RD3 will not start on my BubbleKing 250 - Please Help!

[jsousa]

I noticed today that my RD3 unit had stopped pumping water so I looked at the controller and it said "88." I assumed it might be some kind of clog at the pump so I decided to remove the pump for a cleaning. When I opened it up it looking fine, there was some debris but nothing that looked too bad. I cleaned the debris from the impeller and then removed the shaft from the motor body to see if there was any calcification and I didnt see any so I just cleaned it out with some water and reassembled the unit. Then I just put it in a bucket of fresh water to see if it would continue normal operation. It seemed to be working fine although it did give me an error code F4 (no air) which I guess should be expected.

After not seeing any issues, I hooked it back up to the skimmer, reconnecting it to the skimmer inlet and hooking back up the air. Then I plugged it back in. It stated P4 > In > SP > 36w and began to pump water with air. The skimmer started to fill with water. I decided to see if I could control the level by modifying the wattage went up to 56W which was too much so then I reduced it back down to 36w and it was working fine. So I decided to see if it would function normally went turning off the unit and I couldnt change the wattage any longer. The display froze on 36w so I unplugged it. Pugged it back in and then it once again went thru its startup routine but this time after the initialization just stayed on "88."

Definitely need some help here. I havent skimmed my tank in a day and starting to get a little worried. Any ideas on what the issue may be?

Just so you know, the pump has been running about a year, which doesnt seem all that long and has already been cleaned once in that time besides this and looks totally fine. I suspect there's something wrong with the controller itself because there really doesnt look like there could be much wrong with the pump. Its quite simple.

Thanks and please help.
John

[jsousa]

Any thoughts on this? @slief

[slief]

Originally Posted by jsousa

Any thoughts on this? @slief

Sorry for the late reply. Just got into my office. I sent you a PM. Not sure if you did the vinegar soak but I would suggest taking it apart again and soaking the motor and impeller in vinegar for 10 minutes and then scrub inside and out and then rinse. It could be there is a bit of buildup in the lower bushing where the end of the shaft below the magnet seats into the magnet cavity. IF the controller detects friction, it will go into protection mode. There are a couple other things that I will have you check but we can discuss that via phone.

[jsousa]

Thanks. Replied in PM.