Problem with ACII

[hotrod122]

I just recently purchased an ACII with all the goodies..
I am running a DC8, always hooked to a computer with the ground isolator thingy, Temp and pH probes.
my problem is with the Season Table randomly reseting to factory settings. The time issues i dont have a major problem with, but i changed the temperatures as i felt that the factory settings were too cold for my system.
About once every 3 weeks now i have to re-enter my entire season table back to the ACII because it resets itself to the factory setting and cools my tank WAY down.
any ideas on what may be causing this?
any remedy?
Purchased it from Marine Depot in early December.
i have now had to re-enter my season table 4 times..

Thanks
Erik

 

[clp]

Why not just add an offset to the target temperatures? For the chiller something like this:

If Temp > RT + 3.0 Then CHL ON
If Temp < RT + 2.5 Then CHL OFF

This would add 3 degrees to the target seasonal value. The seasonal table goes back to the default values if the controller resets or is power cycled. If internal resets are causing the problem, then it is most likely caused by power spikes. Make sure that the controller is plugged into a surge protect power strip. The electrical environment around your tank can be quite ugly.

Curt

 

[hotrod122]

Thanks for the quick response!
i do have it in a very old surge protected power strip, it prolly needs updated.
I will run down and get a new one..
Thanks much

 

[Cathy8424]

Periodically mine does the same thing. Mine is plugged into a surge protected UPS.

Usually when mine does that, I am no longer able to make any changes to it with the computer. I can enter them in, but when I push update, it returns to the same configuration it was before I put the change in.

The only way I have found to get it where I can up date any thing again is to power cycle it.

I have two controllers sitting side by side and the same thing happens to both of them, but not at the same time.

I would guess the frequency of this to be about the same as Hotrods.

It is a pain because you have to recalibrate the pH, and temp probes when this happens, and tank time offsets have to be re-entered too. It is good that you can save your codes and easily reload them. I have learned to write down my offsets so that I can more easily put them back into the controller.

The codes that Curt offered would be a good solution to haveing to redo the season table though, but the date on the season table will still up to be updated again too.

 

[hotrod122]

so i am not the only one with this problem.. hmmmm

 

[Cathy8424]

When yours does it, do you have to power cycle (take the battery out and unhook the power line) it to get it to take any new codes too?

 

[clp]

Let me clarify a few things:
- power cycling the controller does not change any of the settings in the controller including the timer names, program statements, or any of the calibration constants. After a power cycle only the clock needs to be set.
- If you are using the default season table, then no modifications are required following a power cycle or an internal reset.
- When the AC2 detects an internal problem, it resets itself. After this internal reset further modification of the configuration is not possible until a power cycle has occurred.
- In almost all cases these internal resets are caused by electrical power spikes. When a powerhead shuts off, it may emit a voltage spike of several thousand volts. Some portion of the energy of this power spike will go through the air, and some through the AC power lines. Surge protected power strips block the energy that travels down the power lines, but they do not do anything to attenuate the energy radiate through the air. The radiated emi is picked up via inductive coupling. To reduce the amount of inductive coupling do the following:
- Physically separate the AquaController's power cord from any pump, power heads, chiller, or other inductive loads cord. Do not route them in parallel with each other - this will result in the worse case inductive coupling.
- Coil up cords to make them as short as possible.
- Plug the controller into a surge protected power strip.

Curt

 

[Cathy8424]

Yes, that's right, power cycling doesn't take out the settings, that only happens after I reset the internal memory which I have to do some times to get it to run again because it locks up.

The cords will be seperated and coiled tonight.

These would be good things to include in updated manuals: When the AC2 detects an internal problem, it resets itself. After this internal reset further modification of the configuration is not possible until a power cycle has occurred; information as to what a power cycle is and how to do it; and the maximum number of codes that can be entered.

I would not want to try to run my reef with out the controller, but it seems to me that it is a little to touch for the enviroment that it was created for and intended to run in. I am grateful that the DC4s & DC8s have helped some. I don't know of any reefs that are run with out power heads, pumps and ballast that create energy spikes.

Thanks

 

[clp]

There shouldn't be any reason that you need to initialize the memory in the controller. I'm not sure what you mean by lock up.
I know that this doesn't help you, but we have changed things in our later generation controllers so that they are more immune to power spikes, etc. The AC3, AC3PRO, and Jr do not have this type of problem. The problem is caused by a 'feature' of the micro-processor used in the AC2, and is not correctable by software.

Curt

 

[hotrod122]

GAH!! i wish i would have known this before i bought my ACII!!

i would have tried to talk the wife into an AC3.
this bites the big one....trying to explain to the wife this isnt going to be fun at all...

 

[Cathy8424]

By locking up, I mean that even after I power cycle the ACII I still can't access it with the computer until after I initialize the memory, and some times I have to go through these steps more than once to get it to unlocked. After I get it to unlock, I can load my codes then it is good until the next time.

I am glad to know that you have made those changes in the newer modles.

 

[clp]

The only settings that will interfere w/ serial port communication are the setup->serial setup - should be rs232, and setup->login setup (login should be off). I suspect that one or the other of these has changed, and that causes the AquaNotes communication problem. It is possible to change these through the AquaNotes program editor, and then loss communication to the controller until they are reset to the proper value on the controller.

Curt