5600SXT Problem?

[PJW^&]

Hi - First post after many years of reading great information on this site.
I have a Pentair/Fleck 5600SE. Its a 32k grain unit installed around 2013. It worked perfectly until about a month ago for a family of 5 on city water. We found the lcd screen was dead and wouldn't come back on with a power cycle. I found the power supply to be good and ended up replacing the board and plastic housing with the 5600SXT. On first power up I got an E1 error. I believe this was because the unit couldn't find "home" as I do not know where it was in a cycle when the old board died. After a power cycle the error cleared and I was able to program the settings listed below. I proceeded to do a manual regen and walked away.
After the first week or so we noticed the water to be extremely salty in the morning after the first on demand cycle. This went away after 5min of running the water. Same thing after the next cycle several days later. I decided to force a regen and watch. During the manual regen, step one Backwash 10min, Step two Brine Draw and slow rinse 60min, step 3 rapid rinse 10min, Step 4 Brine Fill 6 min. Per the manual after the brine fill it should return to service but it does not. After the step 4 - 6min Brine fill it says "RS 253" At this time water is running out the discharge hose and down the drain similar to the backwash. It slowly counted down from 253 to 0 and then returned to service. This took about 4 hours? During this time it counted down 1 from 253 every 60seconds or so. I cannot find anything about this step in the manual or online. I assume this isn't right as it seems to waste a tremendous amount of water. I forced the regen several times and it always does it. It also does it when it automatically calls for a regen at 2am. The whole process lasts over 5 hours. Its seems to be hard programmed into the new board? Any help or thoughts would be appreciated. I have the unit in bypass for now.

Settings:
DF-Gal
VT-ST1b
CT-Fd
NT-1
C-32
H-25
RS-SF
SF-10
DD-14
RT-2:00
BW-10
BD-60
RR-10
BF-6

 

[thewatersoftenerblog.com]

Hi - First post after many years of reading great information on this site.
I have a Pentair/Fleck 5600SE. Its a 32k grain unit installed around 2013. It worked perfectly until about a month ago for a family of 5 on city water. We found the lcd screen was dead and wouldn't come back on with a power cycle. I found the power supply to be good and ended up replacing the board and plastic housing with the 5600SXT. On first power up I got an E1 error. I believe this was because the unit couldn't find "home" as I do not know where it was in a cycle when the old board died. After a power cycle the error cleared and I was able to program the settings listed below. I proceeded to do a manual regen and walked away.
After the first week or so we noticed the water to be extremely salty in the morning after the first on demand cycle. This went away after 5min of running the water. Same thing after the next cycle several days later. I decided to force a regen and watch. During the manual regen, step one Backwash 10min, Step two Brine Draw and slow rinse 60min, step 3 rapid rinse 10min, Step 4 Brine Fill 6 min. Per the manual after the brine fill it should return to service but it does not. After the step 4 - 6min Brine fill it says "RS 253" At this time water is running out the discharge hose and down the drain similar to the backwash. It slowly counted down from 253 to 0 and then returned to service. This took about 4 hours? During this time it counted down 1 from 253 every 60seconds or so. I cannot find anything about this step in the manual or online. I assume this isn't right as it seems to waste a tremendous amount of water. I forced the regen several times and it always does it. It also does it when it automatically calls for a regen at 2am. The whole process lasts over 5 hours. Its seems to be hard programmed into the new board? Any help or thoughts would be appreciated. I have the unit in bypass for now.

Settings:
DF-Gal
VT-ST1b
CT-Fd
NT-1
C-32
H-25
RS-SF
SF-10
DD-14
RT-2:00
BW-10
BD-60
RR-10
BF-6

I'll be honest. I searched Google AI for this answer because it's long and I didn't want to type it all out. If this doesn't fix the problem, I would call whoever you bought it from and get a new valve under warranty.

Why the E1 error occurs on initial setup
When you power up the Fleck 5600SXT for the first time, it attempts to find its initial service position by running the motor. The system expects to hit a microswitch after a certain period of time, which tells it to stop. The E1 error is triggered because the motor runs too long without hitting that switch, meaning the system never registers that it arrived at the correct position.
How to fix the E1 error

1. Perform a hard reset. Unplug the unit from power for 10–20 minutes to allow its capacitors to fully discharge. This clears the error and may allow the system to function correctly if the initial startup was a one-time glitch.
2. Manually advance the valve to the "Service" position. If the error persists after a reset, you need to manually move the valve to its "Service" position.
   • Find the manual regeneration knob (usually a dial with pins on the top of the valve head).
   • Gently turn the dial clockwise until the microswitch on the control board is lifted and the motor starts running. The valve will advance to the next position.
   • Continue to manually advance the valve through all the regeneration steps until it reaches the "Service" position again. You may need to press the Extra Cycle button as well.
3. Check for physical obstruction. If the motor seems to struggle or the valve won't advance manually, you likely have a physical obstruction. This is especially likely with a brand-new unit, where a factory defect or assembly issue is the cause.
   • Motor mount: Check that the motor is properly set in its mount and is engaging with the gears correctly.
   • Piston drive linkage: Inspect the piston drive linkage to ensure it is assembled correctly and not blocking the piston.
4. Inspect the microswitch and cam. If the motor appears to run fine but the system never registers it has reached the service position, the issue is likely with the microswitch or the cam that activates it.
   • Microswitch: The switch may not be getting depressed properly, or it may have failed entirely. On a brand-new unit, this is less likely than a problem with the cam.
   • Cam: The cam that presses the microswitch may be broken or misaligned. An incorrect reading by the microswitch is a common cause of this error.

What to do next

• If the hard reset and manual cycle fix the problem, the error was likely an initial glitch. Proceed with programming your unit as directed in your manual.
• If the error returns or the motor and valve are obstructed, you will need to inspect the internal components. Since this is a brand-new unit, you should contact the manufacturer or vendor for support and warranty service before attempting a repair yourself.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

After the step 4 - 6min Brine fill it says "RS 253" At this time water is running out the discharge hose and down the drain similar to the backwash. It slowly counted down from 253 to 0 and then returned to service. This took about 4 hours?

I have been unsuccessful finding any references to 'RS', 'Resume Service', 'Rinse Slow' or similar within the manuals I have. The 253 appears to be a timer delay setting, so 253-minutes will equal 4.21 hours, which is comparable to the time delay period you mentioned.

Suggest reviewing all settings including the Master programming and User program settings, to determine if you can locate any setting with 253 entered. If so, resetting to 0-minutes will normally cause that setting to be ignored. Let us know.

Its a 32k grain unit

This will signify 1 cubic foot of resin which will typically have a total hardness reduction capacity of 32,000 grains. That quantity of resin, is typically installed within a 9" diameter X 48" tall media tank.

C-32

BF-6

Assuming your 5600 control valve is equipped with a 0.5 gpm BLFC flow restrictor, then a 6-minute Brine Fill setting, will result in 3-gallons water to enter the brine tank each cycle (6-minutes X 0.5 gpm). As 3 lbs salt will be dissolved for each gallon, then 9 lbs total salt will be dissolved each cycle. That quantity of salt is insufficient to regenerate 32,000 grains of Capacity.

Regenerating all 32K grains Capacity each cycle, would be extremely wastefull and inefficient as 20 lbs salt would be required, thereby resulting in a salt efficiency of 1,600 gr/lb (32,000 / 20 lbs). In addition, as some resin granules will become worn or fractured over time, and as lightweight/broken resin pieces will be flushed out to drain, some resin capacity will become depleted/lost over time.

To achieve increased efficiency while continuing to obtain high quality soft water and high useable capacity before regeneration will be required, the usual recommended Capacity setting for a softener equipped with 1 ft3 resin, will be 24,000 grains (C-24), as that will require only 8 lbs salt (3,000 gr/lb efficiency). When a 0.5 gpm BLFC is utilized, a 1ft3 softener will be preset for 9 lbs salt, which will result in 1 lb additional salt to be consumed.

If the 0.5 gpm BLFC was replaced with a 0.25 gpm version, the BF setting could be programmed for 11-minutes to result in 8.25 lbs salt to be consumed each cycle.

 

[PJW^&]

Thanks for the replies. I too have not been successful in finding any references to 'RS', 'Resume Service', 'Rinse Slow' or similar online in in the manuals posted online. Also have looked at the settings many, many times and cannot find anything related to 253min or 4.21 hours. I guess this one will remain a mystery. I may update the board as they are less than 200$ online to see if that allows the unit to cycle as it should.