osmolator malfunction

[GoldeneyeRet]

I am having an isuse with my 3155. Both reds flashing and alarm going off. The manual say this is water in the controller, but that's not the case. The controller has never had any water on it, or even anywhere near it.

What to do?

Clark

 

[rvitko]

The most common cause of water damage is more subtle, people unplug it, the DC tip that plugs into the controller lands in a puddle or sump and then gets plugged in wet. It isn't always the full dunk people tend to think of. I have also seen temporary water damage issues, the controller was suddenly cooled in a wet environment so condensation formed on the board, since this is very pure water free of salt, once it dries it works normally like nothing ever happened, this is unusual and generally happens with filter rooms that lack climate control (garage filters) but it is a possibility. If any other lights besides the the two red lights are on, this points to another issue. I have also rarely seen the two red lights be due to another circuit board issue. I would say the best course will be to send it in. You can certainly open the controller and have a look inside.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

My controller sits well away from the tank, stand or water of any kind. There is no water, even subtle drops, near the unit. It is in a climate controlled house. Also, it hasn't been unplugged since I installed it months ago. No aquarium maint. has been performed for three days prior to the event and I was sitting watching television next to it when it malfunctioned. There was no water near the controller, subtle droplets or otherwise.

The green light was also on, steady. The reds were blinking and the alarm was beeping.

That said, I plugged it in this morning and it appears to be functioning normally. Is there something else wrong with this unit? I am worried I should not trust my Tunze product anymore.

Thanks for your quick response to this thread, I do appreciate it.

 

[rvitko]

OK, both red lights and a green light point to a general processor error, this could be magnetic interference, conflicting signal (float up, sensor dry) or a cold solder joint or loss of firmware. It can also be due to a bad pump or power supply. This would not generally be consistent with water damage where the too high light is on and the too light blinks. I would watch it closely, it has a 2 year warranty and we can certainly take care of it if you send it in, but it is possible this was just a hiccup due to a power surge or something that has passed.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Roger,

Thanks so much for the prompt responses. I have cleaned the sensors, they were a bit dirty. I also moved a speaker that was nearby thinking it could be interfering.

Would you expect firmware, solder joint , pump or power problems to be intermittent such as this was? I would think they would not resolve on their own, except a power surge, which I don't suspect. At this point I am betting on the conflicting sensor signals.

I will keep a close eye on it and if it happens again I will send it back.

Thanks again for your quick help, I appreciate it very much.

 

[rvitko]

Correct, I would not expect a major issue could be intermittent except if their was an issue causing the board to intermittently overheat and this caused a component to expand and lose contact. When I have encountered this error before it was persistent.