Help with AutoClear SWG

Hello,
I have an AutoClear SWG, about 4 years old. I believe Polaris bought out this company a year or 2 ago.
I have had it working for 3 years now, totally set it and forget it kind of a thing. It wants 3000pmm salt, it has a low salt light on it and all. I usually only have to run it 2/3 hours in the early season, especially with the solar cover on it. It worked fine all of last season up to closing the pool for the winter.

This year I opened my pool, had it gin clear for a few weeks, using bleach. I added 160 pound salt after my pool store said it was at 2250 to start with, so should have been over 3000 using the supplied chart. (My salt water test kit, supplied from here has not ever worked, problem with the drippers or something, never heard anything from Ben about how to resolve it...but that is another story...)

So....I set the SWG to run for 2 hours, left the cover on and checked a week later to find big time cloudy water...I have NEVER had cloudy water after I have had my pool open. So now I am dumping a LOT of bleach in this pool over the last few days to get it clear again, I finally saw some progress today....that is another story.

This unit has a self test button, the volts/amps and whatever else it checks is fine per the manual and the self test. I probably need to check the salt level again, but I am pretty sure it is very close to slightly over the recommended level. I always clean the plates/device with acid and spray them off good, even though there is usually no noticable scale on them every spring. I have had it running 24 hours straight since Saturday because I need the chlorine now and I have to keep dumping bleach, I know the funk in the pool is eating the chlorine but I would not think that much. I had like 1 FC in the pool while ago when I got home, it was over 15 when I left this morning...

So....other than testing the water after it finally clears up...how can I besure it is working?
What kind of voltage should be going to the plates when it is running? AC/DC?
If there is voltage on the plates and the salt level is good what else is there to check on a SWG to verify it is working?

thanks Kevin

pH and Stabilizer levels. Seeing that you've had to add salt, you should also have to add stabilizer as both are reduced in pretty much the same manner.

Also, have you added any other chemicals to your pool? Algae treatments?

Hello,

My CYA is at 50/60, where I have kept it since last year.
My ph is at 7.6, but it might have been a little higher, 7.8/7.9 when I the cloudy-ness started.

I have added some chlorine pucks to my inline feeder and some oxi-shock stuff I had laying around, 2 pounds, both last evening.

So...are you saying I need good Ph/CYA/Salt numbers for my SWG to work properly?

thanks Kevin

You need good Salt, Cya, and pH for the system to maintain a good residual. However, there are other parameters that are important too. Maintaining your water to ensure water chemistry balance, according to the Saturation Index, will ensure that your cell is scale free. These parameters include Total Alkalininty and Calcium Hardness (along with pH and water temp).
Cya is important for protecting the chlorine from degradation of the Sun's UV.

Get your water retested for salinity to ensure that you are around 3000 ppm.

The funky smell is usually due to high combined chlorine levels or stagnant water.
Cloudiness is usually due to chlorination and/or filtration, or a combination of high pH, total alkalinity and calcium Hardness levels.

As your system is about 4 yrs old, you may want to consider replacing the cell. They typically last 3 - 5 years.