View Full Version : Hot tub won't come on
justreptiles
Aug 29, 2008, 06:10 AM
I acquired a hot tub from a friend. I hooked it up and nothing comes on. It does not trip the breaker. There is power to everything as I have checked all connections. The pump make a sound like it tries to start for a couple of seconds then stops. Then it traies again in a few minutes. I have also hooked the tub direct without the gfi to see if that had anything to do with it and still the same. Nothing comes on not even the digital control or the tub light. Does anybody have a clue?
Thanks
Mike
Mapleleafpete
Aug 29, 2008, 06:42 AM
Could be the impeller stuck on the pump but if it doesent trip that would be odd.Try disconnecting the motor from the tub and trying the motor all by its self,this will eliminate an impeller problem, hope this helped a bit.
Dr_Spa
Aug 29, 2008, 06:55 AM
Sounds like the motor on the pump froze up (especially if it hasn't been run for a while). Or, could be the wrong voltage going to the pump, or a bad capacitor.
ballengerb1
Aug 29, 2008, 07:38 AM
Both posts are likely correct. A pump left unused can get rust on its shaft and get stuck. Sometimes just manually rotating the shaft and impeller will break things loose. A breaker will not aways be the first thing to go, some electric motors have their own thermal trip, once tripped they reset themselves when cooled. Did you ask your friend how weell the unit worked when he stopped using it? Why did he stop using it?
justreptiles
Aug 29, 2008, 07:54 AM
Yes, it worked good before I took it. If the motor was the problem, would that cause the digital control or the tub light not to come on?
ballengerb1
Aug 29, 2008, 07:58 AM
No, there should be a display and lights. Do you know where the fuse is near the control panel? Usually looks like a red or green tubular rod the size of your pinky.
justreptiles
Aug 29, 2008, 12:37 PM
The only fuse that I can find is a 30A fuse which is smaller around than a pencil and only about 1 1/2" in length and is inside the control panel on the board. I replaced that fuse.
ballengerb1
Aug 29, 2008, 12:39 PM
That is the fuse I pictured. Have you got a voltage tester to track the hot wires, making sure you have voltage to and from the fuse.
albinfla
Aug 29, 2008, 06:08 PM
Sounds like it is a loose connection. I know you said that you have power, but do you have 220? Make sure you check wire nuts, or lugs where your wires connect. You should test both leads at the same time with your tester. In other words, test one hot wire with your red, and the other with your black lead on your tester. It should say 220 or thereabout. If it reads zero, you don't have 220.
Then, you can trace it back and see where you lost 220, if that is the case.
Al
justreptiles
Sep 1, 2008, 11:37 AM
I checked the voltage and it has 220 to it.
albinfla
Sep 1, 2008, 02:36 PM
Do you have a make and model of the tub? I could look at a schematic, and possibly give you better advice of what to check. It is possibly the circuit-board. But, if it worked before, I'm still leaning towards a blown fuse or loose connection possibly at the control board.
Al
ballengerb1
Sep 1, 2008, 08:19 PM
Not 240?
albinfla
Sep 2, 2008, 02:04 AM
I read back through again... did you test the voltage on both sides of the fuse on the circuit board? Touch the black probe on your voltmeter to the ground wire. Then, touch the red probe to each side of the fuse individually and see what you get.
Al
justreptiles
Sep 2, 2008, 04:20 PM
I checked the voltage on each side of the fuse and it reads 120 for each side. All connections have been checked and are good.
albinfla
Sep 2, 2008, 04:28 PM
You have power to the board and past the fuse. Is there a way that you can loosen, not remove, the plug where it goes out of the board and test the voltage there? You probably already did this, but did you unplug and reconnect all wires after the circuit board and up at the control panel? I'm still thinking unless something got shorted out, that there just about has to be a loose connection someplace. It seems that if the board was shorted, that the fuse should have been blown.
ballengerb1
Sep 2, 2008, 06:04 PM
justreptiles, 120+ 120=240 Folks still say 110 and 220 because that's what Tommy Edison built. However, that was upped back around 1950 to 120 and 240. Real voltages are 120 and 240 , true voltage at my house bounces around 118.
albinfla
Sep 3, 2008, 04:15 AM
Bob,
I agree that he should've had 235-250 volts instead of the 220 in an early post, but I think with 120 on both sides of the fuse that he should be getting lights on or something at the control panel. I think most pump motors would work at 220 too due to capacitor start. They may run too hot at that voltage, since they are actually rated at 230. But, I think they would still run.
I agree that it is odd that he has even 120 volts, because it rarely tests that way. I did voltage tests yesterday on 3-phase, and had 120 on each of 3 legs. Not 118, or 123. That was strange because I didn't have a high-leg of 185 or so. I called the electric company because the trailer park's well pump wouldn't run.
I still think unless he shorted something out, that there is just a loose connection from moving the tub. But, without a picture, or schematic, we're both just shooting in the dark.
Al