Culligan N8 Water Softener won't stop running during recharging

Where is the seal pack located? I forgot to mention that with all this running it's been doing, the water hasn't been treated. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

OK, he'll try that tomorrow morning and see how that goes. The system is probably around 17-18 years old. He remembered this happened once before but can't remember what the guy did, it was so long ago. I'll have him read this in the morning and see if he can fix it before we have to get out the Culligan Man, which we really can't afford to do at this time. Thank you so much for your help!

OK, I just gave all of your answers to my husband and he said he'll have to check all of this out when he gets home from work tonight. Hopefully it will be something small and he can fix it without having to call anyone in! You have been such a great help, thank you so much!

Sorry I haven't been on - the husband wasn't able to get to this water softener until today. He said everything appears to be moving correctly and was leery to open up the entire thing to see what was going on in there. So, he called Culligan and explained the problem. After playing telephone tag, the Culligan people said that our system was purchased in 1992 and they have no parts but they'd be happy to send out the service guy at $138 for the first half hour to diagnose the problem. We said no thanks! He's going to take the thing apart now since if he screws anything up, they can't replace it anyway, in the hopes that there's just something stuck.

I guess what I'd like to know is if there really are no parts and secondly, what brand of water softener would you recommend if we have to buy a new one? Again, thank you so much for all your help!

My husband said "oh, that makes sense". He can't work on it tomorrow but he'll be at it on Saturday so there's no need to check in until Saturday afternoon. He said thank you very much for all the advice. He's going to take the thing apart and hope for the best. He's mechanically inclined but would feel better if there were a manual. Of course, we can't find one online anywhere. I guess it's not a surprise to you since Culligan seems to have quite the monopoly when it comes to their stuff. Thank you!!!!

Me again. Hope you had a nice weekend! We have a broken part - part 27 on the diagram that you sent. The piston inside of part 27 appears to be broken from the pushing rod (on top). The O-ring is good. The connection from the steel pushing rod to the plastic is broken and it can't retract that piece. Is there a parts website that we can go on or would a plumbing supply place have it? Hopefully this is it. He turned it on and the water stopped flowing and the recharge switch had resistance. He hit the switch but the water kept on running - no recharge. He thinks this piston thing is the problem. Again, any help would be GREATLY appreciated and thank you again for all your help!

Revision - it's part #28 (27 fits with it) but the broken piece seems to be 28!:laughing:

Here's the closest to the problem: piston end is broke and can no longer hold the shaft. My husband said there was a lot of rust buildup and he thinks that's what contributed to the problem. The filter on the top above the piston pack was also clogged with rust/sediment. So, now where does he get the part - Craigs list, Culligan, plumbing supply? After all this, it would stink if he couldn't get the part! Thank you again!

That's the part! It's broken on the right side as you're looking at this picture. Where on the upper East Coast? I'm in New Jersey. We have a Culligan dealer in the area, should we see them for the part or won't they sell it to a regular person? So happy we're making progress here! Thanks!

Hi. I got your message but I couldn't reply because I don't have 20 posts so I'm racking up the posts here! My husband didn't work from home yesterday so he didn't make any calls. I think he can do it today so I'll keep you posted. I'll have him email or call you to let you know how he makes out. Thanks and have a great day!

Update: He went on the website and inquired about the part. The site said they'll get back to him in 24 to 48 hours. We'll see! Alaska!! Awesome!

Still waiting to get the part. The Culligan people are giving my husband the runaround. The piece is in stock but they can't sell it to him unless the Sales/Service Manager himself sells it to him. Only problem with that is the guy is always on the road. My husband has been waiting for a return call since I last posted. Unbelievable. He's ready to just buy a Sears water softener after all this.

He's trying to get in with what he took out to show the guy what's broken. The guy won't even call back. They say they sell to the public but you have to catch the guy in. He's going to try tomorrow and he's also going to see if there's another warehouse (?) closer to the area where he's going to be tomorrow. It's so frustrating!

Thanks for the info. We may be looking into the Sears one very soon. Depends on how patient my husband is this week. LOL He doesn't like Sears all that much either but he did hear from someone else that their water softeners are pretty reliable. Our Culligan one is almost 19 years old and we've never had much trouble with it. A part broke, he knows what he needs, now he just needs someone to sell it to him. One of the other nice men on this site helped him to narrow down the problem. We're close, yet so far.

I only have 5 posts to go before I can actually reply to your message (now only 4 after I post this). We may take you up on your offer if we can't get anywhere with these people. I think my husband is going to try somewhere in No. Jersey or on Long Island (NY) when he's out there tomorrow for a meeting. So frustrated! Thanks for the advice on the new vs. fixing this one. He feels the same way and since you narrowed it down, the only thing holding him back is that stupid part! I'll keep you posted and thank you!!!

Hi! I can read the PM's but I can't post until I've posted 20 times. After this one, I have 3 to go, then I can PM away! I can't believe how poorly they run their customer service; you'd think they'd want to keep their customers. If this can't be fixed (which isn't the case because of you), we'd never buy another one of their products because of the runaround you always get when you deal with them. We used to have salt delivered but they were coming every other week or so and overcharging for the salt that we just go on our own. I just wish this were over with because the water is horrible!

So true. In the meantime, the water tastes like crap and our skin is so dry, along with our hair. Waiting for the whites to come out brown. Lots of fun over here.

No, he didn' have a chance. He's going up to North Jersey to see if there's anything up there and if he has no luck, he's going to try this place one last time. I didn't even get a chance to tell him about that part you had but I will tonight! Hope you have a wonderful day! Joyce

Ta-dah!! He got the part, put it in this morning and we're back up and running again thanks to you!!!! Hopefully we're good for a long, long time! Thank you so much for all your help and if we ever need another part I will most definitely contact you first since it took a year and a day to get this issue resolved. Unbelievable!:thumbsup: