Reef Keeper Urgent Help Please

Nicolas Sabrun · Nov 1, 2018

My RKE controller is acting up big time. Woke up this morning and all the light on modules were blinking (PB4, ALC,...). My aquarium lights were on but main pumo, skimmer, ATO were shut down.

I turned off the PB4 to restart the controller. Then my RKE is now displaying a blck screen without backlight. I tried to update using My Reef but nothing change.

Any advice please? is my controller toast? Where can I find replacement?

Thank you for your help

Hitman · Nov 1, 2018

Unfortunately they went out of business and left us hanging. Try unplugging it from the wall. I have a power flicker one day that was all of a split second and mine freaked out. I had to unplug the display from the pb4 then unplug the pb4 from the wall. After about a minute I plugged the pb4 back in then the display and it seemed to fix it. Just Incase let’s get @Crabs Mcjones attention as he is one of many that have been a great help with reefkeeper issues.

Nicolas Sabrun · Nov 1, 2018

I am well aware digital aquatics stop their aquarium products even though they are still in business. None of the retailers are carrying RK anymore which is a real bummer.

If I connect the head unit with SID to murder, i am able to update the firmware. However, it is not changing anything.

If i connect SID-PB4-RK. To myreef, it is not displaying the RK, only the PB4. The head unit beeps 3 times then display a solid black screen.

I am at complete lost here. Anything else i can try.

JayBABQ · Nov 2, 2018

Nicolas Sabrun said:
I am well aware digital aquatics stop their aquarium products even though they are still in business. None of the retailers are carrying RK anymore which is a real bummer.

If I connect the head unit with SID to murder, i am able to update the firmware. However, it is not changing anything.

If i connect SID-PB4-RK. To myreef, it is not displaying the RK, only the PB4. The head unit beeps 3 times then display a solid black screen.

I am at complete lost here. Anything else i can try.

So after forcing a firmware update on the RKL you still get a black screen on the head unit (RKL)?
If so I think I would follow the instructions for a failed update then load the head unit with the RKL settings and new serial number.
I have on a couple occasions updated my firmware on a pb4 with my head unit still plugged in (which you are not supposed to do) and bricked the.head unit. It comes up with the ??????? In my reef. You can force it to load the RKL firmware at that point and things are better.
You can find the "failed update" instructions on this site. On mine it is the first pinned conversation.

I have fixed many odd behaviors by simply updating firmware and don't forget to do a factory reset one you load firmware. This will destroy all your custom settings but it seems to help in major cases.

Nicolas Sabrun · Nov 2, 2018

JayBABQ said:
So after forcing a firmware update on the RKL you still get a black screen on the head unit (RKL)?
If so I think I would follow the instructions for a failed update then load the head unit with the RKL settings and new serial number.
I have on a couple occasions updated my firmware on a pb4 with my head unit still plugged in (which you are not supposed to do) and bricked the.head unit. It comes up with the ??????? In my reef. You can force it to load the RKL firmware at that point and things are better.
You can find the "failed update" instructions on this site. On mine it is the first pinned conversation.

I have fixed many odd behaviors by simply updating firmware and don't forget to do a factory reset one you load firmware. This will destroy all your custom settings but it seems to help in major cases.

The "failed update" did not cjange anything unfortunately. The serial number changed and everything but it is still not working.

The head unit beeps 3 time, DA logo appears then I get a black screen. (Black rectangle) The head unit does not light up either ( no blue backlight)

JayBABQ · Nov 2, 2018

Well that is all I had in my bag of tricks, hopefully some one else knows what the 3 beeps mean. That seems to be the key at this point.

DaveMorris · Nov 3, 2018

Usually when all of the indicator lights on the modules are flashing it can indicate a bad bus connection. You could try to clean the bus connections, one module at a time. Another thing is to take one module at a time off line from the bus and see if the problem is specific to a particular module. If none of the modules seem to be the culprit, then it is likely the head unit and since an update didn't work, it may have a terminal problem. I would guess that you could find another head unit on the boards somewhere.

Nicolas Sabrun · Nov 3, 2018

DaveMorris said:
Usually when all of the indicator lights on the modules are flashing it can indicate a bad bus connection. You could try to clean the bus connections, one module at a time. Another thing is to take one module at a time off line from the bus and see if the problem is specific to a particular module. If none of the modules seem to be the culprit, then it is likely the head unit and since an update didn't work, it may have a terminal problem. I would guess that you could find another head unit on the boards somewhere.

I tried different bus cable and nothing so I think my head unit is just gone. That s a real bummer

n2585722 · Nov 4, 2018

Is this an RKE controller? If so it has two updates that are done Are both of them working OK. Also the RKE has a connector in back for the buss cable. This has been known to come unsoldered before. That could also be the culprit. I guess you have tried it with just the RKE and a single power bar. If it does not work on the first power bar try another. Make sure no other modules are connected. Check all connectors on all modules for corrosion.

ReefStrong · Sep 15, 2019

n2585722 said:
Is this an RKE controller? If so it has two updates that are done Are both of them working OK. Also the RKE has a connector in back for the buss cable. This has been known to come unsoldered before. That could also be the culprit. I guess you have tried it with just the RKE and a single power bar. If it does not work on the first power bar try another. Make sure no other modules are connected. Check all connectors on all modules for corrosion.

Did he ever get back with you as to the RKE issue??