North Star NSR 17CS Installation And Operation Manual - page 17
17
Troubleshooting
PROBLEM
CAUSE
CORRECTION
No soft water
No salt in the storage tank.
Add salt (See Page 15) and then initiate a
“Recharge now,” as shown on Page 11.
Salt is “bridged.”
Break salt bridge (See Page 15) and then initi-
ate a “Recharge now,” as shown on Page 11.
If display is blank, power supply may be
unplugged at wall outlet, power cable
leads may be disconnected from the
electronic control board, fuse may be
blown, circuit breaker may be popped,
or power supply may be plugged into a
switched outlet which is “off.”
Check for power loss due to any of these and
correct. When power is restored, if the time is
flashing in the display, it means time was lost
during the outage. Set the present time (See
Page 10). Other settings such as hardness are
retained in memory during a power loss.
Manual bypass valve(s) in bypass
position.
Place bypass valve(s) in service position.
Dirty, plugged or damaged nozzle &
venturi.
Take apart, clean and inspect the nozzle & ven-
turi assembly, as shown on Page 16.
Valve drain hose plugged or restricted. Drain hose must not have any kinks, sharp
bends, or be raised too high above the softener.
Water hard sometimes
Bypassed hard water being used dur-
ing recharge, due to present time or
recharge time settings being incorrect.
Check the present time displayed. If not correct,
refer to “Set Present Time” on Page 10. Check the
recharge start time, as described on Page 12.
Hardness number setting is too low.
Referring to “Setting Hardness” on Page 10,
check the current hardness setting and increase
if needed.
Hot water being used when softener is
recharging.
Avoid using hot water during recharges,
because water heater refills with hard water.
Increase in actual hardness of water
supply.
Have unsoftened water sample tested.
Referring to Page 10, check the current hard-
ness setting and increase if needed.
Motor stalled or clicking
Motor malfunction or internal valve
fault causing high torque on motor.
Contact your dealer for service.
Error code E1, E3 or E4
displayed.
Fault in wiring harness, connections to
position switch, switch, valve or motor.
Contact your dealer for service.
Error code E5 displayed.
Electronic control malfunction.
Contact your dealer for service.
TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE
TROUBLESHOOTING - INITIAL CHECKS
Always make these initial checks first:
1
. Is display blank? Check power source.
2
. Is Error code displayed? If so, go to “Automatic
Electronic Diagnostics” on the next page.
3
. Is correct time displayed? If not, recharges occur at
the wrong time. Set the present time (See Page 10.)
4
. Is there salt in the brine tank? If not, refill.
5
. Is salt “bridged” (See Page 15)?
6
. Are plumbing bypass valve(s) in service position?
7
. Are inlet and outlet pipes connected to the water sof-
tener inlet and outlet respectively?
8
. Is valve drain hose free of kinks and sharp bends,
and not elevated over 8 feet above the floor.
9
. Is the brine tube connected?
10
. Check the hardness setting (See “Setting Hardness
on Page 10). Be sure it is correct for the house-
hold's water supply. Perform a hardness test on a
raw water sample to compare with the setting.
11
. Perform a hardness test on a softened water sam-
ple to determine whether a problem exists.
If no problem is found after making the initial checks,
proceed to “Manually Initiated Electronic Diagnostics”
on the next page.