VSF Pump Randomly Shuts Off

[Hadiguy05]

I have a 3 week old Pentair VSF pump. It's connected to my intellicenter. Randomly the pump shuts off, but the chlorinator stays powered on (doesn't generate because of no flow). The relay doesn't turn off, I don't have an egg timer set for the relay. The drive doesn't show an alarm code, and the pump breaker isn't tripped. Any ideas what's going on to cause this? I called Pentair and they suggested I do a factory reset on the pump. Any ideas on how to do that?

Thanks!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I'm referring this to our Pentair Pump Guru @Jimrahbe ...... hang tight.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

I have this in my notes to reset an IntelliFlo. Sorry if it seems a little "iffy" but I believe this is what I've done in the past. This will have to be done in Service mode or with the serial cable disconnected so the pump panel & buttons are enabled. Crack your knuckles and limber up your fingers.

1. Ensure pump power is on and green LED is lit.
2. Press all 4 Speed buttons at once, (hold 4 seconds?), then release.
3. Press Speed 2 and Speed 3 along with Select and Escape.
4. See "Application Set Up" on display. Press Select.
5. Power cycle the pump?

Also, if your pump is controlled by a relay, it shouldn't be. It should get constant power. If it's currently connected to the Load side of the relay, simply move the wires to the Line side. The SWCG should be connected to the Load side and be controlled by the relay.

 

[Hadiguy05]

@Rocket J Squirrel thanks! Sorry for the confusion, the pump is not powered by the relay, but by the circuit that controls the relay (communications) sends speed commands to the pump and SWCG % output commands to the SWCG. The relay stays engaged so I know its not an egg timer issue telling the pump and SWCG to turn off. I hope this is a little more clear.

 

[Jimrahbe]

05,

Just to be clear... Every Circuit has an egg-timer.. The default is 12 hours unless you set it to something else.

Tell me, or show me, your schedules and pump speeds.

Next time it happens, leave everything the way it is and go look at the pump.. Does the pump's display say "Display Not Active" or is it in the standalone mode??

With the system in the Pool mode and the cell running, put the system in the Service mode. Go look at the equipment.. Is the pump in the Standalone mode or does it say "Display not active"? Are all the lights on the cell off.."??

Are you letting the system run automatically, or are you manually turning the Pool or Spa circuit on?

I have never seen a case where the pump turns itself on and off when controlled by the automation...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Hadiguy05]

05,

Just to be clear... Every Circuit has an egg-timer.. The default is 12 hours unless you set it to something else.

Tell me, or show me, your schedules and pump speeds.

Next time it happens, leave everything the way it is and go look at the pump.. Does the pump's display say "Display Not Active" or is it in the standalone mode??

With the system in the Pool mode and the cell running, put the system in the Service mode. Go look at the equipment.. Is the pump in the Standalone mode or does it say "Display not active"? Are all the lights on the cell off.."??

Are you letting the system run automatically, or are you manually turning the Pool or Spa circuit on?

I have never seen a case where the pump turns itself on and off when controlled by the automation...

Thanks,

Jim R.

@Jimrahbe ,

Thank you for the feedback. I do not run schedules. Everything is manual. Yes, the default egg timer is 12 hours. However, I did change it to where there isn't one. I can take a picture of that later. In pool mode the pump runs 1550RPM (187 to 197W) which is what I need as the lowest value for the HP to function correctly. When this event happens I check the display on the drive and it says "display not active". I physically have to disconnect the communications cable to check for faults/alarms on the pump. I let the system run manually (set it and forget it). I push the pool button it runs at 1550RPM at my desired SWCG output. When I use other speeds, I have circuits for those as well. I have disabled the egg timers on those too. When I am done operating at those speeds I turn off those circuits and then turn pool off and back on (it's really not necessary to do that, but I do anyhow). When I put it into service mode the pump shuts off and acts as if the communication cable isn't installed (goes into stand alone) AND the SWCG is completely off (no lights). I heard the relay click disabling the SWCG power.

 

[Hadiguy05]

Shows egg timer disabled for pool.

 

[Hadiguy05]

@Jimrahbe I haven't had a nuisance trip yet, since I posted this. As soon as it happens I'll take pictures.

 

[Jimrahbe]

05,

It is your pool and you can run it anyway you want...

But.. I do not understand why you are not letting the system run schedules.. It just makes no sense to me...

Anyway, glad it is running well for now,

Jim R.

 

[Hadiguy05]

I may/will run schedules, but didn't want to introduce another variable until this was resolved. Also, I wanted to have a good understanding of what I actually needed before creating schedules. I do look forward to your expertise @Jimrahbe if this happens again.

 

[Hadiguy05]

@Jimrahbe it did it again today. Not consistent with it being 24 hours since the last time I pushed pool. I'm attaching pictures. The "pool" was still active, the SWCG was still powered on, the drive panel should no faults and was in display not active, the motor case was not hot. I am at a loss.

I should note that after I restarted the pump the water temp immediately went back down to 88F.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

I should note that after I restarted the pump the water temp immediately went back down to 88F.

That's normal. The unmoving water was heating up in your pipes from the sun; restarting the pump drew in cooler pool water.

Did you try the pump reset procedure I posted above?

 

[Jimrahbe]

05,

The fact that the pump's display says "Display Not Active" and the cell lights being on, indicates that the Pump/Filter relay did not deenergize and the that the system was still in the Pool mode.

As hard as it is to believe, I think the pump itself is bad.. Most likely it has to do with the RS-485 communications.. We have seen a couple of times lately, where half of the 2-way com port dies and the pump "appears" to communicate but does not know what speed to run. My guess is that the bad part is intermittent and that is why it works sometimes and not others.

It does not appear to me that the system is telling the pump to shut off, so it has to be the pump itself.

Thanks for all your troubleshooting efforts..

Jim R.

 

[Hadiguy05]

That's normal. The unmoving water was heating up in your pipes from the sun; restarting the pump drew in cooler pool water.

Did you try the pump reset procedure I posted above?

I have not yet, I wanted to see it fail again to post on here. I will try in the morning your method and see if it changes.

@Jimrahbe, that was my fear.....

My question is, is there a way to see if it's the communication card in the intellicenter or if its the communication card in the VSF?

Within 3 weeks I have a bad microbrite LED and a bad pump... what a way to start our new pool. Lol

 

[Jimrahbe]

My question is, is there a way to see if it's the communication card in the intellicenter or if its the communication card in the VSF?

05,

I am sure if you had the right equipment your could, but for the average pool owner like me, it would be difficult. If it was a constant failure it would be easier, but since it is so intermittent the only way would be to swap pumps.. or IC cards..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Hadiguy05]

@Jimrahbe thanks for all your input.

 

[HermanTX]

@Jimrahbe thanks for all your input.

In another thread, a member was having issues with pump and several service techs informed him to buy a new pump. He continued to do his own troubleshooting and found that the RS485 wire had a short in it. He cut out the bad section and all is working.

I a newbie to VS pumps but seems like an easy and less costly next step would be to inspect your communication cable. Just my opinion.

 

[Hadiguy05]

@HermanTX, I have a multimeter so I can check to see if I have any shorts in the cables. Good idea

 

[Hadiguy05]

@Rocket J Squirrel holding the 1,2,3,4 got into a "backdoor" mode but the rest of the sequence did not work. I'll call pentair Monday to find out what it is and update in this thread.

 

[Hadiguy05]

@Rocket J Squirrel and @Jimrahbe here it is for VSF. MODS do you want these instructions elsewhere? These came straight from Pentair with photos from my experience.

VSF Factory Default instructions.
1. Ensure pump is in stand alone mode, power on, pump at 0 speed (no run command)
2. Press and release 1,2,3,4 (all at same time)
3. You'll see "back door" factory reset press select.
4. You'll see qty 4 #0. Push up button to change from a 0 to 1.
5. Push save.
6. Validate its in a "1" state
7. Turn off power for 2 minutes.
8. Turn power back on and check to see if it says 0 RPM.
9. Return pump to either standalone or remote control mode