time to replace?

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midtngal

midtngal

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Oct 26, 2007
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I probably already know the answer here but just want to verify before I go spend more money... :) My SWG is still the original one the PB installed in 2008. Haven't had a problem with it EVER. I have never used anything but BBB. All of a sudden it is saying there is no power (that light isn't lit) but it shows my readings. I have unplugged it and plugged it back in...no change. The flow light isn't lit either. It seems to be reading my salt fine...showing the increase as I have added some, but it doesn't appear to be generating chlorine...keep having issues keeping it up. So, 6 years is about as long as I can expect it to last, right? Time to bite the bullet and replace it??

Thanks,
Karen
 
Well, there's a novel idea! :) I have the manual! Don't know why I didn't think to look there first! But, in looking there, I think it has pretty much told me what I didn't want to hear...my cell has died! I changed the fuse even though it didn't look blown and still no lights. When I run through the numbers, the cell voltage and cell current both say "0" when it should be reading something since I have it set to 100%. Grrr.... Thanks for your help!
 
Yeah, I did. It's only in the last couple of weeks that I've seen issues though. I had to keep it turned down because it would produce TOO much chlorine! Everything is clean as a whistle so guess it's just at the end of it's life...sniff...sniff! :) So, I'm looking at the ones online and want to make sure I'm getting the correct one. My cell says T-15 on it. When I look this up, I see a Hayward that's for Aquarite, Hayward, etc. that says it's for a 40K size pool. When I choose the one for a 15K pool, it says I will be ordering the cell T-3. Is that right? Have I just had to bigger capacity one instead of the right size one? Don't want to hit "place order" until I'm sure! Thanks for your help!
 
Well....I came across a site nocellpower.com...anyone heard of this one? It kinda described what I had going on...no readings or lights for the cell. It tells of a Hayward issue that a lot of people have had in that their system is telling them no cell power and all it takes is a small fix but that either Hayward doesn't know about it or doesn't want anyone else to know how easy a fix it is. So, before I hit that "place order" button, I decided to investigate. I pulled the front off the motherboard of the salt system and found this piece had corroded to the point that it broke off in my hand...

photo2.jpg~original


photo3.jpg~original


Here's where it was connected...



photo5.jpg~original


Anyone know what this is and if this is replaceable...or am I looking at a new motherboard?

Thanks!!!
 
Pretty sure that is a varistor (voltage dependant resistor) which may be used for inrush current limiting. If you can read the codes off it you should be able to replace it (eBay or digikey would be my first stops).
 
Thanks for the info! I think you're right... I'm a little overwhelmed with all that is out there on these! I may not be searching correctly, but I'm not finding any info that pertains to this in a SWG. I see plenty on MOVs and what they do but nothing that points me in the direction of which one I should get and then how to go about putting it in. I'm assuming I should be getting a 220v since that is how the electrician set my system up....at least with the capability of 220. I think everything is running on 110 with 220 available. Can someone steer me in the right direction so I get the correct thing?


Thank you!
 

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Will do! I leave next Sat for vacation so I probably won't deal with it until I get back. Unless of course by some miracle I am actually ahead of schedule in my getting ready to leave....yeah, nah...that'll be week after next before I deal with it! :D I appreciate all your help! The part was $2.30 so if this doesn't work...who cares! :D
 
I had the same problem. No power light, but the numeric reading was working. I replaced the part cited above - $2.49 at Digikey. It worked! The system came on and worked for about 10 days. Now, the power light is off again. Maybe it is the inrush part again, but doesn't that seem odd -- it lasted only 10 days? Any other suggestions of what I should look for? I've replaced the whole board twice in 8 years, since I didn't know about this fix earlier. If there is another problem, why did this fix work for 10 days?
 
Okay...I'm back and have been looking at the videos on how to do this....seems simple enough. I do have a question though...the "leads" (I don't know what they are called! :) The 2 wires that come out of this thing..) are obviously longer than is needed. I can just cut them to length, right? That won't mess anything up will it?
 
No it wont mess anything up.
Just remove the old leads off the circuit board and install the current limiter with the bottom of it about 1/8" off the circuit board. After soldering the new limiter in place, just cut off the excess length of the leads so it looks like the other parts on the board.
If you have problems with this, come back here and let us know, someone can walk you through this easily enough.
 
Okay, went to Radio Shack, bought their kit, soldered the piece onto the board.....

Here's the front....

solderpic2.jpg~original


And here's the back....

solderpic1.jpg~original


My questions now are... 1) do I need to let this dry before I put it all together? It's probably dry before I finish this post so that may be a moot point! AND 2) are the scratches on the back a problem? The solder pen got away from me a little bit and it scratched the surface. I noticed that there are lines there and from one of the videos I watched (although on a TV panel and not a SWG panel but I'm assuming the same logic...), the guy said not to "hurt" those...

Well, I'm off to see if my handy-work did the trick!

Thanks for your help!
 
Well, unfortunately that either wasn't the problem or I messed it up with the scratches. It still is showing no power but does show a water temperature and a salt reading. Is it safe to assume I just need a new motherboard?
 
Sorry to hear that this was a fail. I have to congratulate you on a fairly good solder job, my first time looked like a train wreck in college. :)
Take a good hard look at the "lines". Those lines are actually copper plate that the electricity flows through to the different components on the board. Think of those lines as a wire. If you scratched one of those lines through the copper plate, the wire got broken.
Well Google your SWG and see what a replacement board will cost vs a new system. I have a feeling that the board is going to be quite costly so you might be better off just replacing the whole unit.
Again, sorry for the fail....
 

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