Qwik Swap™ Frequently Asked Questions

If the connector that is plugged into the ECM motor does not fit on the QwikSwap® board, you are using the wrong QwikSwap®.

Constant Torque ECMs are also sometimes referred to as X-13 motors and have a 4-pin connector and 5 individual speed/torque taps, which will only plug into a QwikSwap® X1 or QwikSwap® X3. The X1 will then drive a PSC motor at a single speed, while the X3 will drive the PSC motor at 3 speeds by activating different speed taps on the replacement PSC motor.

Variable Air Flow ECMs are also identified by their unique connectors. All Variable Air Flow ECMs have the same 5-pin power connector and either a 4-pin or 16-pin digital communication connector. These connectors will only plug into a QwikSwap® V3 board.

NEVER cut the connector off the wires to make it fit. This will NEVER work.

That is normal. In addition to the 5-pin power connector, the QwikSwap® V3 can accommodate either a 4-wire digital connector (used on ECM 3.0 and Emerson, for example) or a 16-pin connector used on 2.0, 2.3 and 2.5 ECM motors.

The temperature sensor should be connected to the evaporator in a location where both liquid and vapor refrigerant will be flowing so that an accurate saturation temperature can be measured. Typically, one of the bends on a fin-tube evaporator just downstream of the expansion device is an ideal location.

This temperature reading is used to optimize the air flow and speed of the PSC blower motor by activating one of the three speed taps of the motor. Since the X1 only provides a single operating speed, no temperature reading is necessary and therefore no temperature sensor is used.

You can mount the QwikSwap® board in any practical location inside the air handler where it will be kept dry and secure.

Sometimes there may be multiple commands telling the blower to operate. For example, while the thermostat may not be calling for cooling, a humidistat may be commanding the blower to operate. The QwikSwap^® V3 board must be told which commands to ignore, and this is done by setting the Input Mask, which tells the QwikSwap^® board the commands to ignore. Instructions for setting the Input Mask are shown in Appendix A1 (Adjusting the Input Configuration for ECM 2.0 & 2.3 motors only) in your instruction sheet.

The steps are repeated here:

Step 1. Be sure the QwikSwap^® V3 is powered up and the unit’s blower is running when it shouldn’t be running.

Step 2. Turn ALL the configuration switches on the QwikSwap^® V3 board to OFF. The direction for OFF is down. (see image)

Step 3. Turn ON the following configuration switches. (1, 3, 4, 6, and 8). After you have successfully turned on only those 5 switches, the blower should turn OFF and the RED and BLUE LED’s should be alternately flashing. NOTE: IF THE BLOWER IS STILL RUNNING AND THE RED AND BLUE LED’s ARE NOT ALTERNATELY FLASHING, GO BACK TO STEP 1. VERIFY THAT YOU HAVE SET THE CORRECT ON THE CONFIGURATION SWITCHES TO “OFF”. THE DIRECTION FOR THE “OFF” POSITION IS DOWN TOWARDS THE CENTER OF THE BOARD. THERE IS AN ARROW POINTING TO THE DIRECTION FOR THE “OFF” POSITION PRINTED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CONFIGURATION SWITCHES.

Step 4. The QwikSwap^® V3 board has now been successfully configured. Now turn ALL the configuration switches on the V3 board to OFF.

Before configuring the V3 board, it must be powered up prior to setting any of the configuration switches. To see if the V3 board is powered, look the Yellow STATUS LED located near the center of the V3 board. It should be flashing. Also, ALL the configuration switches to the V3 board should be turned OFF prior to turning any of them ON. The direction for OFF is down towards the center of the board. An arrow pointing to the direction for OFF is printed on the left side of the configuration switches.

If the input mask was properly set then the Red and Blue LEDs should have been alternately flashing. This indicates that an Input Mask on the QwikSwap^® V3 board has been successfully programmed. However, if the Red and Blue LEDs are not flashing, it means that there may be multiple redundant commands telling the blower to operate and you will need to repeat the process of setting the Input Mask as many times as necessary until the Red and Blue LED begin alternatively flashing and all the Green LEDs are off.