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Water turning on and off

J

Johnboy

New member
Got a hydro-spray rain maker. During cycle water main pump keeps kicking on and off. Rinse tank stays full. When car is in wash and it kicks plunger in electric panel you can hold it in and water continues and wash can be completed. You can turn tower or floor water on at computer and it would run all day. Any ideas.
 
1st Step: By-pass the LLCO
If that solves the problem, check for loose connections or splices from the switch to the panel.
 
Okay, fairly new to car wash world, just been managing this one for about 1 1/2 years. Not familiar with all the terms. LLCO?
 
Sorry...
LLCO = Low Level Cut Off (Switch)
LWCO = Low Water Cut Off (Switch)
Same thing...different jargon

Been awhile since I've been inside a Rainmaker cabinet, but I believe the LLCO/LWCO is a simple corded float at the bottom of the water tank. The float interrupts 24 VAC to the pump's motor starter. They aren't known for failure...but it's at least a 20-year-old machine.
 
I’ve looked in bottom of tank. The only thing I see inside of the tank is the float at top. I’ll take a closer look tomorrow but I’m pretty sure there is nothing there . May drain the water down lower just to make sure.
 
I just reread your first post...Nevermind the LLCO!

Since the pump runs non-stop from the touchscreen, I suspect the treadle switch. (That's the pad where the car's front tire sits.)

The treadle switch is connected to one of the green Phoenix relays in the panel. When the car is in place the relay's indicator will illuminate. Watch the relays when the issue occurs. If the relay blinks on and off, then check the treadle switch. I suspect it's failing.

Don't confuse the treadle relay with the encoder relay. The encoder relay flashes on/off as the carriage moves fore and aft in the bay.
 
Well, I pulled treadle plate, made sure everything was clean, checked wiring in bay. went to computer turned on auto, ran my truck in, watched monitor and inside control panel, treadle light stays on even when water stops and comes back on. Still have problem with water shutting off.
 
Pump motor shuts off, thus no water.. kicks back on. Tower keeps moving through the entire automatic cycle. Sometimes water only shuts off once, sometimes it may shut off 3 or 4 times
 
Will try that tomorrow. I’m tired of messing with it today. Roped it off and came home. The tank stays full, even when running normally..just can’t figure why it shuts off and on.. maybe the contactor on the main switch? Have no clue.. it did this last summer when it was hot outside, I opened panel put a fan on it and it quit acting up. Now it’s 40 degrees outside and it’s doing it again.
 
If it has a thermal overload, set it to manual. If it stops and doesn't restart until you press the reset, it might be failing or drawing too much current.
 
Johnboy said:
Pump motor shuts off, thus no water.. kicks back on. Tower keeps moving through the entire automatic cycle. Sometimes water only shuts off once, sometimes it may shut off 3 or 4 times
Click to expand...
Is it possible the tank isn’t filling fast enough at times causing the low water fault?
 
Etowah
MEP001 said:
If it has a thermal overload, set it to manual. If it stops and doesn't restart until you press the reset, it might be failing or drawing too much current.
Click to expand...
Will look into that and let everyone know. Thanks. I’m getting a couple ideas as where to look.
 
You'll still need to eliminate the float switch, which could be switching to empty signal at a certain water level that is still plenty in the tank. Try to fix it in a position with the cord pointing down, or hold it there yourself while someone tries the wash. Since the wash is continuing to operate with the pump off hints to that tank switch.
 
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