AC Jr Controll loss

IReefer madness

New member
I have AC Jr with DC8. I controll lights with 1 and 2 pumps with 3 and 4 heater, chiller, CO2, moon light with light module. All has been working perfectly for a few weeks until I bought a light module to run the moon lights with. I have used this module in socket 8 and reprogrammed accordingly. All was working except last nights I noticed that the Metal Halide lights were flickering on/off but never coming all the way on. This morning my tank is up to 82 degrees even though I have temp set for 78. The CO2 is not kicking in this morning either. I have unplugged the AC Jr and tried to reset but no signals seem to be sent to CO2 or to the chiller. Has the moon light module messed everything up somehow? Please advise,
Lance
 
I have tried to open the DC8 case and there is a screw just below the phone line and switch connection that will not come out. I cannot get the case to open to get to the fuse and check it. Is this screw not supposed to come out and am I just not taking off the case correctly or do I have a defective DC8 with a internally stripped screw that will not allow me to change the blown fuse. Frustrated and hoping to get a reply so I dont have to break down all of the wiring today and hook up the chiller directly to avoid a massive death in the tank. PLEASE HELP...
 
It sounds like the fuse is blown. You don't need to take screw below the RJ11 connectors to separate the two halves. The newer caes fit together snuggly, so it will take a little bit of force to separate the halves. The fuse inside is a 5x20 mm, 15 Amps fuse.

Curt
 
Thanks Curt,
I have the fuse out now and it is blown. I will replace but why would I have blown the fuse? I have a 1/5 HHP Artica chiller, 200 W Ebo Jaeger heater, 2 250 W MH, icecap 660 to run actinic VHOs, CO2, and a moon light that seems to have caused this problem. All was working great until I just hooked up the moon light to AC last night. I have the light module in socket 8 and had reprogrammed but saw the MH lights flickering but they never turned on. It seems to have some interfernce issues but not sure how to fix that problem either. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Curt,
I have been speaking with DFWMAS and they are suggesting to use 2 DC 8 (I already have 1) or to use my 8 with a DC4HD to put the 1/5 HHP chiller, MH Lights, and VHO lights on. What do you suggest or would I be better off not attempting to use the DC powerstrips and go with an x10 module with regular powerstrips to contoll. How does the x10 work??
 
The fuse blew because the load was too great. Back of the envelope calculations indicate that you have:

2 * 3.2 Amps for MH = 6.4
2 * 110/120 / .6 (Power factor) / .9 (efficiency) ~ 3.5 Amps for VHO
About 5 amps for 1/5 HP chiller
Pumps? - 1 to 5 Amps depending on size/type

So it looks like you are easily above the 15 Amp max. current. Yes, I'd recommend that you divide the load between a DC8 and DC4HD. I don't recommend that new customers use X10.

Curt
 
Curt,
I found the fuses here finally. I have now changed out the fuse with the exact one that it came with but new of course and now I have no power to the strip whatsoever. At least before when the fuse was blown I had a green led light that showed power and it blinked indicating commands received from controller. Is there some type of reset switch or something?
 
Update...
I have fixed the problem. It was already working but I broke off the green LED when putting the cover back on so that is why it was showing power. I guess it is OK without it. I can always see if something is not actually working but I can fix later anyway. Next question, I have a DC4HD coming tomorrow. What is the best way to daisy chain it with a DC8 assuming I will be running the largest AMPS on the DC4HD??
 
The DC8 will work fine without the LED; you just can see when it is receiving commands. It doesn't matter on the order of the daisy chain. Whichever way that makes the setup the easiest.

Curt
 
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