Aquarite Cell Bad?

[acrafton]

Hello - new here. I did a search of the forums and found some help but not my question directly, so here goes.

I have a 6 year old pool that has an Aquarite salt chlorine system. Over the last few months it has been reading the salt wrong but in the last week it is way off and I think it may be broken. Here is the scenario:

Salt level reading - 1400 (instant read is the same)

Actual salt level 3500

Solid "inspect cell" light

Low salt light

Texas pool so it gets run a lot

I have cleaned it multiple times, verified my salt level myself and at leslies . . .

So. . .is it shot?

Anything more I can do to check it?

Can I just buy the cell and replace the one there?

How about the flow meter thing?

Any other help or suggestions you have would be great!

Adam

[Strannik]

That would be the signs of cell failing

You could certainly buy one and replace it, although i would get a workshop to test it first, just in case it's not the cell but a power supply

[wrabon]

I have a Polaris Autoclear Plus and mine started giving off weird salt levels this year too. I know mine is a different brand, but I'll tell you what was wrong with mine, just in case it's a place you could look. Mine had a fuse built in the control box that had gone bad, which caused it to give invalid salt levels and no amp reading. I fixed it and was still getting some weird readings and was told my data board needed to be replaced. So I replaced it, too, and now all is well. Luckily, all of this stuff was still under warranty. So even though yours is a different brand, this may be something you could question before replacing the entire cell. Not sure, but thought I'd give my two cents.

[Discountpoolspa]

It does sound like your cell has failed. But - How are you cleaning your cell? With those cells, the proper way is:

Disconnect the cell from the panel.

Fill a 5 Gallon bucket with 4 gallons of water, and one gallon of muriatic acid. Submerge the cell in the acid until it stops bubbling (probably 15 min or so).

Pull the cell out and rinse it with a hose. Reinstall the cell.

If the instant reading is still that far off, it's 95% likely that your cell has failed. All cells will eventually fail.. how old is yours? Depending on the age of the cell, it may have up to a 5 year pro-rated warranty through hayward/goldline. The warranties on these cells have varied depending on when they were produced however.

[Clopay]

Is the cell as old as the pool? If so, 6 years is about right for a cell to work. If cleaning doesn't work, it's time for a replacment cell.

[acrafton]

Update. . .the new cell arrived yesterday and after a few moments of 0 reading it kicked into gear and is working fine now. Salt level is correct and appears to be generating. So, it was the cell (at least for now)! Thanks.

[Jody Bennett]

I have a Polaris Autoclear Plus and mine started giving off weird salt levels this year too. I know mine is a different brand, but I'll tell you what was wrong with mine, just in case it's a place you could look. Mine had a fuse built in the control box that had gone bad, which caused it to give invalid salt levels and no amp reading. I fixed it and was still getting some weird readings and was told my data board needed to be replaced. So I replaced it, too, and now all is well. Luckily, all of this stuff was still under warranty. So even though yours is a different brand, this may be something you could question before replacing the entire cell. Not sure, but thought I'd give my two cents.

Where did you find the fuse that was bad? I have an older Autoclear plus and cant find the fuse....code 94 and have changed the cell. Thanks,

Jody

jody_bennett@yahoo.com