Pool Pilot error message: "warning check/clean cell"

[CarlD]

Poolsean is very knowledgeable about SWCGs and is always willing to help. We have many people with different expertises, depending on the nature of your pool and the nature of the question.

That's just the way we like it at PF!

[Poolsean]

Don,
I got your e-mail and responded to you there. Feel free to cut and paste my response. If you didn't get it, here's a summary.

The amps and volts should be within a certain range, when operating properly. This is usually either 5.0 amps (cell power 1), 6.5 amps (cell power 2), or 8.0 amps (cell power 3), and the voltage range is based on the cell size:
SC-36 (RC35/22) = 17 -21 volts
SC-48 (RC42) = 21 - 27 volts
SC-60 (RC52) = 20 - 26 volts

As the cell gets worn down or scaled, the water temperature gets cold, or the salt level drops, the voltage will increase to about 28 - 29 volts, at which point the amperage will drop. The SC-36 cell will usually start dropping the amperage at around 25 volts (instead of 29).
So, with the volt increase/amp decrease AND the visible physical erosion of the edges of the terminal blades (these are the two outer blades, and with the SC-60 the center blade too), these two conditions indicate a worn out cell in need of replacement.

The amperage should be consistent with the Cell Power setting and may deviate about 5%.

When the amperage AND voltage are both lower than the normal range, it indicates either that the incoming voltage is not matched to the voltage setting on the circuit board, or there's a power module failure.
Unmatched voltage: The circuit board comes from the factory set for 220 volts. If there is only 110 volts to the board still wired for 220 volts, you would see the volts and amps running at about half the normal range. This is more common with new installations.
This can occur with older 220 volt installations due to a bad circuit breaker sending just one leg of power to the Pool Pilot, that is, 110 volts to a 220 volt wired circuit board.
Bad circuit board: Once you've tested and adjusted everything else (clean cell, correct salt level, water temperature above 75 degrees) and have verified the voltage is correct, then it's usually a bad power module (PN# 16084).