board.

Pull off that RS-485 cable between the surge card and the main card and use your multimeter and check for continuity between each end on the screws. I wonder if that cable has a connection problem.

Also - initially they used the high power wireless that came with the kit plugging it into the Ethernet port on the board with the 24v wifi poe adapter which was also plugged into the com port as a loop.

The POE adapter 24V plugs into its own socket on the board.

I pulled it out as I don't think I need that part at all since I have Ethernet in that room.

I will caution you that the wireless link air gaps the Outside Panel from your home network. Quite a few of us, including me, have had IntelliCenter boards and other equipment fried from close by lightning strikes. Those whose panels were hard wired lost a bunch of network equipment. I was not one of those as I use the wireless link. Although the same storm that blew up my IntelliCenter also bricked a garage door opener and the amp for my outdoor wired speakers.

 

[RichTJ99]

So that last breaker doesnt have an aux plugged in - just a breaker. I also noticed this which looks like it was maybe plugged in backwards? Sort of at a standstill at this point as if something this basic was messed up - i really need to redo the entire thing.

Before I go that route - does this look like it was plugged in backwards to anyone else?

 

[ajw22]

Before I go that route - does this look like it was plugged in backwards to anyone else?

Yes. Here is the way that connector is on my system...

 

[RichTJ99]

Yikes - so I did switch the wire to be the same way yours is.

I also noticed when I went in the wizard it detects no expansion cards.

I did call tech support and it sounds like as long as the card is inserted it's automatically detected by the system.

So the fact that the board is plugged in and I don't have an option for spa indicates either a problem with the personality board or the main board.

I also am getting a communication error from the scg board so I'm not sure if it's more likely an issue with all the boards or some of the boards.

I am able to control the pool pump variable speeds so I think the main board might be okay.

I'm glad I took pictures but I don't really know it how this electrician is going to help me.

I did remove and reseat The personality board but that didn't make any difference in the technician at pentair said it's just automatically showed up once it's plugged in.

This may explain why I don't have intake or return as an option and I'm missing four aux options.

I'm not sure how I can troubleshoot the chlorinator but any suggestions would be great.

Thank you
Rich

 

[ogdento]

Yikes, you shouldn't be able to plug the 4-position power connector in backwards unless the "guide" tab on the board is broken off. When you connect it backwards it of course swaps the 24vac and 18vac output from the system transformer... I'm thinking you're ok because if it damaged the on-board power supply that it connects to then your board wouldn't turn on.

I'm curious to see what happens when you connect ONLY the pump, and the wireless transceiver card to your main i5P board (i.e. with the salt cell surge board taken out of the loop as Allen suggested). Since your pump shows a status then we know your comms (rs485) generally work... so hopefully with the surge board removed then the wireless remote will also work.