Six month old Jandy PLC1400 smoking/melting rubber wire connector?

[gsxrken]

Just before I closed my pool this past fall, I smelled rubber burning. Sure enough, the top of my Jandy PLC1400 SWG was smoking... for whatever reason it (or the wiring) got so hot that the 3 prong plug that goes onto the 3 pins on the unit was melting the cable. I disconnected it and figured I’d deal with it over the winter.
Any ideas what this could be? I think the unit is still under the 1 year warranty, but then I see they Jandy on,y warranty things if a professional installed the unit?
this is my second $700 SWG in less than 9 years. And I had to change the cell on it twice as well. Not happy

 

[JamesW]

Do you have a picture of the cell prongs?

Did you replace the power cord when you replaced the cell?

 

[gsxrken]

Do you have a picture of the cell prongs?
Did you replace the power cord when you replaced the cell?

thanks James. I will check tonight and take some pics. I know the entire new PLC1400 unit I bought came with a new cord, but I probably didn’t swap it out. Why do you ask?

 

[JamesW]

The prongs are sealed by O-rings and a compression plate held down by two screws.

The problem is that the O-rings can leak, which creates a corrosive mix of water, salt, hydrogen gas and chlorine gas.

This corrosion increases the resistance of the connection and generates a lot of heat due to the high current of 6 to 8 amps.

In my opinion, the prongs should be completely and permanently sealed by molding the plastic around the prongs.

This would greatly reduce or eliminate the problem.

In any case, the center prong is the most common point of failure.

You can usually see evidence of a leak when you know to look for it.

When replacing the cell, it's important to replace the power cord so that the connections are clean and the resistance is minimized.

 

[gsxrken]

 

[gsxrken]

 

[gsxrken]

I’d say you nailed it. Center prong.
I did reuse the old cord and do have the new uninstalled power cord. i bought the SWG on 5/18/19, so my warranty will be up before I open the pool and learn if the cell is still good. You think I’ll be alright with just a cord swap?

 

[JamesW]

The O-ring seal around the center pin failed and caused the corrosion.

If it's under warranty, file a claim.

If you remove the two screws, you can pry up the compression plate and see the Oring, but don't do it if you're going to file a warranty claim.

 

[gsxrken]

I will file a claim. I just looked at my old one and got excited that I could remove those two screws and swap the 3 prong assembly with the old one which wasn’t harmed, but it turns out my old one’s center post was broken off underneath. Which is undoubtedly why that one stopped working.
there’s really not too much to these things - how they $700 is a crime.

 

[JamesW]

The prongs are welded to the plates. So, you can't swap them in any case.

In my opinion, it's a design defect that should be fixed.