- Jul 28, 2024
- 1
- Pool Size
- 14000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-9)
The takeaway from the novel below is don ‘t trust the Hayward salt cell testing device at pool stores.
I was troubleshooting a Hayward Aqua Rite chlorine generator with a T-9 salt cell. The issue was that it kept reporting low salt levels and the levels would drop and turn the generator off (check salt and no flow lights). The instant salt reading was reporting between 1800 and 2100 ppm. The Taylor test showed it at 3300 ppm.
I acid cleaned the 3.5 year old salt cell. There was a little scaling in the cell but not much. The beautifully cleaned salt cell did not fix the issue.
Next, I took the salt cell to the local pool shop and using a Hayward tester it passed the test. They said that the issue was in the main controller board and that would need to be replaced. For a second opinion I took the salt cell to a different pool shop and it was retested. It passed there also. I was told that if the cell passed it was good…so it must be something else.
I eliminated the power supply (good voltages) and the flow sensor from being the issue.
The second pool shop said that they could test the controller board so I brought it in. The board passed the test. Upon deeper questioning I found that the test only showed that the board ‘booted up’ and controlled the LCD display, not that it correctly processed data from the salt cell. This may show a failure if it had a lightning hit but not a component failure (nothing looked fried). Thinking that it might be a little oxidation preventing a good connection between the board and wire connections I cleaned all of the contacts and reinstalled the board. The low salt reading issue persisted.
Based on this it seemed likely that the issue was with the controller board since it could not be thoroughly tested. I replaced it with a shiny, new Rev B board from the Hayward store. The low salt reading issue remained. For a moment I thought that the display came up with a laughing icon.
The next day I replaced the T-9 salt cell with a new one and that resolved the issue. The Hayward cell test device at the pool stores miss something. This surprised me because it seems like the cell should be pretty easy to test against a reference cell (see the photo of the testing device). It displayed ‘PASS’ when the test was complete both times. If it can’t test the current salt level, what is it testing, only the temperature? They may be 100% accurate if they display FAIL, but PASS might mean take a pass.
Living 30 yards away from the lightning capitol of the USA I kept the working Rev A board as a spare.
Maybe this will help someone fighting a similar issue.
I was troubleshooting a Hayward Aqua Rite chlorine generator with a T-9 salt cell. The issue was that it kept reporting low salt levels and the levels would drop and turn the generator off (check salt and no flow lights). The instant salt reading was reporting between 1800 and 2100 ppm. The Taylor test showed it at 3300 ppm.
I acid cleaned the 3.5 year old salt cell. There was a little scaling in the cell but not much. The beautifully cleaned salt cell did not fix the issue.
Next, I took the salt cell to the local pool shop and using a Hayward tester it passed the test. They said that the issue was in the main controller board and that would need to be replaced. For a second opinion I took the salt cell to a different pool shop and it was retested. It passed there also. I was told that if the cell passed it was good…so it must be something else.
I eliminated the power supply (good voltages) and the flow sensor from being the issue.
The second pool shop said that they could test the controller board so I brought it in. The board passed the test. Upon deeper questioning I found that the test only showed that the board ‘booted up’ and controlled the LCD display, not that it correctly processed data from the salt cell. This may show a failure if it had a lightning hit but not a component failure (nothing looked fried). Thinking that it might be a little oxidation preventing a good connection between the board and wire connections I cleaned all of the contacts and reinstalled the board. The low salt reading issue persisted.
Based on this it seemed likely that the issue was with the controller board since it could not be thoroughly tested. I replaced it with a shiny, new Rev B board from the Hayward store. The low salt reading issue remained. For a moment I thought that the display came up with a laughing icon.
The next day I replaced the T-9 salt cell with a new one and that resolved the issue. The Hayward cell test device at the pool stores miss something. This surprised me because it seems like the cell should be pretty easy to test against a reference cell (see the photo of the testing device). It displayed ‘PASS’ when the test was complete both times. If it can’t test the current salt level, what is it testing, only the temperature? They may be 100% accurate if they display FAIL, but PASS might mean take a pass.
Living 30 yards away from the lightning capitol of the USA I kept the working Rev A board as a spare.
Maybe this will help someone fighting a similar issue.
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