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Author Topic: hottub motor problems!  (Read 3578 times)

matt84

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hottub motor problems!
« on: October 07, 2017, 11:45:10 am »
Hello everyone! ,
I'm new to this forum , hopefully someone can help me out with this problem!
 i recently had to install a new board for my tub, its the balboa VS501z board with a 2 speed pump. the old one burned up with a loose connection on a power wire. i ordered the same board as a replacement hoping that it would be a simple plug and play , unfortunately I plug in the motor and it cycles on and off every 2 seconds causing the start capacitor to burn out. After replacing it i tried again and same outcome.
I've tested the voltage coming in and its fine,
 motor is in good working order, I bench tested it and both high and low speeds work when given 120 volts,
  I checked the output on the board for the motor and it reads 120 volts then when switched to high speed the other line goes to 120, (working correctly . Once the motor is plugged in is when the problem starts.
i can include photos if that helps anyone!
thanks for taking the time to look at this
Matt.

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hottub motor problems!
« on: October 07, 2017, 11:45:10 am »

castletonia

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2017, 01:22:13 pm »
Try unplugging the control panel and see if the motor will run normally during the filter / heat cycle, which are programmed into the circuit board.  Could be a stuck jet button on the control panel.

matt84

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2017, 04:40:17 pm »
i just tried running it without the controls hooked up same result as before motor cycles on and off 

Tman122

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2017, 11:12:01 pm »
i just tried running it without the controls hooked up same result as before motor cycles on and off

Is there 220V going to the pump or 110v? You may have a dip switch problem.
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matt84

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2017, 01:45:37 pm »
120 volt to pump, when it switches from high to low it is switching power to the high side, shutting off the low speed power. i have noticed it seems to not be pushing as much water as well.

Tman122

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2017, 07:58:33 pm »
120 volt to pump, when it switches from high to low it is switching power to the high side, shutting off the low speed power. i have noticed it seems to not be pushing as much water as well.

OK next question is it a 220V pump? I think it likely is. The new board has dip switches so it can handle both 120V pumps and 220V pumps. Did the board come with a manual or instruction sheet?
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matt84

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2017, 10:41:59 pm »
  the motor for some reason does not have a nameplate on it,
 I took the motor off and bench tested it, sending 120 volts to the red/white wire, then  to the black/white. Doing this changed the speed on the motor from lo to hi, i haven't put 240 to the motor as i assumed doing that first test ruled out it being a 240 volt motor.  i think it has two 120 volt windings. As far as the dip switches go, nothing was flipped on. I  compared it to the old one and it has the same layout for the dip switches.
thanks for taking the time to help me! very appreciated.

matt84

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2017, 06:16:13 pm »
with the motor turning on and off , could this be a sign of the motor going bad? I'm not sure if I'm missing something obvious...

Tman122

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #8 on: October 11, 2017, 06:46:26 am »
with the motor turning on and off , could this be a sign of the motor going bad? I'm not sure if I'm missing something obvious...

Is the power going to the motor also intermittent? Or is it steady when its energized?
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matt84

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2017, 10:56:10 pm »
 The power going to the motor seems to be steady, when it starts turning on and off I can hear the relay switching as well, I let it run for a while and got an error which indicated a temp difference , (caused by low flow)  the motor doesn’t seem to be able to go into high speed mode when connected to the panel .

Tman122

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #10 on: October 12, 2017, 06:53:09 am »
The power going to the motor seems to be steady, when it starts turning on and off I can hear the relay switching as well, I let it run for a while and got an error which indicated a temp difference , (caused by low flow)  the motor doesn’t seem to be able to go into high speed mode when connected to the panel .

I was a parts replacer. Trouble shooting is hard. I had several pumps in my inventory that I could slap in to see if a pump was bad. I also had some boards in case that was the problem. In your case yea, it may be the pump, but you don't have the option of trying a different pump to see if it fixes the problem. Or changing out the board to see if you have another faulty board.
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matt84

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2017, 01:21:57 pm »
i have a friend giving a working motor to test and see if thats the issue, ill post the results once i get it!
hopefully this fixes it.

matt84

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #12 on: October 15, 2017, 09:41:26 pm »
all fixed! the motor was fine...  it didn't have a label so i had assumed it was 120 when i talked to the motor repair guy, i was wrong, simple change of wiring in the control panel and it runs great! thanks again everyone , very rookie mistake!!  :o

Tman122

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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #13 on: October 16, 2017, 07:34:07 am »
all fixed! the motor was fine...  it didn't have a label so i had assumed it was 120 when i talked to the motor repair guy, i was wrong, simple change of wiring in the control panel and it runs great! thanks again everyone , very rookie mistake!!  :o

I was on the right track from the beginning. But it's hard to fix things through a forum.
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Re: hottub motor problems!
« Reply #13 on: October 16, 2017, 07:34:07 am »

 

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