[Mr T]

Hi I run 2 pumps 2 controllers the one I use keeps cutting out/knocking off. It only started happening today when battery died. Changed battery and this is when started. Is the controller done? Anyone else came across this? All wiring has been checked and seems fine. Thanks

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Did you accidentally swap pos for neg when connecting back up?   
My controller started doing exactly that after making that mistake. It only took a momentary touch and that was it.   It was under a year old so I was a bit miffed to say the least, especially when they wanted £40 plus postage to fix it.  Dunno why, when they charge what they do for these controllers, that they aren't reverse polarity protected.
I didn't pay to have it fixed by the way. I went back to an old PWM controller. Ten years old and no issues yet.

[Mr T]

Just checked no the terminals are all connected up the way they should. Ordered a new one there £96 but I bet it's something simple it's same as yourself under a year old

[M & C Window Cleaning]

The short was only momentary in my case.  I connected the first wire to the wrong terminal, then as I touched the second wire to the other terminal there was a small spark if memory serves.  That's when I realised my mistake and put them the right way around.  I thought I'd gotten away with it till I started to use it, then realised it was acting up in the same way you describe. 

[Ian Sheppard]

Direct Current devices such as the controllers are polarity sensitive. A DC circuit is only able to have current pass through it in one direction. Passing current the current in the opposite direction ( reverse polarity ) is an issue as the components and diodes of the device can be damaged. The V11 range of controllers do have a reverse polarity diode on them fitted to the power supply.  This component is there to protect the processor and pump drive stages and in the event of a miss wire make the controller repairable. Without it a miss wire would destroy the processor and tracks completely.

Fitting the correct fuse will also help protect the controller in the event of a miss wire because the fuse will blow before significant damage can be done. In terms of cost for repair it reflects the time for the engineers to inspect the control to establish how much damage has been done to where possible effect a repair. We then test the repaired controller to ensure there are no further faults including a prolonged soak test of the controller on a pressurised system. A report is then created  The process is a time consuming one and involves a number of people. Spring will inspect a controller for free and we accept on occasion innocent mistakes happen and take this into account

But in the end these are DC devices and are polarity sensitive. To answer the question on better levels of protection while it is technically possible.  At the point of reverse polarity the component would get very hot and in the event no fuse was fitted this increased heat in it self could damage the unit.  Over the years we have looked at this and have concluded that to balance cost against limited benefit that fitting a diode to protect the processor and advising fitting the correct rated fuse is the best solution.  In terms of control returns blown reverse polarity represents around 0.2% of units produced and as above we inspect returns for free and only repair once agreed with the customer.

[Ian Sheppard]

http://springltd.co/blog/56/reverse-polarity-protection

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Thankyou for the clarification Ian.

[Mr T]

Thanks Ian for the info.  I'm baffled as this happen d on Friday kept knocking off contantly so ordered new controller but went to work as normal on sat and the controller has been working perfect since then. I didn't change a thing

[Ian Sheppard]

Thanks Ian for the info.  I'm baffled as this happen d on Friday kept knocking off contantly so ordered new controller but went to work as normal on sat and the controller has been working perfect since then. I didn't change a thing

No Problem the forum gives a great opportunity to listen and gain feedback
I may have jumped the gun on the issue with your controller. Can I ask did the controller power down completely, but power up straight away when you pressed power up? Or was the controller showing any message.
That it is working fine again suggests a different issue to reverse polarity.  It is possible this was just a  temporary effect related to the battery capacity being very low and failing. 

[Spruce]

Thanks Ian for the info.  I'm baffled as this happen d on Friday kept knocking off contantly so ordered new controller but went to work as normal on sat and the controller has been working perfect since then. I didn't change a thing

No Problem the forum gives a great opportunity to listen and gain feedback
I may have jumped the gun on the issue with your controller. Can I ask did the controller power down completely, but power up straight away when you pressed power up? Or was the controller showing any message.
That it is working fine again suggests a different issue to reverse polarity.  It is possible this was just a  temporary effect related to the battery capacity being very low and failing.

What about a faulty connection which just happened to  get 'disturbed' by a sudden surge of current?

[Mr T]

Hi it just stopped as the battery went dead well one controller was working but mine was flashing bat and reading 0 so I popped new battery in and that's when it started happening. Also I have my flow set at 21 and since this started if I move the flow up or down it knocks of completely again. Thanks

[Tom White]

Hi it just stopped as the battery went dead well one controller was working but mine was flashing bat and reading 0 so I popped new battery in and that's when it started happening. Also I have my flow set at 21 and since this started if I move the flow up or down it knocks of completely again. Thanks

I got hacked off with 'off the shelf controllers', so I made my own (I also use two pumps and controllers):

http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=192847.0

I've been using them for a couple of years now, and they work great; cheap as chips too.

No problems, they just do what I want them to do.  Very simple to make and use.