Pump 1 Cycling On/Off on Power On

[FrankieP]

After removing the entire control board and heater assembly to resolder a relay and inspect the heater, I put it all back together and now have this problem. A few seconds after turning the breaker on, pump 1 cycles on/off about every 1 - 2 seconds. I let it go for a minute and it continues. I unplugged the top panel from control board and it still does the same, I checked/tightened all power connections and they are good, including the ground. When I unplug pump1 it obviously stops but the relay continues to pick.

There is history that might be helpful to someone smarter than me to help diagnose. 2 weeks ago the water was cold. When I removed the cover from the control board I found a jumper wire between 2 relays had corroded and disintegrated. There were also what looks like burn marks where the wire connects to the relay.   I was able to make a new jumper and when installing it I noticed 1 of the relays had some movement. With the new jumper installed and the relay pushed into the circuit board with my finger, everything worked. A week later I again had no heat but was able to get the heater to turn on again by pushing on it again.

 

Yesterday I decided to replace the water and while it was empty I removed the entire assembly (Control board and heater) so I could fix it better. I removed the board to get to the backside of it and found 2 pins on 1 relay and 1 pin on the other relay, needed to be soldered since they were lose. These are the relays with the jumper mentioned above. It all went as planned. However, as I was tightening the the connections to the heating element one of nodes came apart from the heater. I cleaned it up and put it back together and held it tight in place with a zip tie to keep a good physical connection. I also checked all fuses and found the one in the pigtail for the ozonator had blown so I replaced it.

I also found dip switch 7 had been switched off accidentally while I worked on the board so I switched it back on. It's a Pump2 1spd/2spd switch that I put back to the 1spd position.

 

The hot tub was bought directly from a mfgr around 9 yrs ago so don't know the name/ model. All controls are Balboa. The label on the panel cover says model 2M7P3 and UL Model DUM-2M7P3-DCAH.

[FrankieP]

Just realized I posted this in the Portable Hot Tubs section but mine isn't portable. Brand new to this forum so sorry about that. Mine is a 450 gallon 7-8 person hot tub.

 

[FrankieP]

Anyone have any ideas?

[FrankieP]

Kind of surprised not a single response. For what it's worth, I remembered a similar symptom after working on it in the past and it ended up being moisture related. It was raining when I worked on it. Anyway, after a couple of days drying out it's back to normal.

[Jersey Hot Tub Repair]

I always like to check the pump independently from the rest of the system to eliminate it as the problem.  Pumps have electronic controllers and the problem may be there, although based on your notes I wouldn't think so.

If you have to push the relay manually with your finger to get it to close, than whatever circuit is controlling the relay isn't working.  If you see burns on the relay, than I'm guessing it may be bad.  If so, just fixing the solder joint won't bring it back to life.  The fact that it's turning the pump on and off suggests damage to the relay. 

But that aside, whatever may have fried your relay may have damaged another component on the circuit board in a way that isn't visible.

What do you mean the "nodes to the heating element?"  Do you mean the two terminals on the element?  How did it "come apart?"  Are you talking about the ceramic coating being broken on the terminal?

Also, a 450 gallon hot tub is considered portable.  I believe, but I'm not sure, that being portable makes it an "appliance," as opposed to a built in.  I must admit, I don't know anybody who brings their "portable" hot tub with them when they go away for a weekend.