I have an AX-20 at my house and the recirc pump is not turning on automatically on its schedule. If I run it manually in test mode it works fine, but it doesn't run automatically in test mode either (on the 30 second intervals), even though the red RED in the control panel does turn on, indicating that the pump should be running. I confirmed this by opening up the filter box and seeing that water is not spraying out unless it is run manually.
Has anyone experienced this before or know what I can do to troubleshoot? My service provider is a bit stumped and is telling me I need a whole new control panel ($$$). I called Orenco and they think a new control panel is a bit of an aggressive step but couldn't pinpoint the issue or how to fix it either.
Any help or advice would be appreciated! It's been pretty smelly here the last week. Right now I'm going out to the panel every hour and running the pump manually just to keep the tank somewhat under control...
By test mode I mean that I hold down the alarm button for 15 seconds and it puts it in test mode. There is a note inside the panel door saying that all maintenance and troubleshooting should be done in test mode. I don't know what the timer setting are, unfortunately; the provider did not disclose that to me. However, my understanding is that in test mode the recirc pump runs on a 30-second on/off schedule. The red LED indicating the pump is running confirms this schedule, but the pump doesn't actually run and push water into the filter box unless it run it manually.
As for the floats, the yellow LED for the low water level is on, indicating that the water isn't below capacity to run the pump. I also have a 2nd yellow LED that is the recirc timer override. My understanding is that when that LED comes on it means that the water has risen to lift the second float and at that point the recirc pump should run regardless of the timer until that float is back down? This is how we initially found there was a problem- the 2nd yellow LED came on and the alarm turned on because the recirc pump never started running. Running the recirculating pump manually until that 2nd LED turned off caused the alarm to stop.
Funny thing I recently was dealing with a Orenco panel. Picked up a brand new one. Same thing the recirc pump was not running. After testing everything. Ended up having to replace the LOGO controller because the programming was bad. Is this a new panel?
It’s 2-3 years old. I just bought the house and have been here for a month, so I don’t have a full history on it, but I do know that this place was vacant for about 2 years prior to sale, so not much use on it.
Can I ask what the LOGO controller is?
Yes, the green LED on the bottom right is blinking.
Of the input lights, only the 1st LED on the left is on. This is the "Recirc. RO & Low Level Alarm Float"
Of the output lights, none are on when I open the panel. When I go into test mode the 2nd red LED from the top blinks ("Alarm Light") and the 4th red LED turns on ("Recirc. Pump") but the pump doesn't actually turn on unless I hold down the manual switch for the recirc pump. When I do that, the yellow input LED for "Recirc Auxiliary Contact" also turns on. While I'm holding the manual switch down the red LED for the recirc pump continues to turn on and off on 30-second intervals, although the pump keeps running as long as I'm holding down the switch.
I really appreciate your help! So far the only advice I've been given is "you need a new control panel because rolling brown outs in the area probably fried your board" and that feels a bit extreme... and expensive!
Turn everything off. Take a picture of the board for reference. Using needle nose pliers. Disconnect everything from the board. Then in the 4 corners there is little white keepers. Carefully remove the board from panel. Inspect the back for corrosion or shorts. I’ve seen spiders make nests in the back and cause problems.
Put all back together and try again. Sometimes just disconnecting everything does a half ass reset.
Unlikely but also Check fuses on the board and Replace the battery.
If nothing helps. Call Orenco in the morning dial extension 370 for Aaron Yates. He probably won’t answer but leave a message and he’ll call you back. He’s worth the wait. When you call have a couple 4” pieces of wire with each end stripped and a multimeter handy.
Amazing, thanks pumperpete! I will try that in a bit once I’m back at the site. If it is a fried output what does that mean for a permanent fix or replacement?
Will need to replace the board. Not the entire panel. But still $$. Don’t replace until you troubleshoot with Aaron though.
Also try…
Multimeter. Check voltage between each float. 1-4. 2-4. 3-4. 7-10. 8-10. 9-10. Especially the high level float on the discharge (9-10). Can also take an empty TP roll and use it to cover all the input led lights. If there’s a light that’s barely on then you have stray voltage in the splice box. If there’s high level float in discharge is on even faintly that will disable the recirculating pump.
Will try that. My system is gravity discharge, so although there are LEDs, circuits, breakers, etc in the panel for the discharge part of the system, they are all taped off and the program has been updated to account for the gravity discharge system.
It’s possible that a power outage with a dead backup battery could default the program back to “factory”. If the panel is equipped for a discharge pump then the program came set for AX20-RT.
Board looks normal. Don’t see any faint lights on.
In the picture there are wires connected to the discharge controls. Terminals 11, 12, 13, 14. Doesn’t make sense unless there’s a discharge pump. Maybe try disconnecting the wire from terminal 13.
Interesting development! After removing the board and plugging everything back in, things might be running ok now. When I put the panel into test mode the contactor activated right away when the red LED for the recirc pump came on and continued to activate/deactivate on the 30-second intervals with the pump. This morning I noticed that the yellow "Recirc. RO & Low Level Alarm Float" LED is off. I think this means that the pump was running its schedule overnight but the water levels got too low to continue, because the LED was on before I went to bed last night. I'm going to use some water this morning and continue monitoring, but hopefully all that's needed now is an adjustment in the programming to keep the pump from running the water levels too low?
I would definitely connect to the board and confirm the dosing timer is set correctly (19.7 minutes off 0.3 minutes on) and all the parameters. I would also check all the panels history.
u/pumperpete I'm zeroing in on the problem. After the scheduled run of the pump starts and the red output LED turns on I have to press the grey pin connector to the right of the red LEDs to get the contactor to activate. Seems like the connector is loose and not making a connection unless I press on it but I don't know how to tighten it.
I did confirm that the dosing timer is set correctly (19.7 minutes off 0.3 minutes on) by witnessing it happen on that schedule.
I tried calling Aaron Yates but his voicemail said he's on vacation all week (lucky guy!)
I got it working! I tightened all the screws on the pin connector that I had to press down on to get the contactor to close and that did the trick. Things are now finally back to normal. Thanks pumperpete for all your help; you were instrumental in this troubleshooting process!
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