Great video. Here's another possibility causing the problem: I have a 2006 Sovereign and have twice (in 2012 and 2016) had to have a heater relay board replaced, so I was not happy to see blinking lights when I fired it up for the season. Had just cleaned the filters, and the pumps worked fine, but your discussion about drawing water and separately about air locks made me think. I had put the caps on the other filters before I filled the tub through the pipe. Normally I wait so I can submerge them first. BINGO! Took them off, released the big air bubbles there, put them back on, powered down/up, and everything was happy again.
I have never seen a bad heater relay board cause a power/ready light blinking error, but I guess it's not impossible. In 20 years I have seen faulty components do things to a spa that the manufacturer says is not possible. The extremely rare occurrences that I seen once in 20 years, are anomalies that aren't worth mentioning in my videos, or they would be a half hour long.
Thank you so much for this trouble shooting video. We were all set to use the tub and it was cold. After watching this video; It turned out that that water level had dropped below the top of the filters. I filled the tub but the ready light was blinking. I flipped the breaker and gave it a minute, then back on. The light stopped blinking and began heating. You saved me a lot of frustration and money. Thank you so much!
Update on your video! I went to Local Spa store to see if they had parts! They weren't happy that I learned from a video on UA-cam HAHA...They happened to have the EXACT parts I needed for my TUB! replied and have a HAPPY wife now! Thank you again for the GREAT INFO!
Thanks so much for this information...will keep in the archives for future when the airlock happens (we have a Hotsprings model with the water fountain valve) next time. We drained and cleaned the filters and the blinking red/green lights are gone (for now).
I'm not above paying someone to come out to fix my hot tub, but I'd rather learn how to do it myself and understand the mechanics before I get to that point. I'm not sure if this will resolve my specific heating problem, but it sure did educate me and elucidate my Hot Springs setup. Thank you.
Hey Craig, Thanks so much for these troubleshooting videos they helped a lot with my Hotspring Prodigy H spa project, Would love to see more videos like this. Cheers from New Zealand :)
Wow thank you! I knew it was a filter issue but I honestly thought my recirc was the filter at the other end. Once I opened the right one, glug glug glug and away she went!
My rule of thumb is every time I flip the calendar, I hose off my filters. (every month) And every time I drain/refill, I hose the filters, soak them in filter cleaner solution, and hose/dunk rinse so they're clean-clean. Simple routines offer fantastic results.
Hi Craig! I have a 2006 vista grande ss. The tub has worked flawlessly til lately. It will work like a champ for about 3-4 days, then all the sudden I come out and the ready light is off, adjusting the temp down from 100 it will come back on around 94-92 degrees. Anytime this happens I do a hard reset with my breakers and boom it works again for 3-4 days. It has also clicked a lot since I bought it 2nd hand a year ago. I have tried cleaning/replacing the filters . My circ pump is working well from the weep hole in the filter box. Just curious if a knowledgeable tech like yourself or anyone else out there has had this issue. Thank you for the video very informative for my first steps!
There may be a 12V 18V mis-match between the main circuit board and the relay board. Main boards depending on if they are new style or old style, you move jumper pins on both boards to match. If that is not the case, there could be lots of things... bad relay board chattering relays. Or a failing control panel which controls the CALL FOR HEAT could be wigging out the rest of the system. As an experiment, unplug the telephone style connection to the aux panel at the back of the tub. It's rare, but that can interfere with the call for heat.
Craig, your videos are great! Super helpful. Just replaced my circ. pump. Running again but still have green/red flashing and no heat. I can hear and see the circ pump running. The control board shows green LM ok, no light for HTR ON. Checked and no voltage going to heater. HotSprings Grandee.
It's the pressure switch in the heater that is bad, or perhaps the thin gray cord that runs from the heater to the PRESSURE SWITCH pluggin on the board came loose.
@@dwightbrown8505 even though the pressure switches for Cedric/Hawk systems (Hot Spot) are not recommended, they do work with similar pressure circumstances.
Greg, as a blind person, I would like to see you do a key description showing the panel of eight bottoms, as the top left bottom the jet boot on, being the number one botton, going down, that’s number 2, going up to the right of the jet n, number 3, the one below is number 4 and the next one in the same sequence is number 5 and so on. If we use this description to describe the different options to function the spa, more then 20,000,000.00 will be able to use your spa including ne. e
Craig!!! So I have a lime light hot tub, and the heater keeps tripping. Tonight after watching your video, I tried the removal of the filter. When the heater is pumping there’s zero suction from there. Anyway, what I did hear after shutting the power off and cycling it in the hot tub started. It sounded like there was a lot of air in the line. After playing with it for 30 minutes I took the front cover off the hot tub and I noticed that there was air going to the lines to the heater. There is a clear piece of tubing for like a better term does plastic and it has the word low stamped on it when I moved the hose that I could see Aaron I could hear the hot tub pushing air upon further inspection when I looked underneath the motor on the bottom side of that clear piece of tubing, which is like plastic I could see it dripping in the more I moved it the more dripped. It is clamped tight, so I’m assuming the nipple is broken. Have you ever seen that before? I have pictures if I could email them to you.
I'm trying to understand with the loose terminology of heater tripping, when heaters don't trip. Breakers trip, spas don't trip when they go into a blinking error code. Does the word LOW actually say FLOW with an arrow indicating flow direction? That is an ozone injector tee (mazzei), and it's supposed to suck air into the water stream AFTER and AWAY from the heater, not before and into the heater.
You sir, saved me hours of troubleshooting with this video! I’m looking for parts for an 2005 Prodigy, any recommendations on a site that would supply basic parts for that make/model tub?
Your local Hot Spring dealer. Get there early or late in the day to chat with the service tech who is usually out in the field. A good service tech is always glad to give you tips and pointers when you are buying parts from them. If their service tech does not seem to want to give out helpful advice, seek out the 'other' tech. :)
@@craigsmith5025 Hot Springs Sovereign II, IQ 2020 after a power cycle tub heats, gets to temp ready light comes on. After about 24 hours or so ready light starts to flicker at times, then light goes out after a while? Any possible ideas??
Thanks Craig. I’ve got a hot springs spa with the power light red solid, no ready light. The circuit board has a green LIM OK light and red HTR ON light. No power to heater
Wow this video is tremendous! Craig I have an older Hot Spring Prodigy, what does a red light (only) flashing mean? I’m trying to treat it as an air lock…
Howdy Craig, Thanks again for all your help. Using your directions I also needed to replace a blown heater relay board. I have a 2005 HS Vanguard, I replaced my board with the newer heavy duty Watkins board, Once replaced the tub went back into normal heating cycles. But with a very distinctive Click Click, Click Click over and over. This lasted for about 10 days and then stopped. but so did the heat. Going back to your beginning trouble shooting I took the cover off my ISO2020 and now noticed a red blinking light on the new relay board. I have a solid green on D10 location and a blinking RED at D9. Any thoughts?? Main Board shows solid green for LIM and Solid red for HTR on. Lastly I tested my heater leads off the board. ohms setting reads 10.6, Tested the relay from white to ground on volts only reads 1.45 about the same on the black side. So I feel maybe I killed my new heater relay? just not sure what might have caused the Clicking. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Did the pins at the upper right get fully pressed into the new relay board's spring clips, or just get installed resting against them? Removing the old board you likely had to rock the board a bit to release off those pins, you kinda have to rock the new board onto those pins too.
@@craigsmith5025 Howdy back Craig, Yes you are correct. when I reviewed it appears it is just sitting on top. I can even see a bit of deflection. Since the Click Click has stopped, and my red light is flashing, do you feel this misstep cost me the heater board?
Hi Craig, great videos, I bought a new heater for my envoy and it doesn't have that 3rd grey wire (I think you called it a pressure switch) is this normal? Also what does a circ pump cost? Thanks. it is a 2005
If your old heater had that 3rd pressure switch wire, and your new heater doesn't, that's ok. Install the heater, and make a jumper plug out of the old pressure switch plug by stripping the wire, twisting them together and plug it in. The new heater has an internal power down reset PDR in case of circ flow interruption.
Great video!! Thanks! My HS Aria is an '08 model, so has some use. Below freezing the next few days so needed to get on it. Had the two flashing lights yesterday and found your video today. Checked the filter, looked good.. temporarily jumped the pressure switch on the heater and BAM it works. I know I can't leave it jumpered, so if it is heating what are your thoughts on installing a flow switch from Amazon in line with the heater? Thanks a million! Subscribed.
Thanks so much for the info. Very informative. I am still having a issue with my hot springs. Flashing red after about 15 secs, then circ pump starts up. Don’t know if you can help or not.
@@craigsmith5025 same thing, no difference. I have one green light on heater relay and one red light on d17 that turns on when red light flashes. no other lights on board are lit
@Josh Powell flashing red means your hi limit overheat sensor is out of range. Which usually happens when your heater overheats. But since your heater is not overheating because it's breaker is off, likely bad hi limit sensor.
@Josh Powell if you got brand new sensors, and as long as they are not overheated or too cold, the hi limit sensor is read by the motherboard. So if you have a blinking red power light booting up the spa breaker, you likely have a bad mother board. However, with power off, disconnect the phone connecter for aux panel at the back of the tub if you have one, and also unplug anything plugged into the IC INTERFACE connection, then power it up.
I am also a staff member of an Amazon store that sells products such as hot tub thermostats. I wanted to inquire if you would be interested in testing our product.
Hi Craig, I have a jettsetter JJ 115v model, I got it from a family member and it’s been working great up until tonight, I noticed it tripped the GFCI in the panel, I reset it after checking all the electrical and it came on but then tripped again, now I have power to both boards and only 88v to display board and have no LEDS on circuit board!? Do you think it has a bad circuit board?
A GFCI trip is never the fine electronics. I would start by disconnecting the heater wires at H1 and H2 to see if the GFCI stays on with the heater disconnected. But it is most likely the tiny circulation pump that is tripping it. Then you can safely test it with the heater disconnected and the circ pump disconnected to confirm the faulty component.
HI thank you so much for this video, I have a 2008 Hot Springs Envoy that has worked flawlessly until a couple of days ago. Everything works except the heater. The power / ready light are blinking at the same time. Using your video I have narrowed it down to the pressure switch in the heater being the cause. A couple of times when I was in there looking the "heater on" LED light cycled on and the lights stopped blinking on the front of the hot tub, but then after a short time the "heater on " LED light went out on the circuit board and the lights started blinking again. I have pulled the heater control board and I don't see any burnt relays or any damage at all. Am I on the right track? and is replacing the heater a DIY project? Thanks again.
If your filter is clean and no 'suction' when hand placed over that hole, and if circ pump is working fine, then yes, that pressure switch is likely failing especially if that heater is original on a 13 year old tub. If you have a test meter, you can unplug that gray wire where it plugs into the board PRESSURE SWITCH connection. Put your meter on 'continuity' where a BEEP indicates a closed circuit, and test the 2 wires where the gray wire enters the white plug. With circ pump running, you ideally should have a closed switch 'BEEP' through that unplugged wire. If you get no indication of a closed pressure switch, replace heater. Now I have seen poor flow from circ pumps with leaves in the impeller causing poor flow, but that is only on the older larger style circ pumps.
Thanks, I have one other question, I noticed my ozonator air tube is full of water past the check valve, it is actually leaking water all over the floor where the control panel is. Is this normal and could that be causing the flashing lights? Thanks for taking the time to help.
@@sttraveler2593 In addition to the checkvalve, the tubing should do a double-loop above the waterline. In fact, with a good enough double-loop, you shouldn't even need a checkvalve, but two anti-backflow practices in place is best.
@@sttraveler2593 In addition, if your circ pump is pumping, that tube/checkvalve should have air being sucked into the line from the ozonator end, not water backflowing and leaking out of it from the black injector tee end. Is your circ pump working? is it on 24/7 or is it in 'summer timer mode? Are the arrows on your black injector tee aiming away from the heater or your tee possibly installed backwards? is your heat return grate at the floor of the tub impacted with scale/debris causing a poor flow and backpressure upstream? (that floor grate unscrews to inspect and clean) I'm running down the list as to why water is leaking out that hose.
@@craigsmith5025 Hello, yes it is sucking air. the water only comes out the tube because I shut off the hot tub until I get some parts. I will make sure it is looped above the water line when I install the new check valve. I have a new OEM check valve, OEM heater and the OEM thermal sensors coming in the mail in the next few days. I don't have a beep on my multi tester to check the pressure switch as you suggested, is there a way to tell using the ohms test on the multi meter? I did test my heater and it is checking at 15 ohms which is with in the OK range of 12-20 ohms, so based on this I feel the pressure switch that is integrated into the heater element is the culprit and not the heater itself. Fingers crossed. I also noticed the bubbles coming out of the ozonator at the drain grate seem larger than normal, so this has me kinda wondering why that is.
Craig, Thanks for the useful videos. I have a 2007 Vanguard that has been sitting idol for about 5 years because it stopped heating. Turned on the power recently and got a solid red light and after watching your videos I replaced the relay board. It was fried! After the install, powered it up and now Im getting blinking red and green light. The water feature isn't working and I don't see bubbles coming from the bottom of tub. Touch pump and nothing. Im going to order a circulation pump and install and hopefully we will be up and running. When I replaced the relay board, it got so hot it melted the thick black housing behind the board. I was wondering if the main board may be compromised from the excessive heat from the relay meltdown. Is there a way I can trouble shoot the main board to see if all the components are working properly? I do see a green light at the top of the board and the heat light is dark. I don't want to spend a bunch of money replacing parts only to find out the parts were ok and main board was bad. Thoughts? Thanks!!!!!
No, I'm sure the main board is fine. You likely have a dead circulation pump. When the pump is working, you have flow, when you have flow the pressure switch in the heater should close. Your red green blinking lights are indicating pressure switch is not closing.
@@craigsmith5025 Replaced a bad relay board, new filters, new circ pump and Im still getting red/green blinking lights. I gather its the pressure switch or the heating unit or both. Any way to trouble shoot the pressure switch so I don't have to purchase the heating unit if it's not necessary? Thanks for your help!
@@rogerrobarge3517 yes, the tape is a quick glance of the 4 styles of heaters. But there are 4kw and 6kw PDR styles for 2003 and older spas, they can be used on newer spas with a pressure switch jumper. Then there are 4kw and 6kw styles for 2004- current spas with the pressure switch wire coming out the side, you CANNOT use those on 2003 and older tubs because that pressure switch wire has nowhere to connect on the old boards.
@@craigsmith5025 Not sure what happened...when I turned the power back on I still got the red and green blinking lights and after 30 minutes I shut the power off and then back on again and watched for about 15 minutes and still had the red and green blinking lights.... Went inside for a few hours and when I went back to shut it down, the red light was solid and the heating unit was working and has been ever since. Thanks again for the guidance!
I've got a 2006 LA Spa Fuji hot tub and it will hot heat properly. Will only stay around 45 degree, or less. Outside temps being quite a bit colder. What should I be looking at and or testing? Thanks.
I cover that in one of my NOT HEATING videos, where the circ pump should always be running, unless the icon that looks like a clock in front of a sun is illuminated.
Hi. Brill. Can you replace the pressure switch. Or is there a test you can do. Iv emptied it. And refilled it back up but taking over 20 hours to be luke warm. Is this normal. Grande gge I think 2000-2010 model
You can unplug the small gray wire that goes to PRESSURE SWITCH plug on circuit board. Then do a continuity test through the pressure switch wire with a meter.
Craig have you ever seen ut where you cant put the temp up on the control panel ? Its just doing nothing when i press it. Ive had it into bits. Seems ok. No blinking lights or anything. Thanks
Either mouse chewed ribbon cable just under the panel, or more likely debris in the bezel button housing or bad button on the control head circuit board. Common in older tubs.
Hey Craig! I recently got a 2013 hot springs Grandee off of Craigslist and I am having a problem getting it to heat, the indicator light for heater on inside the panel is a solid red showing that it is signaling for heat, I’ve made sure all my pumps are primed, brand new filters, ozone flowing, and have tested the black and white wires for the heater for ohms and it is giving me a reading. I am at a loss at what I should do now? Is there a possibility the electrician wires my tub wrong, or do you have any ideas? Really appreciate it.
Hopefully it was wired with 2 breakers like required. I see some try to get a 50A to crossover it all. Inputs for the heater circuit are 2 & 4. So if you got 230V at inputs 2 & 4, you should have 230V output at H1 & H2 heater connections with a call for heat. (LIM OK and HEATER ON illuminated on the main board)
Hi Craig -- This is helpful and I'm almost at an answer. Just got a used Vanguard 2008 (VV), and replaced the control head and control panel (not the heater relay panel). Heater panel looks fine. Powers on fine, solid red light for heater and green for lim ok. Only power light on on control panel. Jets work, clean cycle works with good flow. But, no heat... Any ideas? Tub stopped working last summer and sat all winter with no heat. Service tech said it needed a new control head; i replaced that and it still didn't work. New tech called Watson directly and they said that both the control head and control panel had to be replaced at the same time. I did that, and everything seems to be working now except the heat. Even got some air bubbles out of the waterfall feature thanks to your video! xoxo
Power in at 1 and 3? You should have 230v with meter probes on 1 and 3. Then see if you have 230v output at the big thick white and black wires that brings the power to the heater via big honking cable.
@@craigsmith5025 Thanks! I'll check that. The heater is actually getting a little warm to the touch, but no bubbles out of bottom of tub. Seems like maybe tub water is warmer than ambient, but not by much. Ordered new filters to see if that's an issue, took off hose on top of circ pump to try and get potential air lock out, just resulting in a lot of water out. Ha!
Also -- I pulled the big wires out and tested the Ohms and got 10.1. So the heater appears to be good. There is a newer version of the heater relay board, and I'm wondering if I need to replace that as well since I replaced the control head and control panel with newer versions.
@Stephen Ironside you should be getting 115 on each leg. Like between ground or neutral and H1 get 115, and H2 getting 115. (115 + 115 = 230) if one leg out to heater is dead, bad relay board.
Craig, I have a client with 2005 Jet Setter. wasn't heating so I replaced circulation pump, worked for about a year. Now both red and green lights flashing. Cleaned filters, worked briefly, but now not at all. NOTE: Been using all this time without main jet pump. Stopped working years ago, but even after replacing pump, it still wont come on. Tried replacing relay board, checking all voltages (115V wiring, neutral and hot were switched, but doesn't work when fixed). I can feel jet pump relay clicking, but electrical connection doesn't turn on pump. I have tried both low and hi jet connections. I have yet to try plugging new pump into 115V pigtail just to verify operation. Possible it simply needs a new $600 controller, but wonder if you have any other suggestions.
If you have flow from the circ pump, your pressure switch may be old and stiff. I had a 2007 Envoy today that had an original 14 year old heater, and the pressure switch was not closing. As far as the jet pump, check voltage at pump white & black connections. Did the relay board have proper power jumpers installed? Especially connecting 4 and 5? Your Jetsetter 115V jet pump gets it's power from inputs 2 hot and 4 neutral in the input terminal block.
@@craigsmith5025 Yes, the proper jumpers for 115V on new relay PCBA, thus old board was fine. Verified voltage at block as well. The next step is to verify the pump motor connections as you suggest. Agreed, I am thinking the pressure switch could be an issue, unfortunately incorporated into the full heater assy (correct me if wrong, i.e., can it be reworked/replaced?). The owner who disconnected the old pump is no longer available -- 2nd and 3rd-hand information is not consistent -- I shall post results after more troubleshooting. Thank you!
Hey! Thanks for posting the videos. I have a hot springs hot tub that is making a constant buzzing sound. There are no lights, everything works fine, but just recently started after a power outage. Could this be an air lock. I used the water feature like you mentioned, but it’s still making the same sound. Thanks for any input!
@@craigsmith5025 hey! Just got around to checking the vibration. It is the tiny silentflo 5000 pump that is vibrating. It doesn’t appear to be loose. Any thoughts? Thank you so much!
Hi Craig, we just took delivery of our 2022 Prodigy yesterday. Today we filled it up with water and powered it up, and the green and blue logo lights are blinking. We don't seem to have a dirty filter or air in the line. We have powered it off and on multiple times, after checking filters, running jets, etc. Is this something we should just call the service department for? Thanks in advance!
The pressure switch wire may have been accidentally pulled off the circuit board when being wired up. And possibly still off, or plugged in one pin off. Upper right corner inside the IQ-2020 box.
Was it a floor display model? They may have unplugged stuff and/or put in DEMO software to power up the display spa dry. I'd have the dealer tech stop by to make sure it's good for filled customer operation.
@@craigsmith5025 thank you! They are coming out tomorrow. It will be interesting to know what they find… and yes- it was a floor model. Interestingly, I was told it was a 2022, but everything inside of it is dated December of 2018. 🤔
My supplier talked me into getting a 6 kw/1.5kw generic Power Down Reset (PDR) heater to replace the original heater on my 110 volt 2008 Jetsetter J. PDR appealed because it had no pressure switch to go bad. The new heater came with a new temperature control sensor and a new high limit sensor. I jumped the pressure switch connections on the board and fired the hot tup back up. I got a green flashing light, a solid red light and no discernible warming of the heater on touch. What diagnostics do you recommend to determine whether the problem is the temperature control sensor or some other component?
The old thermistor were reliable. These new ones with the long plastic covered probe are junk. However the ones with the long silver probe and the short probe were almost bulletproof.
Hi Craig smith, I have a water leakage on the opposite side from the endcap. Who could provide me with an solution? There was a frost damage on the endcap and I‘m afraid that the opposite side has also suffered. Thank you!
Hi craig. 2006 Hot springs accolade model AC. Water just filled. Very cold Heater: 9.7 ohms High limit: lim therm: 12.3 k ohm Reg therm: control: 11.3 k ohm Pressure switch: shows open when no power to spa. No continuity Also open when powered. No beep on meter. Tried jumping terminals to eliminate prx switch. Still not heating. 30 amp breaker on first. 240.7 volts at terminals 1 and 3. 20 amp breaker turned on second. 120 volts from H1 to ground, 120 volts from H2 to ground. 240.7 volts on H1 and H2. I have "Lim ok" green light, I have "heater on" red light. Calling for heat, but heater not getting warm. Steady red power light, not blinking No green ready light, Jet pump speeds 1 and 2 both work fine, but when jet pump is turned on d17 red light illuminates. Goes back off when jet pump is turned off. Voltage to the heater doesn't change with jet pump on and d17 light illuminated. Still 240v. Light seams to operate normal. Powered down, disconnected LED connections, and powered up: no change Did the same for the aux panel, no change. Aux panel works fine. Circulation pump has been replaced. No visible brown marks or solder around boards
If you have 240v at H1 and H2, your heater is getting voltage. But if it is not drawing amps, the element may be bad. In the biz, I use an amp clamp around one of the wires to see how many amps it is pulling. A 6kw should be pulling 23-ish amps. I don't think you have an input power or call-for-heat error. Everything you described is spot on. Although I never check ohms through a disconnected heater. It's either getting voltage or not, and it's either drawing amperage or not.
@Corbett Crowell IQ-2020 boards have LED indicators now that illuminate when jets are on. Just like up on top there is a red HEATER ON red LED indicating that the system is in a call-for-heat and relays are closed to output power to the heater.
Hey Craig, Question for you. We recently had a power outage, and went to check on hottub( hot spot sx) after the power outage the screen is blinking power and none of the button are working. The filter was cleaned the day before, the temperature is cold around -20c out.
Was it out long enough for the stuff in the equipment compartment to freeze? How cold is the water in the tub? If the water is lukewarm to cold, it was down long enough to freeze the pump and heater likely. What happens with a reboot and turning on the pump?
Hey Craig the power went out in the morning, and it was until night time we checked on the tub and found the blinking measege so I would think the water would still be warm at that point, I tried resetting the breaker and the power cord multiple times but same thing, the only thing that made a difference is we put a hair dryer for 5mins on the electrical panel and tried resetting it, not we see temperature and can set the temperature, but you can heat the heater kick on then kick off again, then once you take the hair dryer away for 5min the dame thing happens again and it's just the 4 lines and the power icon flashing with no buttons working, I am setting a space heater in there for now until I can get it services as I am out of ideas
So, all jets are strong. No heat. Initially, had green light flashing. Shut off the 220 breaker, turned back on, I have no circulation flow….no bubbles from the bottom drain and no heat. But now steady red light jets are all strong and no heat. Ordered the two temp sensors. Any other ideas. You are the Guru. Thanks!
New. I just went out there with a laser temperature gun. Checked everything....water, hoses, everything 70'. EXCEPT....small electric motor with water hoses attached. Says "Watkins Silent (something) part number 34378. It was 137'. The case of the motor was hot. Perhaps that is my issue?
Yup. Has a small hole, nothing comes out of it. Am currently searching for a Silent Flo 5000 pump. New Amazon...$475. New elsewhere $250 Found one used on Ebay...$49.00 including shipping. Did a laser temp reading....the metal case was 137 degrees. Thinking that's the issue. Meanwhile, Very nice of you to assist us 70 year old novices. Hope Santa brings you all you wish for.@@craigsmith5025
The spin point wore out, so the impeller is not spinning, the motor end is hot... circulation pump is shot. It is LITERALLY the beating heart of Hot Spring spas.
Yes, but I'd confirm you got 115V at the circ pump connection terminals inside the IQ-2020 box. If you do and the pump is silent and still, it's dead. I'll bet the electric end smells burnt once you remove it.
Hey Craig, Thanks for sharing your experiences. Have subscribed to your channel and have gone through your videos. 👍 I bought cheaply a 2006 Hotspring Jetsetter that is in incredible condition, in the fact it was kept indoors all its life and is very clean in the 'engine bay'. However it does have some issues and I want to see if I can fix before calling a HS Service Tech. 1) its got a dripping leak coming from the underside of the main body of the heater (where the titanium pipes join the main housing). I guess there is a gasket that joins the heater body to the pipes and that might be the culprit. Do you know if this part is replaceable or if that is the issue? 2) flashing red light (no green light) and no lights on the control panel bezel (temp etc). Circ pump seems to be working ok as can feel it running and ozone bubbles coming up strongly. Have taken circ filter out but no difference. Any ideas? Many thanks Mark
The heater has red silicone compression gaskets that create a water tight seal on the pipes by compressing them between the plastic end and the aluminum legs. Those 6 screws create the compression. However the gaskets may be too old, or the plastic end cap may have a micro crack. Either way it is likely an original heater and no sense trying to squeeze more life out of it. With good flow through a non scaled heater, replace the hi lim sensor. Also that leaking light lens issue is no joke, a wet LED module will mess up normal operations.
If your "CONTROL UNPLUGGED" red LED on the main circuit board is lit, you may have a bad aux panel interfering (unplug it's phone jack connector), a bad ribbon cable or connection, a bad main control head panel. Troubleshooting can be simple if another panel is simply plugged in, but aside from a mouse chewed ribbon cable, pinpointing can be difficult.
@@craigsmith5025 Thanks for the reply. I took the heater out and it was both plastic barbs that had failed and not the titanium pipes connection with the main heater housing (this was causing the dripping underneath). Have ordered up a couple of replacements barbs and will then re-try. Also did an OHM test of the heater and of a new Heater (which i ordered, but will send back if the old heater goes back to working) and the OHM test read 36.6ohms on both heaters (UK here we run 230/240v) so believe all good there. Amazed at how unfurred up the element was in the heater. Must have lived its life in a soft water area or had a water softener feeding it. I have ordered new thermistor sensors as well, so fingers crossed these things will resolve the issues and it will get going again. Will let you know! 👍
@@craigsmith5025 the previous owner did say the control panel (only one on a jetsetter - same style as the one in your video half moon on the side) was a bit troublesome. I took the facia off, took buttons out and cleaned behind so the springs were more free. Screwed back together and then tested the clean button functionality (worked ok) but the pump button needed a really good push to engage the main pump. Have a feeling this control panel will be an issue when I get the other bits rectified. Its not cheap so hoping i can remedy it some how..
@@craigsmith5025 Ive got LIM OK light off. HTR on on and CONTROL UNPLUGGED on. Flashing power light only on the control bezel. I also have a little bit of fur build up on the left of the Celetron cream transformer on the daughterboard on the motherboard. Not sure if that relates?
I was given an older Hot Springs tub that had a leak. I decided to replace the heater, and main pump, and new filters while fixing the leak. Good news is that there are no leaks, bad news is it doesn't work. Flashing red and green lights and Limok light on. Bad recirculation pump?
Circulation pump bad, airlocked or debris inside. Reboot with gray standpipe filter cap off, and water feature knob open if it has one. If you DO have flow from the circ pump, you may have gotten a PDR heater without a built-in pressure switch wire. If so, that's ok. You get a little jumper plug for the area on the circuit board that says PRESS SWITCH. Whatever you do, DO NOT try to use the old pressure switch wire from the old heater and get it to hook up inside a PDR heater. That thing in a PDR heater is not a pressure switch, but a 240V relay. Jerry-rig a gray wire into a PDR heater and you'll BLOW THE MOTHERBOARD.
@@phillipbeierle5840 CLEAN feature just runs jet pump on a 10 minute timer. Shutting off at 10 minutes is what it is supposed to do. Low flow can only mean dirty filters. RARE is if somehow leaves and debris got sucked into the jet pump impellor, but that can never happen, unless someone unscrewed the standpipes for the filters, and ran it without.
@@craigsmith5025 I have 2010 hot springs grandee when I run the spa on jets max it runs good for about 20 minutes then the first pump shut off for about 30 minutes and then will automatically come back on the second jet pump stayed on all the time...sometimes I get an error code of dirty filters but all 5 are brand new...any help is appreciated thanks
@@damm0kmg your pump may have issues with rusty/crusty shaft seal area, bearing going bad, or just overheating and cutting out on internal thermal cutoff. It resets when it cools down. Sometimes service companies replace a pump without reconnecting the dryer vent tube to exhaust the hot air out.. As far as the error code, is your weir door sticking in the up position? Your filters may be coming in contact with open air if it sticks and water isn't spilling into the filterwell fast enough.
Craig, thanks for all your videos. Hoping you can help me figure out the problem I'm having. I have a 15 yo Envoy. 2 yrs ago replaced the fried heater board. 6 months ago replaced both limit switches. Now for the 1st time I'm getting a flashing red power light. Circ pump is working but pumps & led light won't come on. Lim ok & htr on lights are dark. Control unplugged & D17 are lit. I disconnected the pressure switch wires inside the heater & held them together to bypass the switch & still the same.............HEEEEEEELP
CONTROL UNPLUGGED lit means that there is a communication problem between the main board and the control panel. Look for mouse chewed ribbon cable just below the control panel. They like to run atop the 2X2 below the panel. If that is not chewed, 95% chance the control panel is bad, 5% chance the main board is bad. Also unplug the telephone connection for AUX PANEL in case that is causing interference. Also check for light lens leak getting your LED module wet. If disconnecting the LED module, ALWAYS kill power when unplugging or plugging into the IC interface.
@@craigsmith5025 THANK YOU for your reply. You might be on to something with the LED light. I found it with a slow leak. I removed the chrome ring around the light & used silicone all around. Over the weekend I'm going to disconnect the light from the panel, refill it & go from there.
@@MrJonreed7 A light lens leak in a tub that old is likely the orange siliconized o-ring where the clear lens screws onto the threaded wall fitting i the shell. Especially with tablet floaters in the spa, the o-ring gets old, cracked, faded, crumbling, and leaks. 'Some' spas around 2010 to 2016 had a cracked threaded wall fitting on the shell, and that repair is no fun. After unscrewing the trim ring, the clear lens itself unscrews, and you can get a new lens/o-ring kit for about $25. (you need 2 strong MAN-HANDS and several attempts to unscrew that lens) I should re-do my video on tablet floaters to show ALL the components that they destroy, like that light lens o-ring. Remember, never plug/unplug anything into that IC interface with spa powered up, or you destroy the board.
@@MrJonreed7 That LED is held on with 3 plastic push-on/pull off rivets. pull it off and inspect. Some LED circuit boards can be dried off and still work, some are water-corroded beyond salvaging.
@@craigsmith5025 You're right. You need Andre the giant's hands to get the lens off. I used a large channel lock to remove it one millimeter at time. What a pain but yes, the O-ring has a 2-inch section that is cracked & missing chunks out of it. Next, I removed all the components from the main board & one-by-one replaced them & I'm still getting the same results. I removed the board to inspect & it looks like possibly there is a melted part on what I believe is by the transformer.
Vanguard model. Drained and got the doubled flashing lights. Jumped the pressure switch and it will stay on but will not heat. The water feature works. Tried with no filter. Just a bad heater?
Jumped pressure switch and with flow, you should have no flashing lights outside, on the board a LIM OK and a HEATER ON lit. If still no heat, check input power at inputs 1&3 on a spa 2001-early 2009. If good power in and no power out to heater cord connections, see my video on heater relay board replacement.
@@craigsmith5025 I do not have the flashing lights after jumping the switch. It just does not get hot. But everything else works as it should. I’ll test that in a minute.
@@craigsmith5025 kind of related question. Do the new heaters without the built in pressure switch have a switch at all? I see people jumping them with a new heater and leaving it. Is that unsafe? Or does the new heaters have one inside without wiring? Curious.
@@craigsmith5025 so I have power. With the pressure switch jumped it will start to hurt up. But half trips the breaker for the heater after awhile. Think that’s the board or the heater? I have no idea….
@@redrocks1986 A half tripped breaker is a breaker that's tripping on groundfault. So that could be bad heater tripping that breaker, water in the conduit, or a bad GFCI breaker. troubleshooting those is tricky.
@@craigsmith5025 I figured it out my board is burned by one of the relays on the heater board, but I can't find a replacement anywhere that looks like my board.
77119, it has two relays now. It has been revised several times over the years. See my video on heater relay board. The new replacement looks like the one in the video.
hi craig uk here i have a vanguard 2006 had leak in pipe repaired leak filled tub back up both red and green light flashing water going to waterfall so dont think its circ pump uncovered circuit board to check out what might be happening lim ok is lit green but htr is dead getting bubbles in hottub .ive refilled three times put hose down grey pipe though it might be pressure censer on side of heater so unplugged cable and put a pin across both terminal to bye pass censer .circ pump must be working i guess as water is flowing from waterfall and circ pump is cool and running any ideas many thanks paul
As long as you have flow, you can put a jumper in place of the pressure switch cord for a test. But I would not leave that as a permanent solution. You are bypassing a fail safe. There must be two failsafes in place.
hey craig i have a customer who has a solid red light we changed his board and heater yet his spa is continuing to not heat we have the heater light showing on the board like its getting power any tips? we do have water going to the heater and the pressure switch is brand new with it
The heater gets it's power from inputs 1&3. So on a two-breaker system, you should have 230V input at 1&3, this should relay 230 out to the heater connection. If it's a 115V plug-in spa, you need a triple power jumper atop the terminal block that jumps neutral to 5, 4, and 3. Then another triple with middle removed to make a WIDE jumper that jumps your hot from 2, to 1. The middle section removed to avoid that heater output. Also, did you modify the aluminum bracket to avoid touching the 6-leg chip on the new board?
What if the circ pump turns off and on constantly. it is getting water flow when it’s on and just continues like this, spitting water out into the spa everytime it turns on. The temp comes up to setpoint and then after reaching setpoint for a while, faults out. I have a pressure switch on the circ pump outgoing line. I replaced the temp sensors and the pressure switch in hopes this would fix the issue. The circ pump was replaced by the previous owner a few years ago.
@bennettk90 an intermittent circ pump can be a loose connection at the board, or the filters are in the air when jets are on because the sliding wier door gets stuck in the up position when the jets are on.
@@craigsmith5025Ok I'll check to see if the door is keeping water from spilling over into the filter compartment. We replaced the filters, so they should be good. I did find the ozone hose was disconnected from the heater ozone inlet because I could hear the check valve gurgling. I reconnected the hose together and so far the temps are good and the heat has stayed consistent. The circ pump is still running 5 sec off 3 sec on, consistently. And each time it kicks on, the hot water does come out into the tub.
If it has no gray wire coming out the side and the main board has a jumper on the PRESSURE SWITCH plug, your heater has been replaced with a POWER DOWN RESET heater, that if it overheats and kicks itself out, power off and on resets it. Some aftermarket heaters have a tiny reset button above the small 1/4" bleed line tube on the back.
I've got a Chinese control panel Ethink KL8-3A, everything works fine except the temp is set for 98 degrees but will only heat to 89 degrees then starts cooling down and heater will not kick in again, I have to turn it off until temp drops below 77 degrees then heater will work again any clues. Have checked water flow, filter, air locks, thermostat etc...... all good.
Hi! I was hoping maybe you would be able to help us. I have watched all of your videos and nothing fixed our issue. We called hot springs and they won't come out because there is no service technician close to us. We have a 2010 envoy and it will not heat up. We changed the high sensor limit switch and the smaller portion of the mother board. Do you take any phone calls. My husband and I are completely lost at this point.
A 2010 will be a slightly newer version than mine, with a 'dog bone' shaped control panel on the shell, rather than the black oval on the side. Does your main board have LIM OK and HEATER ON lit? What about CONTROL UNPLUGGED?
@@craigsmith5025 I believe it's the HRT in the NRT that is blinking One is red one is green. I would have to wait till the morning when my husband comes home and we take the access panel to give you the actual correct answer.
If LIM OK and HEATER ON is lit, an electrical meter should read 240V at inputs 2 and 4. If input voltage is good, you should have 240V out at H1 and H2.
Hi there, mate,I have a balboa control unit, And the flow was not working as strong as it should. I thought it was the pump, The jet button when pressing started to stop working and just become to have a mind of its own. I notice once the pump started without pressing any button and once just stopped also. So because I was not getting much flow, first bought a new impellor, because the other one was destroyed. Did not solve the problem, still low flow. Now I have installed a new pump, And the same problem. So there was nothing wrong with the original pump. Now I installed the new pump today, normally it goes on PR for about 7 minutes then it all starts up normally. So when I put the breakers on, the pump was running on low speed, Straight away, that was strange, never done that before when PR is starting up the on process but is a new pump. The jet button stopped working again with a clicking sound coming from the Balboa control box. Could this just be a fuse problem, possibly. or a relay ,what does a relay look like ? I am dumbfounded here. So now it is not the pump or capacitor, all new so , ruled out. The heating element is all fine and working, all checked there.I have a video ,if you were interested to look at.
That could be anything, especially since I don't know the history. You just acquire something from craigslist or marketplace, you have no idea what was done. You could have a 220 pump wired for 110 output, a mis wire, undersize wire, wrong input voltage, intermittent contact on connections. Without being on-site and running down the wiring requirements on the lid and testing with my meter along the control box, I'd only be guessing. Plus, I don't mess with Balboa packs much, most Hot Spring spas have the IQ systems.
@@swedishkev Often I'm asked questions about hot tub errors, and I'm running down possible spa errors, when in fact there is nothing wrong with the tub. I once corresponded with a guy for three weeks before I learned he had a 230V configured spa that he wired 115V. So without being there and running basic power in/component output readings, man, troubleshooting through messenger and such is near impossible. I could walk up to the tub and inside 30 seconds find the issue. But unseen over messages, total mystery.
@@craigsmith5025 Hi Craig,if your that good,do you mind if i sent you a video and a picture of the control unit. Would need an email or WhatsApp to send. Really need to work this out.
Hi Craig, so I don’t thing my Circular pump is working. I just replaced it I have electricity in my hot tub but it’s not heating up..I have a flashing yellow ready light on my hot springs hot tub but I’m thinking that the circular pump is not working but I really don’t know how to check it
A flashing ready light is the control (REG) thermistor is either bad, plugged into the wrong spot, or your dead circ pump is overheating your control thermistor into flashing error before the Hi-Limit sensor gets hot enough to go into error. Double check your circ pump wire placement, because the black, white & green wires are spread out within MANY connections. The white line at the bottom identifies the specific terminal connections. Make sure your thermistor is plugged into REG THERM and not OZONE INTERFACE.
Hi Mr. Craig, u were right! I had the wires in the wrong place.. now here I am again in the spring and my hot spring hot tub is not heating up.. new filter ✔️ circular pump is on and water is moving, I even check the pump to make sure no jams ✔️ but something is tripping, causing the red power light to blink… The hot tube stays on for about 20 minutes and turns off… I’ve made sure everything was pushed in and clean from any Corrosion inside the Circuit board… the outside breaker is working perfectly but something is making it trip and not heating up.. if I could get an email I can send u pics of the red and green lights on the control panel and what it says
Either the control thermistor reg therm sensor is bad (input flow), or the circulation pump is bad and the overheating heater upon reboot is throwing that sensor out of whack before the hi limit sensor. Rare, but a bad control head control panel (pre 2013) could be bad and reading the sensor wrong. I would start with confirmation if circ pump flow, and if it's OK, replace the control thermistor.
Do you have a digital multi meter. With the spa powered down for a while, pull the LIM THERM and CONTROL THERM plugs out of the board, and tell me what the k-ohms is on each sensor.
so my circ pump seems to be turning on and off in 10 sec intervals. Tub is not getting to desired temp either. Took circ pump out and apart and tested (like in your video) and it spins freely. Pump goin on intermittently a sign of bad pump?
Been there, done that... This is a great video. This confirms that I will never buy another pre-fab, typical hot tub ever again. They are to be considered disposable after 10 to 12 years and then throw it out ... and start new again .. or take the viewpoint of never buying a typical hot tub ever.... I absolutely HATE these pre-fab hot tubs. The thumbnail got me to click on this video since the mechanicals are sooooo small and hard to service. Look at how small the little compartment is .. and then one has to bend over like a gerbil to service the panel area. Oh, ... and talking about rodents .. there is nothing like a family of rats .. or a family of mice inhabiting the underside of one's hot tub. And, hmm, nothing like a wasp's nest to wake a person up with a darn good bee sting if one opens up the service compartment. I get more out of my bathtub INSIDE my house than I do my $15,000 (now empty) Cal-Spa. I am going to literally GIVE my 12 year hot tub away to anyone that wants it... It is empty anyway. I am going to make a CUSTOM in-ground spa, fully masoned, instead ... with much fewer jets ... but jets that will actually SHOOT water out in a manner that it actually FEELS like a massage. I would rather have 6 jets in total .. all which shoot the water out like an F15 jet engine rather than being mesmerized by today's hot tubs at stores that show off the 95 jets in a typical hot tub that has the power of 95 Mini Coopers. When I want a massage ... I WANT a massage. Not some piddley pathetic two rows of 1/2 dozen crappy jets that shoot water at my back .. kinda .. sorta ... My next spa is going to actually be a massage spa with the filtration system that is located in my garage, and a pump system that will be soooo powerful that I gotta be careful that it won't cause skin to tear off, etc. I totally realize that my idea of a custom spa is going to cost at least 50k ... but then I will be happy.
So I’m gonna leave this comment here and it will help someone with airlock. Take the top hose off of your pump and let it cycle and spray water out then shove the hose back on it. It was the only way I could get it from being air locked. The water fountain burp method didn’t work for mine.
My waterfall burp method doesn't work either, due to the 1/2" line being too long. It goes up, then down, before going up to the waterfall. Before I refill, I'm going to chopped out 6" of hose and couple it. So it travels upward all the way from point A to point B.
Do you have flow? And does your new heater have a built in pressure switch wire? If so, is it plugged into the circuit board PRESSURE SWITCH pluggin correctly?
I have 3 videos for different problems involving not heating. Two videos involve blinking lights on the front of the spa, one video involves not heating with no blinking lights on the front of the spa. What happens after 2 minutes when it stops heating? Blinking power light? Both power and ready light blinking?
Well I figured it out so an FYI for knowledge. Found out it was the switch panel that's inside the Tub used to turn the pump and the lights on. Switch was being a little temperamental. So I unplugged it from the board and walla! It stayed on. Plugged it back in and 2 minutes later the heater was off. Just thought I'd share what I found in case someone has issues in the future. Your videos are the best I've found. Thanks a bunch for your help sir. Rick
HI CRAIG, 2008 VANGUARD , JUST PUT IN A NEW HEATER AND MY RED AND GREEN LIGHT ARE FLASHING, NO HEAT. THE new one has only 2 connections, the old one had three. please HELP ME, I NEED MY JACUZZI.Thanks CRAIG
Your old heater had the built in pressure switch for a secondary failsafe, your replacement heater is a PDR thermal relay. Just jump the pins on the circuit board where it says PRESSURE SWITCH. I often use the old heater plug, snip the wires short, strip them and twist them together to make a PRESSURE SWITCH jumper plug.
@@craigsmith5025 I haven't replaced the heater. It looks like it was replaced in 2015. I did replace the thermistor and the limit piece. there is a grey wire that comes out the side of the heater. I thought about getting a pressure switch bypass piece for the control board.
You can jump the pressure switch for testing purposes, but I would not leave it like that. The pressure switch is a heater overheat failsafe. Permanently bypassing a failsafe is not good. A pressure switch should last a good dozen years with good water chemistry. Are you using tablets in a floater by chance?
I've seen LEDs fail. It sucks not having the green ready light that indicates your water temp is within 2 degrees of set temp. Unless you are trying to run your spa cooler in these summer temps, and the water is hotter than your set temp. That happens. Set the tub at 92, but in the heat of the summer the water temp is 96. The green light will be dark.
Great video. Here's another possibility causing the problem: I have a 2006 Sovereign and have twice (in 2012 and 2016) had to have a heater relay board replaced, so I was not happy to see blinking lights when I fired it up for the season. Had just cleaned the filters, and the pumps worked fine, but your discussion about drawing water and separately about air locks made me think. I had put the caps on the other filters before I filled the tub through the pipe. Normally I wait so I can submerge them first. BINGO! Took them off, released the big air bubbles there, put them back on, powered down/up, and everything was happy again.
I have never seen a bad heater relay board cause a power/ready light blinking error, but I guess it's not impossible. In 20 years I have seen faulty components do things to a spa that the manufacturer says is not possible. The extremely rare occurrences that I seen once in 20 years, are anomalies that aren't worth mentioning in my videos, or they would be a half hour long.
Thank you so much for this trouble shooting video. We were all set to use the tub and it was cold. After watching this video; It turned out that that water level had dropped below the top of the filters. I filled the tub but the ready light was blinking. I flipped the breaker and gave it a minute, then back on. The light stopped blinking and began heating. You saved me a lot of frustration and money. Thank you so much!
The small 24/7 circulation pump is literally the beating heart of the system. Disruption of flow or low flow causes errors.
Update on your video! I went to Local Spa store to see if they had parts! They weren't happy that I learned from a video on UA-cam HAHA...They happened to have the EXACT parts I needed for my TUB! replied and have a HAPPY wife now! Thank you again for the GREAT INFO!
Thanks so much for this information...will keep in the archives for future when the airlock happens (we have a Hotsprings model with the water fountain valve) next time. We drained and cleaned the filters and the blinking red/green lights are gone (for now).
I'm not above paying someone to come out to fix my hot tub, but I'd rather learn how to do it myself and understand the mechanics before I get to that point. I'm not sure if this will resolve my specific heating problem, but it sure did educate me and elucidate my Hot Springs setup. Thank you.
Hey Craig, Thanks so much for these troubleshooting videos they helped a lot with my Hotspring Prodigy H spa project, Would love to see more videos like this.
Cheers from New Zealand :)
Wow thank you! I knew it was a filter issue but I honestly thought my recirc was the filter at the other end. Once I opened the right one, glug glug glug and away she went!
My rule of thumb is every time I flip the calendar, I hose off my filters. (every month) And every time I drain/refill, I hose the filters, soak them in filter cleaner solution, and hose/dunk rinse so they're clean-clean. Simple routines offer fantastic results.
cheers mate, just had blinking lights, and the fountain tip burped the pump and working thank you :)
Mate, you are a legend. Super helpful, thank you kindly. Kurt from down under
Hi Craig! I have a 2006 vista grande ss. The tub has worked flawlessly til lately. It will work like a champ for about 3-4 days, then all the sudden I come out and the ready light is off, adjusting the temp down from 100 it will come back on around 94-92 degrees. Anytime this happens I do a hard reset with my breakers and boom it works again for 3-4 days. It has also clicked a lot since I bought it 2nd hand a year ago. I have tried cleaning/replacing the filters . My circ pump is working well from the weep hole in the filter box. Just curious if a knowledgeable tech like yourself or anyone else out there has had this issue. Thank you for the video very informative for my first steps!
There may be a 12V 18V mis-match between the main circuit board and the relay board. Main boards depending on if they are new style or old style, you move jumper pins on both boards to match. If that is not the case, there could be lots of things... bad relay board chattering relays. Or a failing control panel which controls the CALL FOR HEAT could be wigging out the rest of the system. As an experiment, unplug the telephone style connection to the aux panel at the back of the tub. It's rare, but that can interfere with the call for heat.
What a great video! Thank you for this, very clear and concise. I learnt so much in that 6 minutes!
Great video Craig. I think it set me in the right direction. We shall see.
Craig, your videos are great! Super helpful. Just replaced my circ. pump. Running again but still have green/red flashing and no heat. I can hear and see the circ pump running. The control board shows green LM ok, no light for HTR ON. Checked and no voltage going to heater. HotSprings Grandee.
It's the pressure switch in the heater that is bad, or perhaps the thin gray cord that runs from the heater to the PRESSURE SWITCH pluggin on the board came loose.
@@craigsmith5025 Pressure switch, that was it. Bypassed and fired right up. Ordering a replacement asap. Thank you
@@dwightbrown8505 even though the pressure switches for Cedric/Hawk systems (Hot Spot) are not recommended, they do work with similar pressure circumstances.
Hooked me up. Thanks! Learned everything I needed to troubleshoot and repair. 👍🏽
thanks Craig! You just saved me a service charge 👍
Thank you! It was my filter!
Greg, as a blind person, I would like to see you do a key description showing the panel of eight bottoms, as the top left bottom the jet boot on, being the number one botton, going down, that’s number 2, going up to the right of the jet n, number 3, the one below is number 4 and the next one in the same sequence is number 5 and so on. If we use this description to describe the different options to function the spa, more then 20,000,000.00 will be able to use your spa including ne. e
Thanks Craig! Great video!
Craig!!! So I have a lime light hot tub, and the heater keeps tripping. Tonight after watching your video, I tried the removal of the filter. When the heater is pumping there’s zero suction from there. Anyway, what I did hear after shutting the power off and cycling it in the hot tub started. It sounded like there was a lot of air in the line. After playing with it for 30 minutes I took the front cover off the hot tub and I noticed that there was air going to the lines to the heater. There is a clear piece of tubing for like a better term does plastic and it has the word low stamped on it when I moved the hose that I could see Aaron I could hear the hot tub pushing air upon further inspection when I looked underneath the motor on the bottom side of that clear piece of tubing, which is like plastic I could see it dripping in the more I moved it the more dripped. It is clamped tight, so I’m assuming the nipple is broken. Have you ever seen that before? I have pictures if I could email them to you.
I'm trying to understand with the loose terminology of heater tripping, when heaters don't trip. Breakers trip, spas don't trip when they go into a blinking error code. Does the word LOW actually say FLOW with an arrow indicating flow direction? That is an ozone injector tee (mazzei), and it's supposed to suck air into the water stream AFTER and AWAY from the heater, not before and into the heater.
You sir, saved me hours of troubleshooting with this video! I’m looking for parts for an 2005 Prodigy, any recommendations on a site that would supply basic parts for that make/model tub?
Your local Hot Spring dealer. Get there early or late in the day to chat with the service tech who is usually out in the field. A good service tech is always glad to give you tips and pointers when you are buying parts from them. If their service tech does not seem to want to give out helpful advice, seek out the 'other' tech. :)
@@craigsmith5025 Hot Springs Sovereign II, IQ 2020 after a power cycle tub heats, gets to temp ready light comes on. After about 24 hours or so ready light starts to flicker at times, then light goes out after a while?
Any possible ideas??
Thanks for this video! I have a pump with part number 1109101 . Do you know what the replacement one for it is and if I need to modify anything??
Hot Springs 2003 Sovereign
Thanks Craig. I’ve got a hot springs spa with the power light red solid, no ready light. The circuit board has a green LIM OK light and red HTR ON light. No power to heater
See my video heater relay board replacement.
Wow this video is tremendous! Craig I have an older Hot Spring Prodigy, what does a red light (only) flashing mean? I’m trying to treat it as an air lock…
Check my other video that covers just a red flashing light.
@@craigsmith5025 will do thanks a million
Howdy Craig, Thanks again for all your help. Using your directions I also needed to replace a blown heater relay board. I have a 2005 HS Vanguard, I replaced my board with the newer heavy duty Watkins board, Once replaced the tub went back into normal heating cycles. But with a very distinctive Click Click, Click Click over and over. This lasted for about 10 days and then stopped. but so did the heat. Going back to your beginning trouble shooting I took the cover off my ISO2020 and now noticed a red blinking light on the new relay board. I have a solid green on D10 location and a blinking RED at D9. Any thoughts?? Main Board shows solid green for LIM and Solid red for HTR on. Lastly I tested my heater leads off the board. ohms setting reads 10.6, Tested the relay from white to ground on volts only reads 1.45 about the same on the black side. So I feel maybe I killed my new heater relay? just not sure what might have caused the Clicking. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Did the pins at the upper right get fully pressed into the new relay board's spring clips, or just get installed resting against them? Removing the old board you likely had to rock the board a bit to release off those pins, you kinda have to rock the new board onto those pins too.
@@craigsmith5025 Howdy back Craig, Yes you are correct. when I reviewed it appears it is just sitting on top. I can even see a bit of deflection. Since the Click Click has stopped, and my red light is flashing, do you feel this misstep cost me the heater board?
Hi Craig, great videos, I bought a new heater for my envoy and it doesn't have that 3rd grey wire (I think you called it a pressure switch) is this normal? Also what does a circ pump cost? Thanks. it is a 2005
I subscribed
If your old heater had that 3rd pressure switch wire, and your new heater doesn't, that's ok. Install the heater, and make a jumper plug out of the old pressure switch plug by stripping the wire, twisting them together and plug it in. The new heater has an internal power down reset PDR in case of circ flow interruption.
Circ pumps are about 200
HELP I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AND SHE STILL WONT HEAT
GREAT INFO!!!
Great video!! Thanks! My HS Aria is an '08 model, so has some use. Below freezing the next few days so needed to get on it. Had the two flashing lights yesterday and found your video today. Checked the filter, looked good.. temporarily jumped the pressure switch on the heater and BAM it works. I know I can't leave it jumpered, so if it is heating what are your thoughts on installing a flow switch from Amazon in line with the heater? Thanks a million! Subscribed.
Thanks so much for the info. Very informative. I am still having a issue with my hot springs. Flashing red after about 15 secs, then circ pump starts up. Don’t know if you can help or not.
If it's a dual breaker spa, only power up the one breaker that brings the spa online. Leave the other breaker off to the heater. What happens?
@@craigsmith5025 same thing, no difference. I have one green light on heater relay and one red light on d17 that turns on when red light flashes. no other lights on board are lit
@Josh Powell flashing red means your hi limit overheat sensor is out of range. Which usually happens when your heater overheats. But since your heater is not overheating because it's breaker is off, likely bad hi limit sensor.
@@craigsmith5025 I’ve replaced that as well. Brand new.
@Josh Powell if you got brand new sensors, and as long as they are not overheated or too cold, the hi limit sensor is read by the motherboard. So if you have a blinking red power light booting up the spa breaker, you likely have a bad mother board. However, with power off, disconnect the phone connecter for aux panel at the back of the tub if you have one, and also unplug anything plugged into the IC INTERFACE connection, then power it up.
Thanks for sharing this informative video! Keep on it!
I am also a staff member of an Amazon store that sells products such as hot tub thermostats. I wanted to inquire if you would be interested in testing our product.
Hi Craig, I have a jettsetter JJ 115v model, I got it from a family member and it’s been working great up until tonight, I noticed it tripped the GFCI in the panel, I reset it after checking all the electrical and it came on but then tripped again, now I have power to both boards and only 88v to display board and have no LEDS on circuit board!? Do you think it has a bad circuit board?
A GFCI trip is never the fine electronics. I would start by disconnecting the heater wires at H1 and H2 to see if the GFCI stays on with the heater disconnected. But it is most likely the tiny circulation pump that is tripping it. Then you can safely test it with the heater disconnected and the circ pump disconnected to confirm the faulty component.
HI thank you so much for this video, I have a 2008 Hot Springs Envoy that has worked flawlessly until a couple of days ago. Everything works except the heater. The power / ready light are blinking at the same time. Using your video I have narrowed it down to the pressure switch in the heater being the cause. A couple of times when I was in there looking the "heater on" LED light cycled on and the lights stopped blinking on the front of the hot tub, but then after a short time the "heater on " LED light went out on the circuit board and the lights started blinking again. I have pulled the heater control board and I don't see any burnt relays or any damage at all. Am I on the right track? and is replacing the heater a DIY project?
Thanks again.
If your filter is clean and no 'suction' when hand placed over that hole, and if circ pump is working fine, then yes, that pressure switch is likely failing especially if that heater is original on a 13 year old tub. If you have a test meter, you can unplug that gray wire where it plugs into the board PRESSURE SWITCH connection. Put your meter on 'continuity' where a BEEP indicates a closed circuit, and test the 2 wires where the gray wire enters the white plug. With circ pump running, you ideally should have a closed switch 'BEEP' through that unplugged wire. If you get no indication of a closed pressure switch, replace heater. Now I have seen poor flow from circ pumps with leaves in the impeller causing poor flow, but that is only on the older larger style circ pumps.
Thanks, I have one other question, I noticed my ozonator air tube is full of water past the check valve, it is actually leaking water all over the floor where the control panel is. Is this normal and could that be causing the flashing lights? Thanks for taking the time to help.
@@sttraveler2593 In addition to the checkvalve, the tubing should do a double-loop above the waterline. In fact, with a good enough double-loop, you shouldn't even need a checkvalve, but two anti-backflow practices in place is best.
@@sttraveler2593 In addition, if your circ pump is pumping, that tube/checkvalve should have air being sucked into the line from the ozonator end, not water backflowing and leaking out of it from the black injector tee end. Is your circ pump working? is it on 24/7 or is it in 'summer timer mode? Are the arrows on your black injector tee aiming away from the heater or your tee possibly installed backwards? is your heat return grate at the floor of the tub impacted with scale/debris causing a poor flow and backpressure upstream? (that floor grate unscrews to inspect and clean) I'm running down the list as to why water is leaking out that hose.
@@craigsmith5025 Hello, yes it is sucking air. the water only comes out the tube because I shut off the hot tub until I get some parts. I will make sure it is looped above the water line when I install the new check valve. I have a new OEM check valve, OEM heater and the OEM thermal sensors coming in the mail in the next few days.
I don't have a beep on my multi tester to check the pressure switch as you suggested, is there a way to tell using the ohms test on the multi meter?
I did test my heater and it is checking at 15 ohms which is with in the OK range of 12-20 ohms, so based on this I feel the pressure switch that is integrated into the heater element is the culprit and not the heater itself. Fingers crossed.
I also noticed the bubbles coming out of the ozonator at the drain grate seem larger than normal, so this has me kinda wondering why that is.
Craig, Thanks for the useful videos. I have a 2007 Vanguard that has been sitting idol for about 5 years because it stopped heating. Turned on the power recently and got a solid red light and after watching your videos I replaced the relay board. It was fried! After the install, powered it up and now Im getting blinking red and green light. The water feature isn't working and I don't see bubbles coming from the bottom of tub. Touch pump and nothing. Im going to order a circulation pump and install and hopefully we will be up and running. When I replaced the relay board, it got so hot it melted the thick black housing behind the board. I was wondering if the main board may be compromised from the excessive heat from the relay meltdown. Is there a way I can trouble shoot the main board to see if all the components are working properly? I do see a green light at the top of the board and the heat light is dark. I don't want to spend a bunch of money replacing parts only to find out the parts were ok and main board was bad. Thoughts? Thanks!!!!!
No, I'm sure the main board is fine. You likely have a dead circulation pump. When the pump is working, you have flow, when you have flow the pressure switch in the heater should close. Your red green blinking lights are indicating pressure switch is not closing.
@@craigsmith5025 Replaced a bad relay board, new filters, new circ pump and Im still getting red/green blinking lights. I gather its the pressure switch or the heating unit or both. Any way to trouble shoot the pressure switch so I don't have to purchase the heating unit if it's not necessary? Thanks for your help!
Also, there's a strip of blue tape around the tube of heater - does that indicated what type of heater I should purchase?
@@rogerrobarge3517 yes, the tape is a quick glance of the 4 styles of heaters. But there are 4kw and 6kw PDR styles for 2003 and older spas, they can be used on newer spas with a pressure switch jumper. Then there are 4kw and 6kw styles for 2004- current spas with the pressure switch wire coming out the side, you CANNOT use those on 2003 and older tubs because that pressure switch wire has nowhere to connect on the old boards.
@@craigsmith5025 Not sure what happened...when I turned the power back on I still got the red and green blinking lights and after 30 minutes I shut the power off and then back on again and watched for about 15 minutes and still had the red and green blinking lights.... Went inside for a few hours and when I went back to shut it down, the red light was solid and the heating unit was working and has been ever since. Thanks again for the guidance!
I've got a 2006 LA Spa Fuji hot tub and it will hot heat properly. Will only stay around 45 degree, or less. Outside temps being quite a bit colder. What should I be looking at and or testing? Thanks.
I haven't touched anything in LA Spas in over 15 years. Not familiar with their basic heating and circulation styles even. Not my brand expertise.
I'm about to save someone's day , if there is no red light on your motherboard, it's in summer time mode , hold plus and minus button to turn it off
I cover that in one of my NOT HEATING videos, where the circ pump should always be running, unless the icon that looks like a clock in front of a sun is illuminated.
Спасибо тебе милый человек!
Hi. Brill. Can you replace the pressure switch. Or is there a test you can do. Iv emptied it. And refilled it back up but taking over 20 hours to be luke warm. Is this normal. Grande gge I think 2000-2010 model
You can unplug the small gray wire that goes to PRESSURE SWITCH plug on circuit board. Then do a continuity test through the pressure switch wire with a meter.
Craig have you ever seen ut where you cant put the temp up on the control panel ? Its just doing nothing when i press it. Ive had it into bits. Seems ok. No blinking lights or anything. Thanks
Either mouse chewed ribbon cable just under the panel, or more likely debris in the bezel button housing or bad button on the control head circuit board. Common in older tubs.
Hey Craig! I recently got a 2013 hot springs Grandee off of Craigslist and I am having a problem getting it to heat, the indicator light for heater on inside the panel is a solid red showing that it is signaling for heat, I’ve made sure all my pumps are primed, brand new filters, ozone flowing, and have tested the black and white wires for the heater for ohms and it is giving me a reading. I am at a loss at what I should do now? Is there a possibility the electrician wires my tub wrong, or do you have any ideas? Really appreciate it.
Hopefully it was wired with 2 breakers like required. I see some try to get a 50A to crossover it all. Inputs for the heater circuit are 2 & 4. So if you got 230V at inputs 2 & 4, you should have 230V output at H1 & H2 heater connections with a call for heat. (LIM OK and HEATER ON illuminated on the main board)
Hi Craig -- This is helpful and I'm almost at an answer. Just got a used Vanguard 2008 (VV), and replaced the control head and control panel (not the heater relay panel). Heater panel looks fine. Powers on fine, solid red light for heater and green for lim ok. Only power light on on control panel. Jets work, clean cycle works with good flow. But, no heat... Any ideas?
Tub stopped working last summer and sat all winter with no heat. Service tech said it needed a new control head; i replaced that and it still didn't work. New tech called Watson directly and they said that both the control head and control panel had to be replaced at the same time. I did that, and everything seems to be working now except the heat. Even got some air bubbles out of the waterfall feature thanks to your video!
xoxo
Power in at 1 and 3? You should have 230v with meter probes on 1 and 3. Then see if you have 230v output at the big thick white and black wires that brings the power to the heater via big honking cable.
@@craigsmith5025 Thanks! I'll check that. The heater is actually getting a little warm to the touch, but no bubbles out of bottom of tub. Seems like maybe tub water is warmer than ambient, but not by much. Ordered new filters to see if that's an issue, took off hose on top of circ pump to try and get potential air lock out, just resulting in a lot of water out. Ha!
230 at 1 and 3. 230 at H2 but not the white wire at H1, it seems. There is continuity but not getting a voltage reading.
Also -- I pulled the big wires out and tested the Ohms and got 10.1. So the heater appears to be good.
There is a newer version of the heater relay board, and I'm wondering if I need to replace that as well since I replaced the control head and control panel with newer versions.
@Stephen Ironside you should be getting 115 on each leg. Like between ground or neutral and H1 get 115, and H2 getting 115. (115 + 115 = 230) if one leg out to heater is dead, bad relay board.
Well done , thx
Craig, I have a client with 2005 Jet Setter. wasn't heating so I replaced circulation pump, worked for about a year. Now both red and green lights flashing. Cleaned filters, worked briefly, but now not at all. NOTE: Been using all this time without main jet pump. Stopped working years ago, but even after replacing pump, it still wont come on. Tried replacing relay board, checking all voltages (115V wiring, neutral and hot were switched, but doesn't work when fixed). I can feel jet pump relay clicking, but electrical connection doesn't turn on pump. I have tried both low and hi jet connections. I have yet to try plugging new pump into 115V pigtail just to verify operation. Possible it simply needs a new $600 controller, but wonder if you have any other suggestions.
If you have flow from the circ pump, your pressure switch may be old and stiff. I had a 2007 Envoy today that had an original 14 year old heater, and the pressure switch was not closing. As far as the jet pump, check voltage at pump white & black connections. Did the relay board have proper power jumpers installed? Especially connecting 4 and 5? Your Jetsetter 115V jet pump gets it's power from inputs 2 hot and 4 neutral in the input terminal block.
@@craigsmith5025 Yes, the proper jumpers for 115V on new relay PCBA, thus old board was fine. Verified voltage at block as well. The next step is to verify the pump motor connections as you suggest. Agreed, I am thinking the pressure switch could be an issue, unfortunately incorporated into the full heater assy (correct me if wrong, i.e., can it be reworked/replaced?). The owner who disconnected the old pump is no longer available -- 2nd and 3rd-hand information is not consistent -- I shall post results after more troubleshooting. Thank you!
Hey! Thanks for posting the videos. I have a hot springs hot tub that is making a constant buzzing sound. There are no lights, everything works fine, but just recently started after a power outage. Could this be an air lock. I used the water feature like you mentioned, but it’s still making the same sound. Thanks for any input!
Check if your tiny circulation pump is rattling and vibrating.
@@craigsmith5025 thank you! I will check that out. Thanks again for your time
@@craigsmith5025 hey! Just got around to checking the vibration. It is the tiny silentflo 5000 pump that is vibrating. It doesn’t appear to be loose. Any thoughts? Thank you so much!
The spin point is worn out. Replacement of the circulation pump is the only fix.
Hi Craig, we just took delivery of our 2022 Prodigy yesterday. Today we filled it up with water and powered it up, and the green and blue logo lights are blinking. We don't seem to have a dirty filter or air in the line. We have powered it off and on multiple times, after checking filters, running jets, etc. Is this something we should just call the service department for? Thanks in advance!
The pressure switch wire may have been accidentally pulled off the circuit board when being wired up. And possibly still off, or plugged in one pin off. Upper right corner inside the IQ-2020 box.
Was it a floor display model? They may have unplugged stuff and/or put in DEMO software to power up the display spa dry. I'd have the dealer tech stop by to make sure it's good for filled customer operation.
@@craigsmith5025 thank you! They are coming out tomorrow. It will be interesting to know what they find… and yes- it was a floor model. Interestingly, I was told it was a 2022, but everything inside of it is dated December of 2018. 🤔
If it's a 2018, it will have a W in the middle of the serial number. After that it's easy, it'll say 19, 20, 21, 22... in the serial number.
My supplier talked me into getting a 6 kw/1.5kw generic Power Down Reset (PDR) heater to replace the original heater on my 110 volt 2008 Jetsetter J. PDR appealed because it had no pressure switch to go bad. The new heater came with a new temperature control sensor and a new high limit sensor. I jumped the pressure switch connections on the board and fired the hot tup back up. I got a green flashing light, a solid red light and no discernible warming of the heater on touch. What diagnostics do you recommend to determine whether the problem is the temperature control sensor or some other component?
Did you plug the control thermistor in correctly? Or did you accidentally plug it into the ozone interface?
The old thermistor were reliable. These new ones with the long plastic covered probe are junk. However the ones with the long silver probe and the short probe were almost bulletproof.
Thanks for the help!
Hi Craig smith, I have a water leakage on the opposite side from the endcap. Who could provide me with an solution? There was a frost damage on the endcap and I‘m afraid that the opposite side has also suffered. Thank you!
Hi craig.
2006 Hot springs accolade model AC.
Water just filled. Very cold
Heater: 9.7 ohms
High limit: lim therm: 12.3 k ohm
Reg therm: control: 11.3 k ohm
Pressure switch: shows open when no power to spa. No continuity
Also open when powered. No beep on meter. Tried jumping terminals to eliminate prx switch. Still not heating.
30 amp breaker on first. 240.7 volts at terminals 1 and 3.
20 amp breaker turned on second. 120 volts from H1 to ground, 120 volts from H2 to ground. 240.7 volts on H1 and H2.
I have "Lim ok" green light,
I have "heater on" red light. Calling for heat, but heater not getting warm.
Steady red power light, not blinking
No green ready light,
Jet pump speeds 1 and 2 both work fine, but when jet pump is turned on d17 red light illuminates. Goes back off when jet pump is turned off.
Voltage to the heater doesn't change with jet pump on and d17 light illuminated. Still 240v.
Light seams to operate normal.
Powered down, disconnected LED connections, and powered up: no change
Did the same for the aux panel, no change.
Aux panel works fine.
Circulation pump has been replaced. No visible brown marks or solder around boards
If you have 240v at H1 and H2, your heater is getting voltage. But if it is not drawing amps, the element may be bad. In the biz, I use an amp clamp around one of the wires to see how many amps it is pulling. A 6kw should be pulling 23-ish amps. I don't think you have an input power or call-for-heat error. Everything you described is spot on. Although I never check ohms through a disconnected heater. It's either getting voltage or not, and it's either drawing amperage or not.
Ok thank you..I'll try to find an amp clamp. Any idea on what the d17 light means when my jet pump is turned on???
@Corbett Crowell IQ-2020 boards have LED indicators now that illuminate when jets are on. Just like up on top there is a red HEATER ON red LED indicating that the system is in a call-for-heat and relays are closed to output power to the heater.
Hey Craig,
Question for you. We recently had a power outage, and went to check on hottub( hot spot sx) after the power outage the screen is blinking power and none of the button are working. The filter was cleaned the day before, the temperature is cold around -20c out.
Was it out long enough for the stuff in the equipment compartment to freeze? How cold is the water in the tub? If the water is lukewarm to cold, it was down long enough to freeze the pump and heater likely. What happens with a reboot and turning on the pump?
Hey Craig the power went out in the morning, and it was until night time we checked on the tub and found the blinking measege so I would think the water would still be warm at that point, I tried resetting the breaker and the power cord multiple times but same thing, the only thing that made a difference is we put a hair dryer for 5mins on the electrical panel and tried resetting it, not we see temperature and can set the temperature, but you can heat the heater kick on then kick off again, then once you take the hair dryer away for 5min the dame thing happens again and it's just the 4 lines and the power icon flashing with no buttons working, I am setting a space heater in there for now until I can get it services as I am out of ideas
So, all jets are strong. No heat. Initially, had green light flashing. Shut off the 220 breaker, turned back on, I have no circulation flow….no bubbles from the bottom drain and no heat. But now steady red light jets are all strong and no heat. Ordered the two temp sensors. Any other ideas. You are the Guru. Thanks!
You gotta have circ pump flow. Do you have a tiny 1/8" hole in the filterwell with water coming out of it?
New. I just went out there with a laser temperature gun. Checked everything....water, hoses, everything 70'. EXCEPT....small electric motor with water hoses attached. Says "Watkins Silent (something) part number 34378. It was 137'. The case of the motor was hot. Perhaps that is my issue?
Yup. Has a small hole, nothing comes out of it. Am currently searching for a Silent Flo 5000 pump. New Amazon...$475. New elsewhere $250 Found one used on Ebay...$49.00 including shipping. Did a laser temp reading....the metal case was 137 degrees. Thinking that's the issue. Meanwhile, Very nice of you to assist us 70 year old novices. Hope Santa brings you all you wish for.@@craigsmith5025
The spin point wore out, so the impeller is not spinning, the motor end is hot... circulation pump is shot. It is LITERALLY the beating heart of Hot Spring spas.
Hi Craig
My circulator pump isn't even trying to turn on could that just be that the pump is dead?
Yes, but I'd confirm you got 115V at the circ pump connection terminals inside the IQ-2020 box. If you do and the pump is silent and still, it's dead. I'll bet the electric end smells burnt once you remove it.
Hey Craig, Thanks for sharing your experiences. Have subscribed to your channel and have gone through your videos. 👍 I bought cheaply a 2006 Hotspring Jetsetter that is in incredible condition, in the fact it was kept indoors all its life and is very clean in the 'engine bay'. However it does have some issues and I want to see if I can fix before calling a HS Service Tech. 1) its got a dripping leak coming from the underside of the main body of the heater (where the titanium pipes join the main housing). I guess there is a gasket that joins the heater body to the pipes and that might be the culprit. Do you know if this part is replaceable or if that is the issue? 2) flashing red light (no green light) and no lights on the control panel bezel (temp etc). Circ pump seems to be working ok as can feel it running and ozone bubbles coming up strongly. Have taken circ filter out but no difference. Any ideas? Many thanks Mark
The heater has red silicone compression gaskets that create a water tight seal on the pipes by compressing them between the plastic end and the aluminum legs. Those 6 screws create the compression. However the gaskets may be too old, or the plastic end cap may have a micro crack. Either way it is likely an original heater and no sense trying to squeeze more life out of it. With good flow through a non scaled heater, replace the hi lim sensor. Also that leaking light lens issue is no joke, a wet LED module will mess up normal operations.
If your "CONTROL UNPLUGGED" red LED on the main circuit board is lit, you may have a bad aux panel interfering (unplug it's phone jack connector), a bad ribbon cable or connection, a bad main control head panel. Troubleshooting can be simple if another panel is simply plugged in, but aside from a mouse chewed ribbon cable, pinpointing can be difficult.
@@craigsmith5025 Thanks for the reply. I took the heater out and it was both plastic barbs that had failed and not the titanium pipes connection with the main heater housing (this was causing the dripping underneath). Have ordered up a couple of replacements barbs and will then re-try. Also did an OHM test of the heater and of a new Heater (which i ordered, but will send back if the old heater goes back to working) and the OHM test read 36.6ohms on both heaters (UK here we run 230/240v) so believe all good there. Amazed at how unfurred up the element was in the heater. Must have lived its life in a soft water area or had a water softener feeding it.
I have ordered new thermistor sensors as well, so fingers crossed these things will resolve the issues and it will get going again. Will let you know! 👍
@@craigsmith5025 the previous owner did say the control panel (only one on a jetsetter - same style as the one in your video half moon on the side) was a bit troublesome. I took the facia off, took buttons out and cleaned behind so the springs were more free. Screwed back together and then tested the clean button functionality (worked ok) but the pump button needed a really good push to engage the main pump. Have a feeling this control panel will be an issue when I get the other bits rectified. Its not cheap so hoping i can remedy it some how..
@@craigsmith5025 Ive got LIM OK light off. HTR on on and CONTROL UNPLUGGED on. Flashing power light only on the control bezel. I also have a little bit of fur build up on the left of the Celetron cream transformer on the daughterboard on the motherboard. Not sure if that relates?
I was given an older Hot Springs tub that had a leak. I decided to replace the heater, and main pump, and new filters while fixing the leak. Good news is that there are no leaks, bad news is it doesn't work. Flashing red and green lights and Limok light on. Bad recirculation pump?
also, clean feature works but low flow and stops early. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Circulation pump bad, airlocked or debris inside. Reboot with gray standpipe filter cap off, and water feature knob open if it has one. If you DO have flow from the circ pump, you may have gotten a PDR heater without a built-in pressure switch wire. If so, that's ok. You get a little jumper plug for the area on the circuit board that says PRESS SWITCH. Whatever you do, DO NOT try to use the old pressure switch wire from the old heater and get it to hook up inside a PDR heater. That thing in a PDR heater is not a pressure switch, but a 240V relay. Jerry-rig a gray wire into a PDR heater and you'll BLOW THE MOTHERBOARD.
@@phillipbeierle5840 CLEAN feature just runs jet pump on a 10 minute timer. Shutting off at 10 minutes is what it is supposed to do. Low flow can only mean dirty filters. RARE is if somehow leaves and debris got sucked into the jet pump impellor, but that can never happen, unless someone unscrewed the standpipes for the filters, and ran it without.
@@craigsmith5025 I have 2010 hot springs grandee when I run the spa on jets max it runs good for about 20 minutes then the first pump shut off for about 30 minutes and then will automatically come back on the second jet pump stayed on all the time...sometimes I get an error code of dirty filters but all 5 are brand new...any help is appreciated thanks
@@damm0kmg your pump may have issues with rusty/crusty shaft seal area, bearing going bad, or just overheating and cutting out on internal thermal cutoff. It resets when it cools down. Sometimes service companies replace a pump without reconnecting the dryer vent tube to exhaust the hot air out.. As far as the error code, is your weir door sticking in the up position? Your filters may be coming in contact with open air if it sticks and water isn't spilling into the filterwell fast enough.
Need to know how to test the voltage to determine if the pressure switch is the culprit .
Craig, thanks for all your videos. Hoping you can help me figure out the problem I'm having. I have a 15 yo Envoy. 2 yrs ago replaced the fried heater board. 6 months ago replaced both limit switches. Now for the 1st time I'm getting a flashing red power light. Circ pump is working but pumps & led light won't come on. Lim ok & htr on lights are dark. Control unplugged & D17 are lit. I disconnected the pressure switch wires inside the heater & held them together to bypass the switch & still the same.............HEEEEEEELP
CONTROL UNPLUGGED lit means that there is a communication problem between the main board and the control panel. Look for mouse chewed ribbon cable just below the control panel. They like to run atop the 2X2 below the panel. If that is not chewed, 95% chance the control panel is bad, 5% chance the main board is bad. Also unplug the telephone connection for AUX PANEL in case that is causing interference. Also check for light lens leak getting your LED module wet. If disconnecting the LED module, ALWAYS kill power when unplugging or plugging into the IC interface.
@@craigsmith5025 THANK YOU for your reply. You might be on to something with the LED light. I found it with a slow leak. I removed the chrome ring around the light & used silicone all around. Over the weekend I'm going to disconnect the light from the panel, refill it & go from there.
@@MrJonreed7 A light lens leak in a tub that old is likely the orange siliconized o-ring where the clear lens screws onto the threaded wall fitting i the shell. Especially with tablet floaters in the spa, the o-ring gets old, cracked, faded, crumbling, and leaks. 'Some' spas around 2010 to 2016 had a cracked threaded wall fitting on the shell, and that repair is no fun. After unscrewing the trim ring, the clear lens itself unscrews, and you can get a new lens/o-ring kit for about $25. (you need 2 strong MAN-HANDS and several attempts to unscrew that lens) I should re-do my video on tablet floaters to show ALL the components that they destroy, like that light lens o-ring. Remember, never plug/unplug anything into that IC interface with spa powered up, or you destroy the board.
@@MrJonreed7 That LED is held on with 3 plastic push-on/pull off rivets. pull it off and inspect. Some LED circuit boards can be dried off and still work, some are water-corroded beyond salvaging.
@@craigsmith5025 You're right. You need Andre the giant's hands to get the lens off. I used a large channel lock to remove it one millimeter at time. What a pain but yes, the O-ring has a 2-inch section that is cracked & missing chunks out of it. Next, I removed all the components from the main board & one-by-one replaced them & I'm still getting the same results. I removed the board to inspect & it looks like possibly there is a melted part on what I believe is by the transformer.
Vanguard model. Drained and got the doubled flashing lights. Jumped the pressure switch and it will stay on but will not heat. The water feature works. Tried with no filter. Just a bad heater?
Jumped pressure switch and with flow, you should have no flashing lights outside, on the board a LIM OK and a HEATER ON lit. If still no heat, check input power at inputs 1&3 on a spa 2001-early 2009. If good power in and no power out to heater cord connections, see my video on heater relay board replacement.
@@craigsmith5025 I do not have the flashing lights after jumping the switch. It just does not get hot. But everything else works as it should. I’ll test that in a minute.
@@craigsmith5025 kind of related question. Do the new heaters without the built in pressure switch have a switch at all? I see people jumping them with a new heater and leaving it. Is that unsafe? Or does the new heaters have one inside without wiring? Curious.
@@craigsmith5025 so I have power. With the pressure switch jumped it will start to hurt up. But half trips the breaker for the heater after awhile. Think that’s the board or the heater? I have no idea….
@@redrocks1986 A half tripped breaker is a breaker that's tripping on groundfault. So that could be bad heater tripping that breaker, water in the conduit, or a bad GFCI breaker. troubleshooting those is tricky.
Hey Craig, what if the power light is solid and ready light is off but it's still not heating like it should?
See my heater relay board video.
@@craigsmith5025 I figured it out my board is burned by one of the relays on the heater board, but I can't find a replacement anywhere that looks like my board.
77119, it has two relays now. It has been revised several times over the years. See my video on heater relay board. The new replacement looks like the one in the video.
hi craig uk here i have a vanguard 2006 had leak in pipe repaired leak filled tub back up both red and green light flashing water going to waterfall so dont think its circ pump uncovered circuit board to check out what might be happening lim ok is lit green but htr is dead getting bubbles in hottub .ive refilled three times put hose down grey pipe though it might be pressure censer on side of heater so unplugged cable and put a pin across both terminal to bye pass censer .circ pump must be working i guess as water is flowing from waterfall and circ pump is cool and running any ideas many thanks paul
As long as you have flow, you can put a jumper in place of the pressure switch cord for a test. But I would not leave that as a permanent solution. You are bypassing a fail safe. There must be two failsafes in place.
hey craig i have a customer who has a solid red light we changed his board and heater yet his spa is continuing to not heat we have the heater light showing on the board like its getting power any tips? we do have water going to the heater and the pressure switch is brand new with it
The heater gets it's power from inputs 1&3. So on a two-breaker system, you should have 230V input at 1&3, this should relay 230 out to the heater connection. If it's a 115V plug-in spa, you need a triple power jumper atop the terminal block that jumps neutral to 5, 4, and 3. Then another triple with middle removed to make a WIDE jumper that jumps your hot from 2, to 1. The middle section removed to avoid that heater output. Also, did you modify the aluminum bracket to avoid touching the 6-leg chip on the new board?
What if the circ pump turns off and on constantly. it is getting water flow when it’s on and just continues like this, spitting water out into the spa everytime it turns on. The temp comes up to setpoint and then after reaching setpoint for a while, faults out. I have a pressure switch on the circ pump outgoing line. I replaced the temp sensors and the pressure switch in hopes this would fix the issue. The circ pump was replaced by the previous owner a few years ago.
@bennettk90 an intermittent circ pump can be a loose connection at the board, or the filters are in the air when jets are on because the sliding wier door gets stuck in the up position when the jets are on.
@@craigsmith5025Ok I'll check to see if the door is keeping water from spilling over into the filter compartment. We replaced the filters, so they should be good. I did find the ozone hose was disconnected from the heater ozone inlet because I could hear the check valve gurgling. I reconnected the hose together and so far the temps are good and the heat has stayed consistent. The circ pump is still running 5 sec off 3 sec on, consistently. And each time it kicks on, the hot water does come out into the tub.
Is there a reset for heater on the last heater u showed thanks
If it has no gray wire coming out the side and the main board has a jumper on the PRESSURE SWITCH plug, your heater has been replaced with a POWER DOWN RESET heater, that if it overheats and kicks itself out, power off and on resets it. Some aftermarket heaters have a tiny reset button above the small 1/4" bleed line tube on the back.
@@craigsmith5025 thanks for the help. Very much appreciated
I've got a Chinese control panel Ethink KL8-3A, everything works fine except the temp is set for 98 degrees but will only heat to 89 degrees then starts cooling down and heater will not kick in again, I have to turn it off until temp drops below 77 degrees then heater will work again any clues. Have checked water flow, filter, air locks, thermostat etc...... all good.
Hi! I was hoping maybe you would be able to help us. I have watched all of your videos and nothing fixed our issue. We called hot springs and they won't come out because there is no service technician close to us. We have a 2010 envoy and it will not heat up. We changed the high sensor limit switch and the smaller portion of the mother board. Do you take any phone calls. My husband and I are completely lost at this point.
A 2010 will be a slightly newer version than mine, with a 'dog bone' shaped control panel on the shell, rather than the black oval on the side. Does your main board have LIM OK and HEATER ON lit? What about CONTROL UNPLUGGED?
@@craigsmith5025 I believe it's the HRT in the NRT that is blinking One is red one is green. I would have to wait till the morning when my husband comes home and we take the access panel to give you the actual correct answer.
If LIM OK and HEATER ON is lit, an electrical meter should read 240V at inputs 2 and 4. If input voltage is good, you should have 240V out at H1 and H2.
@@craigsmith5025 i will have him check in the morning and get back to you. Thanks for your help.
Hi there, mate,I have a balboa control unit, And the flow was not working as strong as it should. I thought it was the pump, The jet button when pressing started to stop working and just become to have a mind of its own. I notice once the pump started without pressing any button and once just stopped also. So because I was not getting much flow, first bought a new impellor, because the other one was destroyed. Did not solve the problem, still low flow. Now I have installed a new pump, And the same problem. So there was nothing wrong with the original pump. Now I installed the new pump today, normally it goes on PR for about 7 minutes then it all starts up normally. So when I put the breakers on, the pump was running on low speed, Straight away, that was strange, never done that before when PR is starting up the on process but is a new pump. The jet button stopped working again with a clicking sound coming from the Balboa control box. Could this just be a fuse problem, possibly. or a relay ,what does a relay look like ? I am dumbfounded here. So now it is not the pump or capacitor, all new so , ruled out. The heating element is all fine and working, all checked there.I have a video ,if you were interested to look at.
That could be anything, especially since I don't know the history. You just acquire something from craigslist or marketplace, you have no idea what was done. You could have a 220 pump wired for 110 output, a mis wire, undersize wire, wrong input voltage, intermittent contact on connections. Without being on-site and running down the wiring requirements on the lid and testing with my meter along the control box, I'd only be guessing. Plus, I don't mess with Balboa packs much, most Hot Spring spas have the IQ systems.
@@craigsmith5025 I am not sure whether you understand. This is my hot tub ,had it 8 years,so no clue what your talking about.
@@swedishkev Often I'm asked questions about hot tub errors, and I'm running down possible spa errors, when in fact there is nothing wrong with the tub. I once corresponded with a guy for three weeks before I learned he had a 230V configured spa that he wired 115V. So without being there and running basic power in/component output readings, man, troubleshooting through messenger and such is near impossible. I could walk up to the tub and inside 30 seconds find the issue. But unseen over messages, total mystery.
@@craigsmith5025 Hi Craig,if your that good,do you mind if i sent you a video and a picture of the control unit. Would need an email or WhatsApp to send. Really need to work this out.
Hi Craig, so I don’t thing my Circular pump is working. I just replaced it I have electricity in my hot tub but it’s not heating up..I have a flashing yellow ready light on my hot springs hot tub but I’m thinking that the circular pump is not working but I really don’t know how to check it
A flashing ready light is the control (REG) thermistor is either bad, plugged into the wrong spot, or your dead circ pump is overheating your control thermistor into flashing error before the Hi-Limit sensor gets hot enough to go into error. Double check your circ pump wire placement, because the black, white & green wires are spread out within MANY connections. The white line at the bottom identifies the specific terminal connections. Make sure your thermistor is plugged into REG THERM and not OZONE INTERFACE.
Hi Mr. Craig, u were right! I had the wires in the wrong place.. now here I am again in the spring and my hot spring hot tub is not heating up.. new filter ✔️ circular pump is on and water is moving, I even check the pump to make sure no jams ✔️ but something is tripping, causing the red power light to blink… The hot tube stays on for about 20 minutes and turns off… I’ve made sure everything was pushed in and clean from any Corrosion inside the Circuit board… the outside breaker is working perfectly but something is making it trip and not heating up.. if I could get an email I can send u pics of the red and green lights on the control panel and what it says
I have a solid red light and blinking green light. Do you know what that could mean and what the fix would be?
Either the control thermistor reg therm sensor is bad (input flow), or the circulation pump is bad and the overheating heater upon reboot is throwing that sensor out of whack before the hi limit sensor. Rare, but a bad control head control panel (pre 2013) could be bad and reading the sensor wrong. I would start with confirmation if circ pump flow, and if it's OK, replace the control thermistor.
Do you have a digital multi meter. With the spa powered down for a while, pull the LIM THERM and CONTROL THERM plugs out of the board, and tell me what the k-ohms is on each sensor.
Thanks.
so my circ pump seems to be turning on and off in 10 sec intervals. Tub is not getting to desired temp either. Took circ pump out and apart and tested (like in your video) and it spins freely. Pump goin on intermittently a sign of bad pump?
It's air locked. Get the air out of it. It's sensing that it's not under load pushing water, so it's stopping and starting trying to purge itself.
@@craigsmith5025 I have tried to "bleed the lines" about 10 times now. Ty for getting back to me!
Take the filter off the gray standpipe, screw the cap on. Try rebooting. A circ cannot get going if a dirty filter is at the source.
@@craigsmith5025 just tried that and nothing. This is typical for my stuff. Nothing can ever just go smoothly. lol Again, thank you for the tips!!!!
When it comes on momentarily, is it pushing water? Either out a trickle water feature (if you have one) or out the hole in the filterwell?
🤙 mucho mahalo!
Been there, done that... This is a great video. This confirms that I will never buy another pre-fab, typical hot tub ever again. They are to be considered disposable after 10 to 12 years and then throw it out ... and start new again .. or take the viewpoint of never buying a typical hot tub ever.... I absolutely HATE these pre-fab hot tubs. The thumbnail got me to click on this video since the mechanicals are sooooo small and hard to service. Look at how small the little compartment is .. and then one has to bend over like a gerbil to service the panel area. Oh, ... and talking about rodents .. there is nothing like a family of rats .. or a family of mice inhabiting the underside of one's hot tub. And, hmm, nothing like a wasp's nest to wake a person up with a darn good bee sting if one opens up the service compartment. I get more out of my bathtub INSIDE my house than I do my $15,000 (now empty) Cal-Spa. I am going to literally GIVE my 12 year hot tub away to anyone that wants it... It is empty anyway. I am going to make a CUSTOM in-ground spa, fully masoned, instead ... with much fewer jets ... but jets that will actually SHOOT water out in a manner that it actually FEELS like a massage. I would rather have 6 jets in total .. all which shoot the water out like an F15 jet engine rather than being mesmerized by today's hot tubs at stores that show off the 95 jets in a typical hot tub that has the power of 95 Mini Coopers. When I want a massage ... I WANT a massage. Not some piddley pathetic two rows of 1/2 dozen crappy jets that shoot water at my back .. kinda .. sorta ... My next spa is going to actually be a massage spa with the filtration system that is located in my garage, and a pump system that will be soooo powerful that I gotta be careful that it won't cause skin to tear off, etc. I totally realize that my idea of a custom spa is going to cost at least 50k ... but then I will be happy.
So I’m gonna leave this comment here and it will help someone with airlock. Take the top hose off of your pump and let it cycle and spray water out then shove the hose back on it. It was the only way I could get it from being air locked. The water fountain burp method didn’t work for mine.
My waterfall burp method doesn't work either, due to the 1/2" line being too long. It goes up, then down, before going up to the waterfall. Before I refill, I'm going to chopped out 6" of hose and couple it. So it travels upward all the way from point A to point B.
put in new heater, cirulation pump is working fine, new filter and still blinking lights. any ideas will be appreciated
Did your new heater have the PRESSURE SWITCH wire?
So I put a new heater / circ pump. Green power / ready. Light is still blinking. I'm stumpped
Do you have flow? And does your new heater have a built in pressure switch wire? If so, is it plugged into the circuit board PRESSURE SWITCH pluggin correctly?
Ive done all of the above. My circuit board shows heater is on, then after 2 minutes it turns off. Any ideas?
I have 3 videos for different problems involving not heating. Two videos involve blinking lights on the front of the spa, one video involves not heating with no blinking lights on the front of the spa. What happens after 2 minutes when it stops heating? Blinking power light? Both power and ready light blinking?
Well I figured it out so an FYI for knowledge. Found out it was the switch panel that's inside the Tub used to turn the pump and the lights on. Switch was being a little temperamental. So I unplugged it from the board and walla! It stayed on. Plugged it back in and 2 minutes later the heater was off. Just thought I'd share what I found in case someone has issues in the future.
Your videos are the best I've found. Thanks a bunch for your help sir.
Rick
I mention bad aux panel in one of my videos, but I failed to mention unplugging the telephone style plug to troubleshoot.
HI CRAIG, 2008 VANGUARD , JUST PUT IN A NEW HEATER AND MY RED AND GREEN LIGHT ARE FLASHING, NO HEAT. THE new one has only 2 connections, the old one had three. please HELP ME, I NEED MY JACUZZI.Thanks CRAIG
Your old heater had the built in pressure switch for a secondary failsafe, your replacement heater is a PDR thermal relay. Just jump the pins on the circuit board where it says PRESSURE SWITCH. I often use the old heater plug, snip the wires short, strip them and twist them together to make a PRESSURE SWITCH jumper plug.
@@craigsmith5025 so far so good. ill keep you posted
@@stephenspelman1323 smelling a little electric burn from there now.
It stopped the lights from flashing but a but concerned from the smell. Nothing smoking. Though.
See my video on HEATER RELAY BOARD replacement. That is likely the smell. Blown relay board.
I need help. I have checked everything in this video and I still have power ready lights flashing.
Did you recently replace the heater? If so, did it have the gray wire out the side that plugs in to the PRESSURE SWITCH plug on the circuit board?
@@craigsmith5025 I haven't replaced the heater. It looks like it was replaced in 2015. I did replace the thermistor and the limit piece. there is a grey wire that comes out the side of the heater. I thought about getting a pressure switch bypass piece for the control board.
You can jump the pressure switch for testing purposes, but I would not leave it like that. The pressure switch is a heater overheat failsafe. Permanently bypassing a failsafe is not good. A pressure switch should last a good dozen years with good water chemistry. Are you using tablets in a floater by chance?
@@craigsmith5025 no tablets but we are using the frog ease float system.
@@craigsmith5025 I feel like there is a lot of air coming from the ozonater. Lots of tiny bubbles. A hissing coming from the injector
I cleaned my tub and now the green light is not coming on but I have heat at set temp 🤔
I've seen LEDs fail. It sucks not having the green ready light that indicates your water temp is within 2 degrees of set temp. Unless you are trying to run your spa cooler in these summer temps, and the water is hotter than your set temp. That happens. Set the tub at 92, but in the heat of the summer the water temp is 96. The green light will be dark.