Hot Tub Forum

Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: matt84 on October 07, 2017, 11:45:10 am

Title: hottub motor problems!
Post by: matt84 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.
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: castletonia 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.
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: matt84 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 
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: Tman122 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.
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: matt84 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.
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: Tman122 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?
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: matt84 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.
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: matt84 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...
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: Tman122 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?
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: matt84 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 .
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: Tman122 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.
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: matt84 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.
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: matt84 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
Title: Re: hottub motor problems!
Post by: Tman122 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.