intermittent problem,AC III

[mikesin]

Hello, Had a strange occurrence last night. I have the AC III programed to text my phone if the alarm is triggered. Low or high water temp, high Ph, Water leak, and power failure will trigger the alarm. Last night @ 3am we were awoke by a text from the AC III alarm. I went to the DT to find the water temp. was low AND the main pump was NOT running. Everything else seemed to be working properly. The heater and main pump showed "on" on the AC display but were obviously not running. I tried to turn them on manually, They would not turn on, I tried "re-start" in the AC III in the menu , still nothing. Being late, I grabbed my trusty Ole strip plug extension cord and plugged in the heater and main pump, they ran. Unable to figure out the problem, I unplugged the DC8's power cord and plugged all essential equipment into the strip plug temporarily and went back to sleep. Got up, went to work (everything was working properly on the strip ext.). Came home and called Curt for troubleshooting help - I reconnected the DC8's power supply and plugged in the main pump and heater and they worked! Curt told me to look for corrosion and/or water damage, I see none. He also told me to watch to see if the "green" light flashes if this happens again, so I will. Curt/neptune have GREAT support but they can't troubleshoot a problem that is intermittent and working properly when you call so, I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar problem? Maybe you can give some other pointers or help? As alot of us, I'm not home much and this could of been disastrous had I not been home.
Thanks
Equipment:
AC III
DC8
DC4
Lunar lighting
Break out box connected to a water bug WB-200 (water sensor)

PM1#-A01 - main sump pump
PM2#-A02 - skimmer
PM3#-A03 - canister
HTR%-A04 - heater
PHT#-A05 - top power head
PHL#-A06 - left " "
PHR#-A07 - Right " "
WAT&-A11 - breakout box/water bug sensor
LT1$-B01 - light 1
LT2$-B02 - light 2
ALM&-A09 - alarm
MON$-C01 - lunar lighting
KAL#-B03 - Kalk pump

If Time > 11:59 Then LT1 ON
If Time > 22:30 Then LT1 OFF
If Time > 12:14 Then LT2 ON
If Time > 22:15 Then LT2 OFF
If Time > 10:00 Then MON ON
If Time > 12:01 Then MON OFF
If Time > 22:14 Then MON ON
If Time > 01:00 Then MON OFF
If Time > 00:00 Then PM1 ON
If Time > 00:00 Then PM2 ON
If Time > 00:00 Then PM3 ON
If Time > 00:00 Then PHT ON
OSC 003/003 ON/OFF Then PHL ON
OSC 003/003 ON/OFF Then PHR OFF
OSC 001/019 ON/OFF Then KAL ON
If Temp < 79.0 Then HTR ON
If Temp > 79.5 Then HTR OFF
If Power 000 Then ALM ON
If Time > 00:00 Then ALM OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then ALM ON
If Temp > 82.0 Then ALM ON
If Temp < 78.5 Then ALM ON
If pH > 08.35 Then ALM ON
If FeedA 000 Then PM1 OFF
If FeedA 000 Then PM3 OFF
If FeedA 000 Then PHT OFF
If FeedA 000 Then PHR OFF
If FeedA 000 Then PHL OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PM1 OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PM2 OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PM3 OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PHL OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PHR OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PHT OFF

 

[mikesin]

Fast forward - its happened again, only a different plug - A3.

The pump on my canister filter failed over the weekend so I ordered another one (the exact same filter). I set A3 off and unplugged the bad pump while waiting for the new one to arrive. It came in today so I set it up and plugged it in A3 and it started to run even though A3 is set to OFF. I re-set the AC3( pump still on), unplugged its power source including the battery back up for 10 15 seconds (pump is still on), unplugged the DC8 for a few seconds and the pump is still on. I have tried turning A3 off, on, auto and off again, it does not respond to "off" For that matter its not responding to "feed" either, it stayed on when I went into the feed mode for feed. I manually unplugged it while feeding. Also, The green light on the DC8 does flash when I manually turn off A3. So what is going on? Can something (like the switch) get stuck to "on"?

This problem has happened 4 times since I have owned it (3+yrs) I actually ordered another DC8 during one of the times for a spare. As expected it always happens at a very inconvenient time . Replacing the DC8 is really going to take time and patience. Is there anyway to know if its the AC3 or DC8?

Here is the program now:

PM1#-A01 - main pump
PM2#-A02 - skimmer
PM3#-A03 - canister
HTR%-A04 - heater
PHT#-A05 - top power head
PHL#-A06 - left PH
PHR#-A07 - right PH
FAS%-A08 - sump fan
WAT&-A11 - breakout box/ waterbug sensor
LT1$-B01 - light 1
LT2$-B02 - light 2
ALM&-A09 -alarm
MON$-C01 - lunar lights
KAL#-B03 - kalk pump
FAL%-B04 - fan for lights
ADY%-P01
ANT%-P02
BDY%-P03
BNT%-P04
TIM%-P05
TM2%-P06


If Time > 13:59 Then LT1 ON
If Time > 23:00 Then LT1 OFF
If Time > 14:14 Then LT2 ON
If Time > 22:45 Then LT2 OFF
If Time > 12:01 Then MON ON
If Time > 14:01 Then MON OFF
If Time > 22:50 Then MON ON
If Time > 01:00 Then MON OFF
If Time > 00:00 Then PM1 ON
If Time > 00:00 Then PM2 ON
If Time > 00:00 Then PM3 ON
If Time > 00:00 Then PHT ON
If Time > 13:58 Then FAL ON
If Time > 23:00 Then FAL OFF
If Time > 10:01 Then TIM ON
If Time > 23:45 Then TIM OFF
If Time > 10:06 Then TM2 ON
If Time > 23:50 Then TM2 OFF
OSC 010/002 ON/OFF Then ADY ON
If Timer TIM = OFF Then ADY OFF
OSC 002/010 ON/OFF Then ANT ON
If Timer TIM = ON Then ANT OFF
OSC 010/002 ON/OFF Then BDY OFF
If Timer TM2 = OFF Then BDY OFF
If Timer ANT = ON Then BNT ON
If Timer ANT = OFF Then BNT OFF
If Time > 00:00 Then PHL OFF
If Timer ADY = ON Then PHL ON
If Timer ANT = ON Then PHL ON
If Time > 00:00 Then PHR OFF
If Timer BDY = ON Then PHR ON
If Timer BNT = ON Then PHR ON
OSC 003/017 ON/OFF Then KAL ON
If Timer LT1 = ON Then KAL OFF
If Temp < 78.5 Then HTR ON
If Temp > 79.0 Then HTR OFF
If Temp < 79.7 Then FAS OFF
If Temp > 79.8 Then FAS ON
If Time > 00:00 Then ALM OFF
If Power 000 Then ALM ON
If Switch1 CLOSED Then ALM ON
If Temp > 82.0 Then ALM ON
If Temp < 77.5 Then ALM ON
If pH > 08.48 Then ALM ON
If FeedA 000 Then PM1 OFF
If FeedA 000 Then PM2 OFF
If FeedA 000 Then PM3 OFF
If FeedA 000 Then PHT OFF
If FeedA 000 Then PHR OFF
If FeedA 000 Then PHL OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PM1 OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PM2 OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PM3 OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PHL OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PHR OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then PHT OFF
If Switch1 CLOSED Then KAL OFF


Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks