Neptune wants my fmm sent in for "repair."

[ca1ore]

Customer for life.... until you don't get your way and put them on blast again

That made me laugh .... because we’ve all done it. I was never going to buy another Honda until they offered to waive my lease overmileage. Got a lot of razzing from my sons over that one LOL. I do try not to have a hissy fit on the forums though. It’s there forever ....

I do think it’s is wise to configure the apex such that the loss of an accessory module does not materially affect the tank. I’ve four of the FFM and the just monitor and trigger alerts.

 

[rhostam]

This has to be a joke?

I've been dealing with an FMM module going nuts for over a month. I finally figured out the problem. Port 4 is causing the module to reset.

They want me to send it in for "repair?" I'm not shutting down my system securities etc to send in a fmm module.

I have about $500 more apex gear ordered through brs currently. I'm sending it all back and selling all of my apex.

Your company is ridiculous.

Greetings,

How did you determine it was port 4 and that it was causing resets? Is there a verbose log I can access somewhere to check mine?

I have two 4-month-old FMMs that appear to go offline weekly. But they stopped misbehaving for a few weeks which made me happy.

Until today.

One of the FMMs lost its sensors (the ATO one, of course) and left the PMUP in an ON state. What is FALLBACK OFF for? Surely if a dependent sensor goes MISSING this would trigger a FALLBACK. Apparently, not. This could have been catastrophic if I had not heard the unfamiliar trickle sound that was my tank overflowing.

I realize now I need to find a physical way to include a float valve even in my tight footprint. But until then, I also need to work out this issue once and for all. I'm also reintroducing WHEN ON since the PMUP ran for a long while to have the tank overflow. I also realize I probably need to get a leak sensor that isn't tied into this system as another safeguard.

I followed BRS 5-Minute guides and tried to keep all original programming (i.e. simple), however, it's clear that I can't always rely on basic conditions.

Any advice and/ or recommendations before I hit up support would be appreciated.

 

[Dondante]

I just unplugged them one by one until the problem stopped happening. Unplug 1 then wait. If no problem plug it back in and move to the next.

Unfortunately my wife was diagnosed with leukemia when all of this was happening.

So I haven't been able to hook up the new one and have been just operating old school manually. Wish I could be more help. I haven't had time for much of anything. Even My Display glass is crusty right now. Lol.

 

[rhostam]

I just unplugged them one by one until the problem stopped happening. Unplug 1 then wait. If no problem plug it back in and move to the next.

Unfortunately my wife was diagnosed with leukemia when all of this was happening.

So I haven't been able to hook up the new one and have been just operating old school manually. Wish I could be more help. I haven't had time for much of anything. Even My Display glass is crusty right now. Lol.

I understand. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[DaneGer21]

Since you mentioned life support I assumed it must be monitoring the flow of the return pump or some other pump that is critical to life support.

If you have been dealing with this for over a month and finally got what you wanted as a solution after putting them on blast on here and wherever else, then yes that is Karen move.

You didn't get the resolution you wanted talking to Neptune service, they remoted into your system to try and run diagnostics, then followed their SOP for how things are supposed to be done, you weren't happy with that. Then came on here, blasted them. Then "Paul literally called my cell phone" (aka "talking to the manager") and you changed your tune.

To recap
1) You got mad because you didn't like what customer service had to say
2) Put neptune on blast online
3) Talked to the manager
4) Got what you wanted

Why does it matter to you? Just curious?

 

[Steven91]

So being in customer service and dealing with situations like this, almost made me want to make popcorn and read this thread but i digress.

I did reach out to Neptune when my Trident was not working and they determined that it needed to be set in for service due to a defect. They gave me 2 options:

1) charge a $99 that I did get back due to it being a defect, but they sent me a refurb one with new reagents and I had to send the old one back
2) Send the old one back first and then they would either fix it or send me a refurb.

I went with option 1 just as its a faster turn around time but sending in a FMM in without a replacement seems completely reasonable, monitors flow (and i believe leak detection but might be wrong), which is important to the tank but the tank can live without a the FMM and still run perfectly fine until neptune sent it back.

Deal with stuff like this on a day to day basis, most companies (even Apple which i saw was referenced) requires a lot of stuff send into them, which can have a 2+ week turn around time depending on parts.

 

[zalick]

OP - glad they took care of you. Paul, Jon and Luis have always been very helpful when I've needed support.

 

[johnny5]

I’ve been having a Trident issue for a couple weeks. For the last week they’ve been in the system pulling reports and trying to diagnose why test results fail. They’ve been very responsive and actively working to resolve. In the meantime I test manually. Support has been great.

 

[Justanano]

So the trident is useless if you have to manually test

 

[johnny5]

For the time being yes I have to manually test so yes right now the Trident is useless. At least there’s a work around. Electronic components fail. I look at it do different than if I have a car repair. It will get repaired and it will get back on line. The lack of a Trident doesn’t affect my ability to keep the tank operating.

 

[Steven91]

So, right now the trident is working again, will update again if i have another issue

 

[ReeferBud]

I had a similar situation when my apex classic (black label) was disconnecting from fusion, but was after 8 years in operation...

They offered to have me send it in for a diagnostic and repair, which I did not find reasonable since I’d have to take my whole apex down on my tank... and I told them that... but was pleased when they offered to give me a discount on a new 2016 apex brain.

I’ve had to deal with Neptune customer service quite a bit over the years and I will say they are EXCELLENT! These guys will get back to you quickly, work with you remotely to troubleshoot your issue and are courteous and knowledgeable. I haven’t encountered that type of personalized service anywhere else.

having said that, I do agree that CC on file and getting a temporary module/part should be an option, but that’s more a feedback message for Neptune management...

 

[Steven91]

I had a similar situation when my apex classic (black label) was disconnecting from fusion, but was after 8 years in operation...

They offered to have me send it in for a diagnostic and repair, which I did not find reasonable since I’d have to take my whole apex down on my tank... and I told them that... but was pleased when they offered to give me a discount on a new 2016 apex brain.

I’ve had to deal with Neptune customer service quite a bit over the years and I will say they are EXCELLENT! These guys will get back to you quickly, work with you remotely to troubleshoot your issue and are courteous and knowledgeable. I haven’t encountered that type of personalized service anywhere else.

having said that, I do agree that CC on file and getting a temporary module/part should be an option, but that’s more a feedback message for Neptune management...

Customer service has been great so far, just wish the reliability of the trident was a little better. When I had to send in the first one, they shipped me a refurb first and then i sent back mine

 

[rhostam]

I understand. Thanks for the feedback.

BTW:

After an extensive support session, I did manage to find a resolution to the problem. I planned to create a post just for this, but since there are few comments here, I hope you don't mind me sharing here as well:

My problem(s) were for two FMMs with port 3 (coincidentally?) having leak sensors connected. I eventually had a flood event occur because ATO didn't stop running (and I removed the float valve due to space constraints - I have since MADE ROOM FOR THE FLOAT VALVE - LOL).

My original symptoms were awfully similar to the OPs, but the following were mine specifically:

1. FMMs randomly reporting offline
2. FMMs staying online but sensors just disappearing; with no failback type behavior missing sensors just cause programs to not run (in code missing sensors are greyed out and have no status because they don't exist)
3. Leak sensors were tripping left and right or not at all
4. All sensors were being identified incorrectly (defaulting to flow sensors) despite manual/automatic settings

To T/S on my own:

1. I reseated sensors
2. I removed power and AquaBus cables
3. This temporarily resolved the issues, until the next day or week
4. Removing leak sensors did stop the problems, but then I didn't have leak sensors
5. I added one at a time (to the original port 3) and tested for a week in between to confirm that both sensors (one attached to port 3 of each FMM) were causing problems

With the assistance and remote assistance of Support, I did the following:

1. First, agent A logged on and was able to witness the malfunction as it happened
2. We debugged (putty stuff) and he confirmed the status of the sensors
3. Agent B was brought online, and of course, all behaved and so he said nothing was wrong and it was probably an interference issue (that is apparently more common than they directly let on)
4. Agent A apologized for Agent B and gave his Ford anecdote about strange issues customers face and the length they went to solve these issues
5. We devised the following plan

Troubleshooting Plan (executed over the course of a few weeks):

1. Disconnect problem sensors (leak sensors)
2. Force update Firmware for FMMs
3. Run for a week without sensors to confirm baseline behavior
4. Add one sensor back (to original port 3 on a problem FMM - for me I selected my ATO controlling FMM for obvious reasons)
5. Disconnect immediately if we see the issue (which happened on the same day - otherwise was going to give it a few days)
6. Test second sensor
7. Disconnect if we see the issue (again, happened on the same day, no need to bake)
8. Order ferrite cores and place them on sensors
9. Add one sensor back
10. Run for two weeks to observe the behavior
11. Add the second sensor and run for two weeks to observe the behavior

After the ferrite cores were added I have encountered zero malfunctions of any device or FMM.

Everything is working as expected now for several weeks. I've even decided to expand the system now that I feel more confident about the setup.

Naturally, I've provided feedback. The biggest one is ADD FERRITE CORES TO YOUR SENSORS - why make your customers go through this agony and subject your reputation to this kind of easily avoidable stuff? While the leak sensors and specifically the strange combination of port 3. I did not test other port/sensor combinations for any length of time as I have a full-time job that I need to pay for this expensive hardware! It may have worked. It may not have. At the very least, I suspect there may be a manufacturing or design flaw with shielding or something for port 3 when used in combination with certain sensors such as the leak sensors (since they have really long cables). Who knows? If I ever encounter another issue, I plan on slapping a ferrite core as the first step now.

Cheers! Thanks for all of the support this community offers, I hope this helps someone.

 

[vic5hands]

Exactly my thoughts and what I expect.

That's the way everyone else does it. Hell coralvue replaced a $200 unit a while back and didn't even ask for the defective one back.

Coral Vue sent me the wrong protein cup and to this day have yet to send the correct one. And are fully aware