Onboard power supply repair

[JesseFrank]

I have a saltwater chlorinator which has issues.

I have figured out that the power supply which is on the PCB board fails. It should provide 21 - 24V, but it delivers only 17.5V at best.

At best I mean because there is a small potentiometer with which you can adjust the output. Worst case it delivers about 11V.

Since it is onboard only the complete PCB board is available and has to be ordered from Australia . Haven't asked for the price yet as I want to have a good nightrest

Is such an onboard power supply easily replaceable ?

[JesseFrank]

Should have said repairable, because this is what it looks like and the cost is 319 AU$ excluding shipping and import duties.

[Crossy]

That it's working at all is a good sign.

Is the chlorinator actually functioning? If not it could be something else pulling the supply down.

Is a circuit diagram available (on the net), it would make any service tech's life 1,000,000 times easier?

If nothing is getting hot or is obviously faulty, try Amorn service, they're pretty good at fixing stuff but it may be outside their comfort zone.

[JesseFrank]

That it's working at all is a good sign.

Is the chlorinator actually functioning? If not it could be something else pulling the supply down.

Is a circuit diagram available (on the net), it would make any service tech's life 1,000,000 times easier?

If nothing is getting hot or is obviously faulty, try Amorn service, they're pretty good at fixing stuff but it may be outside their comfort zone.

The chlorinator is working and visibly produces more chlorine gas if I increase the power, below a certain power level it stops functioning and I get the warning light that there is an output problem.

The potentiometer on the back is actually to adjust the current which should be 7.2A, but I get only about 0.3A, that is if I read the multimeter right.

I have a multimeter that can handle 20A. If the scale says 0.3, does that mean 0.3A or 30% of the 20A ?

It seems to be a common issue, otherwise they didn't make special mention of it in the repair manual I guess, and unfortunately I don't have circuit diagram.

You have probably Amorn Bangkok in mind, because here in Pattaya they are not interested in repairing the simplest item.

[JesseFrank]

Does my problem sound as it could be a capacitor issue ?

[Crossy]

0.3 on the 20A range is 0.3A, you are remembering to move the test leads to the high-current connections on the meter are you not?.

It does sound like the power supply is just low, it's probably the voltage reference aged or faulty or maybe the output sense resistors, or any one of a myriad of things

Yes, I was thinking of Amorn in BKK, they have several 'Service' centres, Fortune and Zeer being two I know of.

A thought, you have checked the mains voltage going in to the beast?

[JesseFrank]

Mains voltage measured 220V.

I connected the leads correctly, even downloaded a multimeter manual to make sure

Measure the power and current at the power supply output .

Edited July 6, 2014 by JesseFrank

[Crossy]

Could be a dried up electrolytic cap, look for caps with bulged ends or evidence of leaking, or just replace the lot.

It's likely to be one of the high voltage ones on the input side, be careful these can bite hard even if the power is off.

[JesseFrank]

Could be a dried up electrolytic cap, look for caps with bulged ends or evidence of leaking, or just replace the lot.

It's likely to be one of the high voltage ones on the input side, be careful these can bite hard even if the power is off.

I assume electrolytic caps are a dime a dozen and every self respecting repair shop has them lying around, right ?

Tomorrow I will take to a tv repair guy who has solved a few other things for me in the past. Will he have enough with the power supply only, to check the power output, or would he need the whole control unit included ?

[Crossy]

Yes, your local TV chap should have (or be able to get easily) the beasts.

If it's portable I would take the lot, or just get him to swap out all the electrolytics and hope.

[JesseFrank]

Yes, your local TV chap should have (or be able to get easily) the beasts.

If it's portable I would take the lot, or just get him to swap out all the electrolytics and hope.

Can't they be measured ?

The reason I'm a bit hesitant to give him the whole unit you will know if you ever looked in such a guy's workshop

[Crossy]

I think I understand

Give him the board, tell him to swap out all the electrolytics, it's not worth measuring them (it won't spot one that fails under full voltage and you can't do it whilst they're installed), once it's out put in a new one.

[JesseFrank]

Just contacted the Thailand supplier of my chlorinator which was officially imported from Australia . With the details I supplied to them they could not tell me if the power supply is faulty, so they need to check up, at a cost of 1900 Baht ( for the check up )

The power supply if fault, they admit they get most of them to replace after the 1st year of operation , is not repairable and cost 28.000 Baht + vat. I guess they have a bad exchange rate on the 319 AU$ it cost in Australia.

Last week they said their prices were comparable with what I paid.

28.000 Baht is about what I paid for the complete unit, with pH control added, including shipping and import duties.

Support your local dealer, NOT ?

[Crossy]

At that price I'd be giving the local TV man a shot.

Rarely is electronics non-repairable unless some custom component fails, often manufacturers would rather sell you a new unit than fix an old one.

[IMHO]

The power supply if fault, they admit they get most of them to replace after the 1st year of operation , is not repairable and cost 28.000 Baht + vat. I guess they have a bad exchange rate on the 319 AU$ it cost in Australia.

Sorry, they said that most of them fail within the 1st year?

What brand of cholrinator?

[JesseFrank]

The power supply if fault, they admit they get most of them to replace after the 1st year of operation , is not repairable and cost 28.000 Baht + vat. I guess they have a bad exchange rate on the 319 AU$ it cost in Australia.

Sorry, they said that most of them fail within the 1st year?

What brand of cholrinator?

Zodiac, considered to be the pioneer in saltwater chlorinators.

The reason for the failure is the multiple brownouts and power surges that the Thai utility network is experiencing. Just had one happening while I'm writing this message, but it was so short that it didn't shut down my computer

[IMHO]

The power supply if fault, they admit they get most of them to replace after the 1st year of operation , is not repairable and cost 28.000 Baht + vat. I guess they have a bad exchange rate on the 319 AU$ it cost in Australia.

Sorry, they said that most of them fail within the 1st year?

What brand of cholrinator?

Zodiac, considered to be the pioneer in saltwater chlorinators.

The reason for the failure is the multiple brownouts and power surges that the Thai utility network is experiencing. Just had one happening while I'm writing this message, but it was so short that it didn't shut down my computer

OK, so if you have a stable mains, they're reliable?

[JesseFrank]

The power supply if fault, they admit they get most of them to replace after the 1st year of operation , is not repairable and cost 28.000 Baht + vat. I guess they have a bad exchange rate on the 319 AU$ it cost in Australia.

Sorry, they said that most of them fail within the 1st year?

What brand of cholrinator?

Zodiac, considered to be the pioneer in saltwater chlorinators.

The reason for the failure is the multiple brownouts and power surges that the Thai utility network is experiencing. Just had one happening while I'm writing this message, but it was so short that it didn't shut down my computer

OK, so if you have a stable mains, they're reliable?

I have found that the Thai power grid is able to kill almost everything connected to it, be it a chlorinator, computer of television.

For sure they have a hub on this one.

Do a search for Zodiac on the international pool forums and you will know what you get.

I should add, if you want to buy one get it from Australia as they sell them here at triple the price, claiming there are big import duties on it. I declared mine officially and the import duty is 0%.

Keep in mind that Zodiac does not give warranty if they know it is exported, but at 3 times the price, who cares.

Edited July 11, 2014 by JesseFrank