Just electrocute me now!

[Europhyllia]

The last 24 hours have been tough on my automated bliss! :bareteeth:

One power supply on my AI modules went out so 1/4 of my tank was in the dark yesterday. I contacted AI and they are shipping me a new powersupply no charge so with the hassle free transaction I was still okay.

Then this morning I heard the main pump come on on the seahorse tank. SUSPICIOUS! since I hadn't told it to turn off in the first place. :what_smile:
The RKL on the seahorse tank went berserk overnight. Nothing works. :cry_smile:

It also smells kind of electric-y. But then again I don't stick my head in the seahorse stand all that much. Maybe that's how it always smells.

Got to wait 2 more hours before DA opens... oh the anxiety.

Why is everything breaking?!

[Roo&Lis]

Sounds like my Monday. Hope everything works out.

[Sherita]

I hope things get sorted out for you. Not a way to start the day at all.

Good luck dealing with DA, I have found their cs to be less than useful. Hope you get better service than I did.

[txmike]

It also smells kind of electric-y. But then again I don't stick my head in the seahorse stand all that much. Maybe that's how it always smells.


We call this letting out the smoke .Funny thing about letting out the smoke from electronics it is real hard to put back in.

[Europhyllia]

once it smokes: is it dead? It's still blinking!

[Kristy]

Ack! That's pretty much my greatest fear! Maybe you are giving off too much energy and it's interfering with all the electrical charges around you, kind of like that "Powder" guy!

[Europhyllia]

The thing is Europhyllia failure rate would be about ten times higher than that of electrical devices so going unautomated is not an option for me.

One more hour... lol

[Sherita]

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on which part the smoke got out of, and why. Just for giggles, have you tried a factory reset on it? At this point, you probably have nothing to lose by trying.


once it smokes: is it dead? It's still blinking!

[Europhyllia]

Did the factory reset but it won't let me input the data for the outputs. It just blinks NONE

[Sherita]

Hmm. Sounds like you have a module that cooked, since the head unit can't detect it. I hope DA can help you.


Did the factory reset but it won't let me input the data for the outputs. It just blinks NONE

[Europhyllia]

you mean a power module? I have two hooked up to the head unit. It doesn't detect either...

[Sherita]

Grr, double post. Sorry

[Sherita]

Does the head unit detect either you temp or ph probe?

Have you tried reversing the power modules, just in case you have one that is cooked and is screwing everything up.

[txmike]

unplug all modules and probes and then do a reset .

[Europhyllia]

Since the head unit gets its power from one of the power modules it has to be plugged into one of them during reset.

Here's my test results:
head unit can function as long as 1st PC4 and SL-1 are unplugged. You plug either one of these back in and the head unit keeps rebooting

[txmike]

I would think one or both are damaged or the I/O's on the RKL are damaged .I have never worked with the RK stuff but been working with Microcontrollers and PLC's for quit a few years now.

[Europhyllia]

Thanks for the info.
And good call Sherita! I put the essentials on the working power module and will learn to live without the rest until the problem is resolved

[Sherita]

Glad that you got at least something working for you. Sounds like either your other pc4 or the sl1 is cooked. At least you can handle the essentials for now.

[alton]

The last 24 hours have been tough on my automated bliss! :bareteeth:

One power supply on my AI modules went out so 1/4 of my tank was in the dark yesterday. I contacted AI and they are shipping me a new powersupply no charge so with the hassle free transaction I was still okay.

Then this morning I heard the main pump come on on the seahorse tank. SUSPICIOUS! since I hadn't told it to turn off in the first place. :what_smile:
The RKL on the seahorse tank went berserk overnight. Nothing works. :cry_smile:

It also smells kind of electric-y. But then again I don't stick my head in the seahorse stand all that much. Maybe that's how it always smells.

Got to wait 2 more hours before DA opens... oh the anxiety.

Why is everything breaking?!

Karin did you lose power in the last couple of days? If several of your electronics go out at once you may of had some type of surge? With the large power demand we are going to start seeing more and more brown outs. Hopefully you have everything plugged into a great surge prtector.

[Europhyllia]

no outtage.
The AI units are on a surge protector. 3 still work, 1 is out.

The PC4 were plugged straight into the wall since my husband hates it when I plug extension cords into extension cords so to speak (aren't the PC4s surge protected in itself?)

Upon further testing the SL1 works as well.

It's the PC4 that sinks the ship.

DA already asked me to return it for potential warranty service or exchange.

I'll update once I get the final answer from them...

[Europhyllia]

Excellent. The replacement power supply for the AI already came in.

For some reason that corner seems a bit bluer than the rest although all LEDs are on. Maybe the whites just take a little longer to power up?

[Europhyllia]

oh never mind. I turned all modules off and back on and that synced the one with the new power supply. all ok :)

[CoryDude]

So, the lights are working, but the controller is still messed up. Hey, that's 1 out of 2. Weeks like this are a real bummer sometimes. After seeing your post and Sherita's I think I'll go with an Apex controller.

[Europhyllia]

I actually really love my Reefkeeper. You get a lot for 99 bucks. My controller is working. It was just one of the power strips that broke so the essentials are still being run on the remaining power strip. The non-essentials are just running on timers right now. No big deal. They responded the same day multiple times and provided the RMA right away. As long as I get my replacement strip next week I won't hold a grudge. :)

And I've been using my older RKL on the big tank and the tank I had before that for a long time without any problems.

In fact I am not sure if a faulty appliance can ruin a power strip but the JBJ fan that was plugged into the strip also failed that week (and is also being replaced on warranty) so depending on what caused the power strip's demise it may not have been DA product fault at all.

[Europhyllia]

Okay I just looked up the Apex.
The RKL with similar features and outlets for the seahorse tank cost me about $220. The comparable Apex would be $440. So yes with it costing that much more I totally would expect it to be much more perfect.

That being said the RKL has worked well for me for nearly two years and I have received good service when I did have a problem :)
I wouldn't feel compelled to ditch the RKL at all.

[Europhyllia]

well... compared to the super speedy response I got from AI LED the DA people are getting behind. They received my return Monday and I emailed them both Tuesday and today and no response... hm...

[Europhyllia]

oh and if there's any disgruntled DA users that want to sell a PC4 (in good working order -not one that freaks out the controller lol) hit me up!

[Sherita]

I aggravated them until they answered me. Took Friday off work, and put them on speed dial, called every 5 minutes, also started emailing them like crazy. They finally answered, just to get me out of their hair.

A person should not have to harass someone just to get them to stand behind what they sell. And they were NOT pleased that I posted on RC. Too bad, it's a free internet. Sadly, I wasn't the only one posting trying to get them to respond. All they had to do was answer the phone.


well... compared to the super speedy response I got from AI LED the DA people are getting behind. They received my return Monday and I emailed them both Tuesday and today and no response... hm...

[Europhyllia]

ugh. I don't want to go there... posting on RC. All they need to do is look at the PC4 I mailed them. They also asked me to mail them the bus cable. So all I want them to do is mail me back a working PC4 and bus cable.
Nothing really complicated or super expensive.

The AI people didn't even expect me to mail them anything. They mailed me a replacement power supply that same day.

[Europhyllia]

update!!!
they emailed back and apologized for the delay saying they are understaffed right now but they determined that the strip is covered under warranty and a new one is coming my way :)

[Europhyllia]

My replacement PC-4 arrived today. Whew it's been a rough two weeks.
Glad the fishies don't have to depend on me to keep the temps, salinity and pH stable any longer. lol