It could be that the Hydraloop lost power. And is unable to do its functions. Below text helps you understand the consequences, and any troubleshooting related to the problem.
No toilet/washing machine filling? #
Often a hint that the Hydraloop is not powered anymore, is if toilets or a washing machine are connected, but they are not receiving water anymore. This might be no power on the Hydraloop. But could also be something else. As the Hydraloop always supplies the water to the toilet/washing machine with a pump, even when using backup water, loss of power will make it impossible to fill the toilets and washing machine. Please confirm with below steps if the problem is a power loss.
Confirm if the Hydraloop has no power #
If the Hydraloop has no power, you can confirm this in several ways:
No indication light
If the Hydraloop is not lighting up anymore it might be turned off. The customer can see this by looking at the system front panel. If the customer has a front panel that is a single dot light, sadly you can not confirm it with this method.
HDM graph
Before the Hydraloop gets offline (the yellow part in the graph), it is possible to see if the Hydraloop got powered down. This is the “Power” graph. When this jumps (close) to 0 the Hydraloop lost power and runs on backup batteries (see example image). Normally the power should hover around 23.0-25.0 (volt). Please note that if the “Batteries” of the Hydraloop are not working or the internet also gets disconnected at the same time, you will only see the yellow ‘offline’ area.
You can quickly go to the last online point by using the dropdown and “Jump to last: Online”
No light of Ecu (main chip)
If all of the above fails to confirm if the Hydraloop is receiving power, you can check if the main board/Ecu is receiving power. To check this, go look at the top of the system. And see if any light (in versions V2.X green) is shining. Depending on the version you need to either look at the back of the system, or slightly lift the top to see it. (see images). Beware, lots of external light can make it difficult to see the light. Try blocking external light to be sure.
Causes #
As multiple causes can be the reason for this problem. Please take a quick look at all the causes to see if any of them can be easily identified in the ‘problem’ text of the cause. Do this before spending time on the more ‘time consuming’ causes.
House power outage, or maintenance
Problem
When the whole house has no power, or when technicians are working on part of the house and removed the power from it, then the whole Hydraloop won’t be powered either. A tip to check if this is more likely the case remotely, if multiple Hydraloops are installed on the same location, check if these Hydraloops are also not powered. This increases the change that it is an external power failure.
Solution
Restore the power of the house. And check with customer if this is going to happen more often before closing any related ticket.
Power cut in part of house (external fuse breaker)
Problem
Sometimes a protection fuse triggers by external factors. Things like lightning strikes nearby, another house appliance giving a short circuit, or other electricity failures could trigger this fuse breaker. Instead of the whole house having no power, just part of the house where the Hydraloop is connected to does not.
Solution
Flip the fuse back on to restore power in this part of the house.
Bad connection cable at back of Hydraloop or power switch turned off
Problem
If the cable is loose at the back of the Hydraloop then no power is being received. The power switch on the left of the image can also be set to ‘0’ instead of ‘l’. It should be on ‘l’.
Solution
Push the cable further into the ecu and check that the power switch is flipped on to ‘l’.
Hydraloop outer fuse blown
Problem
If the house protection was not sufficient, the Hydraloop has its own protection mechanism. It has two fuses at the back. The ‘Main fuse’ will break when too much power is going into the Hydraloop. The other one is a ‘spare fuse’ and is not doing anything. You will find the fuses at the back of the Hydraloop in a fuse holder. The fuse could have been broken by an external electricity problem (like lighting hitting the electricity grid). Or the 24volt power supply or high voltage wiring before the power supply are malfunctioning. If the latter is the case, replacing the fuses might blow them again. And you need to look into the power supply/cabling inside the Hydraloop. (see solution)
Please confirm if the fuse is the cause for the power outage by measuring resistance (Ohm) between the two metal end points of the fuse with a multi-meter. If the resistance is infinite, then the fuse has blown. See images below (infinite being ‘0L’ for this specific multi-meter). Also see the solution below how to access the fuses.
Solution
To buy the correct replacement fuses, please check the HDM for the correct fuses. As every Hydraloop version can have different specifications, it is important to check the Amperage of the fuse. (Most versions have the fuses that are rated at 3.15Amp for the back). The fuses also have a “Slow” or “Fast” burning type. Displayed with a letter (In dutch: “T” for “Slow” and “S” for fast). In the “Maintenance” tab of the HDM select the “Wiring Diagram” routine. And check for the fuse specification looking close to the image of the fuse holder on the images below. Contact Hydraloop support if this is still unclear.
Replacement steps:
- First for safety remove the power cable from the Hydraloop.
- Then replace the fuse for a new one of the same type. To remove the fuse holder you can grab the top and bottom part of the holder with your finger nails and squeeze. Also slightly pull, but mostly squeeze! (two red marks on image). Please be careful if using a flat screwdriver to not damage the part.
- Tip: You can use the ‘Reserve fuse’ the first time before needing new reserve fuses. But be aware if this one also blows on re-test, be ready with a new fuse.
- If after replacing the part, the fuse is blown again. Please replace the power supply and check the wiring around the power supply for any short circuit. Only after that, replace the fuse again.
Hydraloop inner fuse blown
Problem
When an internal component has a failure of the Hydraloop that causes a big electricity spike, this can blow up the main Ecu of the Hydraloop. To protect it, we also have multiple internal fuses on the main board (Ecu). See image for locations.
Check
To check if any of the fuses are the cause of the problem, you have to remove the fuses first. This can be done by:
- First remove the power from the Hydraloop by removing the power cable (for safety!)
- Then remove the top plate of the Hydraloop. You can unscrew the middle top plate to access the ecu.
- Try lifting the ecu up slightly without damaging the cabling
- Remove the plastic glass cover of any of the fuses by pulling on it. (check photo’s below for the location of the fuses)
- Remove the fuse by pulling on it (a more force needed than the plastic cover)
- Measure if the fuse is still working with a multi-meter. How to check this, see the instructions of the cause: “Hydraloop outer fuse blown“. They have an example how to measure a fuse with a multi-meter.
(For version 2.X systems – Red arrow: fuse for the whole Hydraloop 24 volt. Yellow arrow: the fuses for the high voltage air pump. Green arrow: protecting remaining board. Please note: The rated Amperage is different for every fuse location!)
(for version 1.X systems – Red arrow: fuse for the whole Hydraloop 24 volt. Yellow arrow: fuse for the airpump (K1) Green: Fuse for bypass valve (K2))
Solution
First follow the steps of the chapter above called “Checks” how to remove and check the fuse. If the fuse it the problem. Replace it.
If the Hydraloop won’t turn on after replacing the fuses, but the new fuses are still fine, the Ecu might have also been damaged. See the cause below. If the fuse blows again when turning back on the Hydraloop, sadly an internal component of the Hydraloop is causing a short circuit. Please contact Hydraloop support for more detailed troubleshooting.
Hydraloop Ecu damaged/broke
Problem
It is also possible that the main board (Ecu) of the Hydraloop has stopped working because of unfortunate damage. The damage is often visible on the ecu itself as black burning marks. This could have been caused by:
- Water damage. Our latest versions of the Hydraloop are properly protected against any water damage. But mistakes can be made, and the Ecu could still be damaged.
- Too humid condensation prone environment.
- A power spike/short circuit that the fuses did not protect from in time.
Solution
Replace the ecu. It is required to use the “Maintenance” routine “Replace ECU” to replace the ecu.