Fleck 5812 SXT Constantly Flowing to Drain

[Dmlaero]

I have a Fleck 5812 SXT that I bought and installed in 2017. When I woke up this morning I heard water running down my washing machine drain where the softener drains which was odd since the regen cycle should have been done hours before. I checked the display and there was no error code. I didn't have time to mess around with it right then so I just turned the input and output valves off to bypass the system.

When I got home later, I left the softener in bypass and did a forced regen cycle to verify the motor and gears were all functional. The first time I tried it, things didn't seem to move right and it threw an error code. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which error code it was, but I suspect it was a 0 (zero) for motor stall. I commanded a few more forced regens to see if I could duplicate the issue and each one ran through all the valve positions fine. I popped the motor out to check the pinion and inspected the drive gears, and everything looked OK. The only thing I noted was that it seemed like it was taking quite a lot of torque to move the valve which even caused some flexing of the whole structure, but I'm not sure if that is abnormal.

After all that, I figured the valve was reset back to its normal service position, so I opened the input and output valves. Water immediately started flowing out the drain line at a high flow rate. To check the valves, I ran through a few more forced regen cycles. Nothing really changed and water continued flowing to drain. Essentially, whenever the input valve is open water just rushes out the drain line. Looking at the exploded view of the valve assembly, I suspect this is likely due to a faulty Piston/Seal/Spacer assembly (P/N: 61960-01).

Just looking for some expert opinions/advice on my diagnosis and any other steps that maybe I should try. Also, does anyone know the warranty duration on these valves?

 

[Reach4]

and any other steps that maybe I should try.

Power cycle. Seriously.

Also, does anyone know the warranty duration on these valves?

The seals and piston are considered maintenance items, and not covered by the 5 year warranty. However implementing any warranty action is through your dealer, and they may make it hard.

So you can inspect the piston to decide if it has any flaw, or just replace seals and piston. Get the right piston.

I have thought that if you were to turn the seal assembly around, and it changes symptoms, that would show the seal assmbly was bad, and maybe even work better for a while.

Lightly lube the sealing surfaces of the seal pack and piston with the proper viscosity NSF 61 approved silicone lube. Dow release compound 7 or Chemplex 862 are lower viscosity and are recommended for sliding stuff, as well as also being good for static seals.

 

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[Dmlaero]

Reach4, thanks for the feedback and info on the warranty. I did unplug the unit and plug it back it, but wasn't sure if that really did anything because of the 8-hr backup capacitor. I might give that another shot though. I have not pulled the piston to inspect it at this point or try to re-seat it but as you point out that might be worth a shot.

 

[Dmlaero]

Well, I pulled the piston and confirmed it is broken. Same problem described here. I just didn't uncover it in my earlier searches.

Unfortunately, I also confirmed that I was delivered a 5810 SXT system when I ordered and paid for a 5812 SXT system.