Fleck 5600 SE Water Flow Indicator Blinking Constantly

[William Yasment]

There is no water in use as this indicator blinks and it also affects the rate of supposed use therefore regeneration of the unit.
I have had this unit apart cleaning out valve controls and examined the turbine. Although the turbine cable seems to fit loosely, with water flow always on, it would seem the cable is bad or is it the board itself?

Age of the unit is 5 years.

Maybe where the cable connects to the board? If so, how does one take apart the head to have access to the connection.

Thanks

 

[ditttohead]

The 5600SXT board is under the square cover on the front. Simply squeeze the the sides of the plastic cover and pull forward. This will remove the cover.

Turn off the water to see if it is reading improperly. You can also push the regen and up arrow simultaneously for a few seconds to get into the diagnostics mode. fr is current flow rate.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[William Yasment]

System in bypass. Flow meter cable unplugged yet the water flow indicator is still on.

 

[Reach4]

System in bypass. Flow meter cable unplugged yet the water flow indicator is still on.

Flow meter cable is unplugged from which end? Board, or meter?

Does the number count down?

Did you check fr in the diagnostics?

 

[ditttohead]

Are you seeing the small water drop, or the faucet blinking? The faucet blinking is not water flow.

The water drop will show water flow (blink) for a couple minutes even after the water stops.

 

[William Yasment]

I've had this system for 5 years.

The water drop indicating water flow is constantly blinking. I realize the faucet is the regeneration indicator at the preset time. ( 0200 hrs )

The numbers countdown quite fast. Limited real water flow for laundry or flushed toilets.... estimated 200 gallons. Even when I place the system in bypass with no water leaving, the water drop is flashing and the countdown of water use continues.

The flow meter cable is currently unplugged from the outflow turbine location. It makes no difference plugged in or not.

 

[William Yasment]

Did you check fr in the diagnostics?

The values are on a constant change in one second increments from .02 up to 18.0.

 

[Reach4]

The flow meter cable is currently unplugged from the outflow turbine location. It makes no difference plugged in or not.

I would unplug the cable from the board. If the counting continues, I would expect the board is the problem. If the counting stops, I would tend to think the problem could be the cable, but would not be so sure.

My thoughts on this are not based on experience.

 

[William Yasment]

I have gained access to the board and unhooked the cable. After unhooking the cable, the blinking water drop indicator has stopped.

I have ordered a new flow meter cable and hope it will end the merry-go-round.

Thanks.

 

[Cameron Claridge]

I have gained access to the board and unhooked the cable. After unhooking the cable, the blinking water drop indicator has stopped.

I have ordered a new flow meter cable and hope it will end the merry-go-round.

Thanks.

Hello, I am having a similar problem with my fleck 5600sxt. When no water is in use the control valve shows the water droplet and counts down the amount of gallons until the next regeneration time. As a result our water softener regenerates every night and there is only two of us in the household. I am wondering if replacing the flow meter cable fixed your problem ? Thanks

 

[ditttohead]

Unlikely.

Start by going into the diagnostics mode, you can see the actual water flow there. Then put the unit in bypass to see if the water flow stops showing a couple of minutes later. If it continues to count down then unplug the meter cable.

Most of the time when we see this type of random flow it is caused by a recirc pump or the lack of a thermal expansion tank etc.. water is flowing bi-directionally through the system. The turbine in this unit is very sensitive, over 60 revolutions per gallon of water. I have also seen where the system is plugged in backwards and the seal/spacer/piston kit has damage and water is dribbling to the drain, the meter will see this flow and cause your symptom. Lastly, check the meter setting, if it is programmed incorrectly it can do this as well. If you program it foe the wrong meter, say 10 revolutions per gallons, the computer will see massive flow even when the water flow is slow.

As a point of reference, a modern sink should flow between 1-2 GPM max, so if you go into diagnostics and check the current flow rate, with a single faucet flowing you should see about 1-2 GPM on the SXT controller.