Hi,

My Apex stopped working. By that, I mean that the apex EB832 energy bar LED lights turn on and off but the plug relay doesn't actually engage. I thought it was a board issue and desolderd and resoldered the Harry's Aquatics control board. I still have the same issue. Before I splurge on an energy bar, I want to make sure the issue is the energy bar and not the brain. Would appreciate if someone local near MD 21230 will be willing to let me test the energy bar and brain to ID which of the two needs replacement.

Did you confirm with a multimeter that you're getting 120V on the AC side and 12V DC on the output of the power supply? Before you removed the 12V power supply did you see if the LED was off when powered on?

 

Can you control the outlets with Fusion app? Do you hear the relay click, but get no power?

Did you confirm with a multimeter that you're getting 120V on the AC side and 12V DC on the output of the power supply?  - No Could you point me to a video that shows that, please? I can test it. 

 

Before you removed the 12V power supply did you see if the LED was off when powered on? - The LEDs were on when the switches were controlled through Fusion.

 

Can you control the outlets with Fusion app? Yes.

Do you hear the relay click, but get no power? No. I did not hear the relay click both before and after this fix. The LEDs turn on and off when I turn on the switches through the app.

 

 

Typically if it’s the 12V power supply you will still hear the relays click when you turn the outlets on/off, but they won’t energize.
 

I will try to dig up a video, but here are some pics from my repairs in the meantime.

 

As a disclaimer, the unit will need to be plugged in to test. There will be live 120VAC so you need to be careful and only do this if you are comfortable working with electricity at your own risk. Unplug the unit until you are ready to measure the voltages.

 

Remember to use the correct AC and DC settings on the multi meter. 

 

This is the LED you wanted to look at prior to the replacement of the 12V power supply. If it was on then the power supply was likely good and it’s something else. The 120VAC input is on the right and 12VAC on the left.

 

Is this the replacement you used? It’s tight, but you might be able to test from the top at the solder points with the multimeter. The power supply would’ve been labeled as the AC and DC sides.

You can also test from the bottom where you soldered the power supply to the board. Unplug the unit and remove the electronics from the case. Once you have it out, then plug it back in and test the voltages using the correct settings on the multimeter. Unplug it before picking it up to return it to the case.

 

 

I have had to replace the 24V power supply as well. Because your unit powers on it should be ok. Double check that the light is on. You can also check the voltages to confirm. The voltages can be checked where the wires are soldered to the power supply.

 

This video describes repairing the actual 12V power supply, but does show what I was describing above. I would check the voltages on the board to check the new power supply. Again just be careful when the unit is plugged in.

 

 

@WheresTheReef Thank you for the detailed response. Really appreciate your attention to detail. Bottom line - I am getting 11.89 (12 V) DC and 120 V AC respectively across the pins you highlighted. Does it mean that I need to replace the energy bar completely? 

Is this the replacement you used? It’s tight, but you might be able to test from the top at the solder points with the multimeter. The power supply would’ve been labeled as the AC and DC sides - yes this is the unit that I used.

 

I have had to replace the 24V power supply as well. Because your unit powers on it should be ok. Double check that the light is on. You can also check the voltages to confirm. The voltages can be checked where the wires are soldered to the power supply. - yes this light is on. So, I am guessing that the 24V supply is okay.

Unfortunately I have not repaired an EB832 beyond the power supplies. I would contact Neptune. They sold me a discounted unit after I email them the issue I was having with mine and it was out of warranty. If I get a chance I'll open one up and see if I can look how the relays are controlled.