brettline bl-70 "188" error

[frankenstein]

Going crazy trying to figure out this error. The tub is acting very crazy. Will start pumps and air and sometimes i could start one pump only with an error "188" when i try and start pump 2 (everything stops when 188 is displayed). Sometimes I can get 2 pumps going with finally the air causing the error. Fooled around with the wiring as i thought t was the transformer and somehow it worked fine for two weeks or so ... but now it started acting up again. Any help ... please!

[MaryH]

You can try turning of the power and disconnecting the topside panel from circuit board. Make sure the connection is clean and reinstall. I am not sure what wire you were working with. It could be an issue with your transformer not suppling the topside panel proper voltage. Should be getting around 12-14 volts to topside from transformer.

[frankenstein]

You can try turning of the power and disconnecting the topside panel from circuit board. Make sure the connection is clean and reinstall. I am not sure what wire you were working with. It could be an issue with your transformer not suppling the topside panel proper voltage. Should be getting around 12-14 volts to topside from transformer.

Bought a new topside controller as I thought that was the problem ... same thing. The voltage from the transformer fluctuates from 12.6v to 14v ... diffent on different days. When its at 12.6 it works better (still tripping with 188 code) ... at 14v it starts the pump and i can't shut them off.

[frankenstein]

Thought it might be the transformer ... tested it and it is providing 12.5v - 14v to the board (fluctuates day to day). How would i test the voltage getting to the controller? Could it be the board? It works for a while and then doesn't ... and the was like an electrtical crackling sound when I pushed the pump button coming from the board area ... the crackling stopped when the pump started.

[wineandfingers]

Thought it might be the transformer ... tested it and it is providing 12.5v - 14v to the board (fluctuates day to day). How would i test the voltage getting to the controller? Could it be the board? It works for a while and then doesn't ... and the was like an electrtical crackling sound when I pushed the pump button coming from the board area ... the crackling stopped when the pump started.

New member here. I feel compelled to respond to this even though it is a year later. I had all the same symptoms, plus, with several devices activated (e.g 2 pumps, or when the heater tried to kick on) the topside would freeze with LEDS flickering. Ordered a new topside (6 weeks!) which turns out was not the problem. Same issues. Checked transformer voltage; all good (you can find a troubleshooting manual on several websites). I also could not find out how to check the actual connector pins for the ones that supply power to the ribbon cable/topside, so no luck there. Another forum mentioned undersized capacitors being a problem on this board. So I had a closer look, and lo and behold, a brown burn mark and leaked electrolyte from a black tube-like 470 microfarad 35 volt capacitor (bottom right corner of board, near the P1-P2 transformer 12V board power spade connectors). This might explain your crackling sound. I unsoldered the capacitor from the board, put in a 50 cent new one (470mf, 50volt which was all the store had, but higher voltage rating is Ok, I believe), and presto, it works. By the way, somewhere I saw someone mention the number 24 being the first thing displayed upon power up. That is normal; I think it means the filtration cycle is set on a 24 hour schedule (instead of 12). Hope this helps someone out there. This cost me 2 months and a few hundred bucks (unnecessarily), thankfully I didn't spring for a new board (another 200 hundred). Parts in Canada are $$$$. My gut says this was a good digital pack in its day, and worth keeping alive if for a moderate cost.