Problem with Mineral Springs unit (aka Aquarite)

[cmcq]

From prior readings, I believe the Mineral Springs equipment is the same as the Aquarite from Goldline. I'm having 2 problems with the unit and I can't tell if they're connected or not (although I suspect they are). This is the 4th year for the unit which was installed when the pool was built.

The first problem I noticed is that the "check cell" and "check minerals" lights on the control unit are constantly lit. I checked the cell and it appeared to be okay. There was some light brown residue on the exit side but that all came off easily. I washed with h2o/acid while I had it off just to be sure. I then reconnected the unit and turned it back on. Check cell and check minerals weren't lit, but when I hit the button to cycle through the readings, I heard a "click" and "Check cell" and "check minerals" came back on (2nd problem). I unplugged, checked the fuse, waited, reconnected the unit and the same thing happened again. Nothing has changed with wiring or fuses or setup or anything since last year, and the manual I was given is completely useless. Any ideas how to identify and fix?

In the meantime, I'm assuming no chlorine is being generated and am using sticks, but I don't want to continue to do that, esp as it gets hotter.

Thanks
Charlie

[waste]

Unfortunately, this does not sound good For some reason the cell isn't reading the salt in the pool and as such is hoping that the cells are just clogged. It is not producing with the lights on solid - you can TRY to hit and hold the diagnostic button for ~ 5 seconds. If that doesn't work, you can kill the power to the unit for ~30 seconds to reset the control board. I am not optimistic that either of these will work, but it's something you can do easily yourself. If it is still performing (or failing to perform) the same way give Goldline tech support a call (you'll want to have a cell or cordless phone and be at the unit - bring a good book, they are often slow - War and Peace comes to mind for the amount of time you'll be holding

Please post back your results!

[cmcq]

Thanks. I'll give those things a shot. Unfortunately, I've already had the unit powered off and back on which I hoped would reset it, but maybe I didn't have it off long enough. Is there any scenario where the salt is so low that it causes issues like this? When the pool company opened the pool (yes I know I need to learn how to do this myself), I think they only add 100 lbs of salt into my 22k gallon pool b/c they said the reading on the salt was pretty close to the target range. If they were wrong and it was really low, would that make a difference? Finally, do you think I can make any use out of the numbers that appear on the unit when the I cycle through them even though the Check Cell is on? If so, should I post them?

[cmcq]

I tried the diagnostic button and killed the power as described above, but no luck. The unit was installed Oct 04 so it is still under some warranty. I'll try Goldline tech support and also the pool builder to see what they say about how to deal with it.

Side question - does anyone know what the different readings are on the unit? When it was working, I knew which was the mineral reading and which was temp, but didn't know the rest of them.

Thanks

[waste]

I don't have my service manual handy but from memory:

Push #1 is temp
#2 is volts
#3 is amps
#4 is % output
#5 is instant salinity (with a "-" in front of it
#6 is the unit model and #7 is the software revision #