Monday, June 15, 2009

GE SmartWater Switch Activation Not in Sync with Cam Gear

*PROBLEM:
The softener stops just short of where it needs to for the fill and brine cycles. On the valve body the indicator is to the left of the letter slightly past mark, but it still needs a little bit more to make the fill and brine work. What's up with this? Is this a problem with the rotor and stem having "stretched" from being so hard to turn?
* No
*ANSWER:
You can make it work by taking the micro-switch and moving the bend of the "arm" out farther, so it lets the Cam Gear turn 1/32" further and thus reaches the correct position to engage the proper cycle in the regeneration process.
** This solution is the only one I can think of, as the switch is what "tells" the circuit board that the Cam Gear has reached the point it's "suppose" to stop at.
You could replace the switch, but there is no guaranty the new switch would not behave the same.
I've looked at a newer model of the SmartWater softener, and they have the bend further down the arm, exactly where it needed to be, to correct the cycle position problem.