Kenmore Ultrasoft 150 stuck in regen mode

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cbraxton

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When I went to top up salt and run cleaner through our Kenmore Ultrasoft 150 yesterday I found that the tank was flooded. So I checked the float, made sure lines were clear, cleaned the injector and ran "Recharge Now."

It pumped out the excess water, but ran for a long time (much longer than the normal 2 hour regen time) then came up with "Err01" on the front panel. I unplugged the water softener for about 20 minutes, plugged it back in and now it goes right back into regeneration mode and the motor keeps spinning the valve continuously. I checked the control switch and it's working, and the little spring arm looks positioned correctly against the cam, so the controller should be able to detect the valve position. So for now what I did was wait until the valve was in a position where water was not flushing through and pulled the plug. (I have no idea what mode/position the valve is actually in, though.)

I'm stumped - troubleshooting instuctions in the user manual start with the unit not being in regen mode and there seems no obvious way to get it to stop.

How to proceed from here?
 

ENIGMA-2

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Err01 is motor (you determined that your works), switch or harness.

My suspicion would lead me to either one of two items. It's probably either a defective switch or corroded connection where the switch harness connects to the control or the switch.

To check the switch, you could use a VOM meter or a battery powered test light (looks like a small flashlight with a pigtail attached). You will probably gave to pull the switch out for this; remove two screws holding motor plate & the smaller, longer screw with plastic spacer, holding the switch. Switch pulls right off after you remove the motor plate.

If you don't have a VOM or continuity tester check for corrosion on the wiring connectors at the control and switch. Clean with contact cleaner. If they look ok, I would then replace the switch. ($10 on ebay).
 

cbraxton

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Thanks - I was able to use a VOM to check that the switch works. (The switch did not have to come out, there was enough room to get my fingers in to trip the lever.) I'll have to check the harness, certainly the symptom seems to be that the controller is just not recognizing the position of the cam so the motor just keeps running. (I guess it's always possible the electronics are FUBARed, though the panel seems to be otherwise working normally.)

Is there any way to cancel the regen on this thing once it's started and compeletely reset the electronics? There's a small hole in the front panel which suggests a paperclip-operated reset switch but that doesn't seem to do anything.

We're bracing for a major winter storm here in the northeast, so that's going to be taking most of my attention the next few days...
 

ENIGMA-2

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I don't know of any way other than allowing the switch to detect the cam and run though each cycle. It's possible that the the little "arm" on the switch needs to be bent more (don't know how it could have become bent back in the first place, but if it's bent improperly it may not be triggering the switch).
You were able to put a VOM on the switch contacts and get the switch to flip on and off, right? Then I would suspect the harness as the problem. Check for corrosion on the contacts (both ends). If ok, guess that only leaves the controller.

What happens if you hold down the button to put it in manual regeneration? (Curious if it would switch the controller back into sensing mode).
 
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cbraxton

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It looks to me like the switch is triggering when the cam moves, but I can double-check that with the VOM. The owner's manual shows how the switch is wired to the controller so I'll have to check switch operation on the controller end as well.

Right now the controller is "stuck" in manual regeneration mode which is one of the problems. If the unit is unplugged, when you plug it back in it goes right back into the manual regeneration. None of the buttons seem to affect it, and I don't see a way to reset the controller. (Can't do much with this thing while the motor is spinning its wheels trying to finish a regen cycle that never ends.) As I said, for now I'm just leaving it unplugged until I can figure out what's going on.
 

ENIGMA-2

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Believe it will continue to turn until it receives switch input. All comes down to the switch signal.
Switch can be be bad even though it seems to function notmally. (Burnt contacts). Need to ohm out or use a circuit checker to be certain it's actually closing the contacts.
 

cbraxton

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I'll check the switch and wiring carefully before condemning the electronics, will check actual resistance at the controller end. I did at least figure out from the user manual how to tell what mode the cam is in and plugged the unit in long enough to rotate it to the service position. Since the switch is a cheap part it might not be a bad idea to just replace it while I'm in there since since it's the original.
 

Reach4

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If you can measure the voltage across the switch terminals, you should show zero volts when the switch is closed and a voltage when the switch is open. That tests more than the switch.

I don't know the water softener. My comments about this test for the switch circuit are generic.
 
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Mialynette2003

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You can press the select button & hold it down to get into the secondary mode. Once in, press the select until you see 3 0's and 2 dashes. The dashes are for the micro switch. As the cam rotates, the dashes will change. This will show if the micro switch is in fact working. Once the problem is fixed, the controller will allow the motor to continue to rotate (no more than 2 complete rotations) to "find" itself. If the controller is showing that the micro switch is working but it keeps going to an error code, the controller is bad.
 

cbraxton

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You can press the select button & hold it down to get into the secondary mode. Once in, press the select until you see 3 0's and 2 dashes. The dashes are for the micro switch. As the cam rotates, the dashes will change. This will show if the micro switch is in fact working. Once the problem is fixed, the controller will allow the motor to continue to rotate (no more than 2 complete rotations) to "find" itself. If the controller is showing that the micro switch is working but it keeps going to an error code, the controller is bad.

Thanks! That sounds like the definitive test I've been hoping to find! I actually did get it into that mode at one point but didn't know what it meant, thought the controller had crashed so I unplugged it.

If I do need a controller where is the best place to buy parts for these water conditioners? Sears? (At least while they're still in business!) Online 3rd party?
 

cbraxton

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Thanks, that's a great resource for parts and troubleshooting info. If I need a controller though it appears I'd need to go to Sears or other "authorized retailer." They're saying it's a proprietary part they can't get (which means probably others can't either). Other than that it looks like they have just about anything likely to be needed.

http://www.softenerparts.com/Timer_Circuit_Board_Kenmore_7255737_p/7255737.htm
 
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cbraxton

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A good alternative if needed. I won't be able to do more troubleshooting for a couple of days so don't know yet if I need to deal with the controller.

I do see there's currently a used one on ebay for about $100 that looks like it's complete with panel, AC adapter, and cam switch. It is claimed to be "tested good" but the seller doesn't accept returns. Part number shown in the controller photo is 7247394. That doesn't come up via CoreCentric store search though. I haven't checked the actual PN on mine yet since the conditioner is in a place that's a bit of a pain to get to.

Addendum: I checked at searspartsdirect.com and they stock the controller for $160, plus shipping and tax. They show a part number of 7249524. This number does not come up at CoreCentric either.
 
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cbraxton

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I finally had some time today to go down below and do some more troubleshooting on this.

It looks like the main culprit was some light corrosion on one of the switch terminals. Once cleaned up with some emery paper it passes the diagnostic test and operation has returned back to normal. (Apparently the sharp tip on the VOM probe was able to make electrical contact, but not the connector that hooks up to the switch.) Since it's a cheap part I'm going to go ahead and order a new switch since it's likely that there's some internal corrosion as well.

While in there I did the flow test in the diagnostic screen as well and that's working OK. The only other issue I see is that according to the manual, the display is supposed to show a model code of "SR24" for an Ultrasoft 150, "SR22" for an Ultrasoft 100. Mine is the 150 model but "SR22" is what comes up. The instructions (section 5-3) say to do the following in order to fix this:

1. Return to the present time display.
2. Change the SR number by pressing the Up or Down buttons, then press Select.

The trouble is that once I go back to the time display, pressing (or holding) the Up or Down buttons just changes the time. (I don't know how critical this setting is. It may well have been this way since the softener was installed.)

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions!
 
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ENIGMA-2

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To reset the control for your model, press the select button, and hold. This will put into a different mode.

When the mode switches, it will show SR22. At "this" point, use the up/down arrows to switch to SR24, Then press "select" again to exit.
 
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