socaljoe

Hello all, I know this topic has been covered many times but there is something that doesn't make sense to me and I would greatly appreciate clarification. I have a raised Spa and it drains into the pool when the filter is off. It definitely seems that its going through the Spa return line because it only drains down to the spa return outlets and stops at that point. Even if left for days it will not drain below below the return outlets. So I assume this means it's not going through the drain lines or it would keep draining down. Of course usually the culprit is the check valve that is on the spa return line. This has been replaced and yet it still leaks. I know some people have mentioned that it could be a leak in the 3 way diverter valve. However, if you replace both check valves that are located on the spa return line, I don't understand how a leaking diverter valve can cause the problem if both check valves are working. The way I see it, if both check valves are working, it's impossible for water to flow from the return line to the pool. Even if the diverter valve was totally bad, water would still not flow that direction because of the check valves. I have stared at the pipes and I just don't get it. Anyway, both check valves have been replaced and the spa still drains down to the pool. I don't get it. My pool guy is stymied as well. I did take apart the diverter to do a visual inspection just for kicks and everything looked good. However, I still don't see how water can flow that direction if both check valves are good. Also note, if I put the valves in Spa mode, the water does not drain down, which would be expected because the valves are blocking the return line from the pool. Thank you for any help. Joe

No, we never tried recalibrating the salinity sensor. When we got the low salt reading after replacing the flow sensor, I then rechecked the frontboard and it failed the salinity test. I also had the water checked and it was reading 3.0 gpl but the the aquapure was reading 1.4, so it was way off. So I replaced the front board and now it reads 3.0 gpl and everything works fine.

Thank you for your help. I do have to say, flow sensors going bad, front board going bad, I just don't have a lot of faith in the AquaPure system as far as reliability. I have a small pool (10k gallons) and the Aquapure runs at 30% most of the time for about 6 hours. The Aquapure unit is inside a really nice pool shed so it is protected from sun and rain. Frontboard going bad after 3 years? Seems like they could make these things a little better.

Hello Pool Clown, thank you for being so helpful to everyone. I'm sorry for the delayed reply but for some reason I did not get an email informing me of a reply, however, i did get one on your first post. So not sure what happened. Anyway, he said that it did not change anything immediately when he installed it. It never worked. So he took it out and put back the old one. He thought for sure it was the sensor. Maybe the new sensor was defective? I guess it's possible. Sorry, I meant to say front board. I guess I'm working on computers too much here at work. I emailed Zodiac again and I asked them given the situation, what they thought could be wrong. They said if we replaced the flow sensor and i still get no flow that it must be the front board. Strange that the front board passed the diagnostic tests. Anyway, the pool guy is going to come back and try another flow sensor just to make sure. Thanks again for all the help, I'll update you next week after he tries another flow sensor. Joe Hello All, I thought I would update everyone on my situation, just in case others find it helpful. Well, I replaced the flow sensor with another new flow sensor and I finally got a flow reading. However, now I got a low salt reading on the aquapure (1.4gpl) and thus it would not produce chlorine. I had the water tested and it showed the salinity to be 3.0 gpl. So at this point I was very confused because I had already tested the front board. Anyway, I decided to test the frontboard again because Zodiac said if it's not the flow sensor, it must be the frontboard. So I tested the frontboard again and this time it failed the salinity test. I don't really get it. The only thing I can think is that the frontboard failed between the 1st time I tested and now. (about 2 weeks) So I ordered a new frontboard and replaced it. After that everything worked perfect and it has been working fine for the last week. So I guess the flow sensor was initially bad and then the frontboard went bad after the initial testing. Very strange. Thank you to pool clown for his assistance.

Hello Pool Clown, thank you for being so helpful to everyone. I'm sorry for the delayed reply but for some reason I did not get an email informing me of a reply, however, i did get one on your first post. So not sure what happened. Anyway, he said that it did not change anything immediately when he installed it. It never worked. So he took it out and put back the old one. He thought for sure it was the sensor. Maybe the new sensor was defective? I guess it's possible. Sorry, I meant to say front board. I guess I'm working on computers too much here at work. I emailed Zodiac again and I asked them given the situation, what they thought could be wrong. They said if we replaced the flow sensor and i still get no flow that it must be the front board. Strange that the front board passed the diagnostic tests. Anyway, the pool guy is going to come back and try another flow sensor just to make sure. Thanks again for all the help, I'll update you next week after he tries another flow sensor. Joe

Hello Pool Clown, thank you for being so helpful to everyone. I'm sorry for the delayed reply but for some reason I did not get an email informing me of a reply, however, i did get one on your first post. So not sure what happened. Anyway, he said that it did not change anything immediately when he installed it. It never worked. So he took it out and put back the old one. He thought for sure it was the sensor. Maybe the new sensor was defective? I guess it's possible. Sorry, I meant to say front board. I guess I'm working on computers too much here at work. I emailed Zodiac again and I asked them given the situation, what they thought could be wrong. They said if we replaced the flow sensor and i still get no flow that it must be the front board. Strange that the front board passed the diagnostic tests. Anyway, the pool guy is going to come back and try another flow sensor just to make sure. Thanks again for all the help, I'll update you next week after he tries another flow sensor. Joe

Hi Pool Clown, Thank you so much for your fast response. The salt level shows 3.2 on the control unit and I also took it to Leslie's and they verified it. My pool guy is stumped as well. He tried the new flow sensor and it didnt help. He assumed it was the front board but after testing the motherboard as per the manual, it seems to check out. I called Zodiac and they confirmed that the numbers I got from the test were ok. Thanks, Joe

Hello Pool Clown, awesome posts and great information. Thank you for all your posts. I have a common issue with a Aqua Pure 1400 that seems to be the obvious flow sensor issue but my pool guy replaced the flow sensor and I still have the same issue. This is what is going on: I have a Aqua Pure 1400, it is 4 years old and has worked perfect for the last 4 years. Recently it stopped producing Chlorine and I noticed that the flow indicator does not light up. When the Jandy main service panel is in the service mode instead of the auto mode, the service codes come up of 172 and 186. The pool guy saw all this and he installs lots of Aquapure 1400's, so he said it was a bad flow sensor. However, he replaced the flow sensor and it still has the same problem. So he told me that its probably the front board. After spending $250 to replace the flow sensor, I really didn't want to spend another $350 and still have the same problem. So I went online to do some research and found this wonderful site. I downloaded the trouble shooting guide for the AquaPure that you posted. Thanks so much, it's great information. When I check the front board, I get the following results: Pool temperature reads 73, not 71. H Temp reads 89 not 91. and salinity reads 3.0, not 2.8. Because these readings are very close, does it still mean the front board is bad? I did the current test on the front board and it only reads .8 millivolts, not 120 as per the trouble shooting guide. The AC electrical test gave the proper result of 21 VAC on test points A and C. Thank you so much, Joe PS. All chemicals of the pool have been checked, pump working great, filter, etc.

Great forum and thanks for all the information. I am having a problem with my 4 year old aquapure 1400. It is not producing chlorine and the flow indicator does not light up. After it runs for 15 min or so, I get service codes of 171 and 186. My pool guy said it was probably the flow sensor and replaced it, however, the problem remains. He said it's probably the PCB front board as per the manual service codes. Is there a way to check the PCB front board to make sure that it's the problem? I don't want to pay $300 and find that there is something else wrong. Thank you so much for any help. I am a do it yourselfer, so I'm not afraid to take things apart, use a meter, etc. Joe Sorry I made an error on previous post, it was service codes 172 and 186. I just ran a test on the front board and the temperatures were off by 2 degrees on both and salinity was off by .2 Does this mean the front board is bad? I'm not sure if it needs to be exactly what the manual states or within a few degrees, etc. Thanks for any help.

Great forum and thanks for all the information. I am having a problem with my 4 year old aquapure 1400. It is not producing chlorine and the flow indicator does not light up. After it runs for 15 min or so, I get service codes of 171 and 186. My pool guy said it was probably the flow sensor and replaced it, however, the problem remains. He said it's probably the PCB front board as per the manual service codes. Is there a way to check the PCB front board to make sure that it's the problem? I don't want to pay $300 and find that there is something else wrong. Thank you so much for any help. I am a do it yourselfer, so I'm not afraid to take things apart, use a meter, etc. Joe