Power went out, RA never came back on.

dadriance · Post by **dadriance** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:10 pm

My power went off yesterday and when it came back on, my RA didn't come back on with it.
The controller is dark, no screen, no LEDs, no nothing. My WIFi expansion is flashing blue (and had been already, but I hadn't looked into the lack of connection yet) and my dimming expansion has power, nothing else is on. I've unplugged the unit a few times to see if it would reset, each time the lighting has flashed on for about a second as I've pulled the plug and again when I plug it back in.
I assume something is fried, but I'm not sure where to start troubleshooting. Controller? Relay box? Is there a fuse inside either one of them that might have blown? I've tried the breaker on the relay box but it doesn't seem to have popped. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

rimai · Post by **rimai** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 6:15 pm

What happens if you disconnect everything and power just the head unit with relay box?
Is it an RA+ or you have the USB power cable?
What happens if you power the head unit alone with the USB power cable?

dadriance · Post by **dadriance** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 12:37 pm

Thanks, why didn't I think of that?

Powering the control head from the USB would prove if the controller works or not, unfortunately, it seems to be the latter. The unit is just as dead when powered from the USB port as it is when it's hooked up to the relay box.
I guess it's pretty certain that I need to replace it. The next question is; do I just need the board or is it likely that I need the whole thing? If I just need the board this seems like a good time to get the RA+ upgrade, unless I'm missing something. Is there anyway to test the other components in the head? What about the relay box, any way to test it?

rimai · Post by **rimai** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 4:38 pm

If it is the head unit, you can't test the relay box

Replacing the board with RA+ is highly advisable. That should bring your controller back online.

dadriance · Post by **dadriance** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 11:01 am

Adding the RA+ board to cart....
I notice there have been a couple display unit revisions in the last couple years. My RA is an earlier one, at least 3-4 years old, any issues with compatibility between the current RA+ board and my earlier display?

dadriance · Post by **dadriance** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 3:52 pm

New board is finally in. When I first plugged it in the power LED and screen lit up but the screen was blank. I suspect the newer board was looking for a newer screen than the one from my "Reef Angel Main Unit 6.1" board. I figured loading in the code I had been using would solve the problem, as it would include the right driver. The first few attempts resulted in an error message, until it occurred to me to look through the tools menu. Once I selected the RA+ board it loaded correctly and everything is up and running. Thanks for the help. Now it's time to go order a new pH probe and temp sensors as those are not working correctly. The pH probe is way overdue for replacement and I may already have a spare temp sensor

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