motor does not engage

[fastdriver_0]

Hi, I have an older coast spa, pump was just serviced last fall but during the winter the spa stopped working. I narrowed it down to the pressure switch failing, I replaced it but not when I power up the system I hear the heater engage but the pump will not kick in.  I hear the relay click when I push the button but nothing from the pump.  is there anyway to tell if the temperature sensor is also damaged and not letting the pump kick in? I am not even getting s basic circulation form the pump.

thanks

[Jersey Hot Tub Repair]

The pressure switch doesn't turn the pump on.  It checks for water pressure, then turns the heater on. 

If you have a 24 hr circ pump, it should always be on.  If it's not, that doesn't indicate a temp sensor issue.  If your spa uses PUMP1 for both heating and jets, it should turn on when you press the button on the topside.

Since you hear a relay clicking when you press the JETS button, (I assume that's the button you said you're pressing), my first assumption would be that the topside is telling the circuit board to turn on the pump and the circuit board is closing the relay to send power to the pump. 

Based on what you said, and the fact that your pump was "serviced," (whatever that means), my first action would be to test the pump.  To do that, first turn off the breaker providing power to the hot tub.  then:

1. Check the fuses for continuity, sometimes a pump is on a separate fuse.  You must remove them from the circuit board to test.
2. Put a screwdriver on the shaft and see if you can manually turn it.
3. Power up the pump independently of the hot tub. 
4. Re-check your wiring.  Is it possible the pump is connected to the wrong plug on the circuit board?

I"m not clear on what you mean when you say you "hear the heater engage" when you turn the spa on.  Are you saying you hear water boiling in the heater tube?  Or are you saying you hear a relay click on?  If so, how do you know it's the heater relay?

 

[fastdriver_0]

Nothers worked until I bridged the flo sensor. After I bridged the sensor and pushed the pump button on the controls I hear a click, the heating element comes on (I feel it getting hot) but no water movement. I checked all the fuses with a Volt meter and they are all good.

 

My pump was taken apart and checked last fall when I had to replace the impeller. It turns freely as I took it out last week to check that.

 

Could it be the transformer on the circuit board?

[Jersey Hot Tub Repair]

I understand what you're saying --  you had to "fake" water flow to get the heater to turn on.

I would disconnect the pump from your circuit board, and put your voltmeter on that connection and see if the board is sending voltage to the pump.  If not, your issue is in the circuit board.  It you can turn the voltage on and off by pressing the JET button, than the problem is either the pump or the wire harness, but most likely the pump. (I've seen one bad pump wire harness in about 1000 hot tubs, wires don't tend to fail too often.  A mouse skeleton stuck to the chewed up wire is a good indication of a bad wire)

Have you tried testing the pump outside the hot tub?  Just run a wire from an outlet to the spade connectors on the pump.  I find that in about 75% of the time, a 230VAC pump will turn on if fed 115VAC, I just wouldn't run it like that for a long time.  -OR- if you have a two pump hot tub, just swap the wires from the PUMP1 position on the circuit board to the PUMP2 position.  All you want to do is see if the pump turns on.

I've never seen a transformer affect a pump, but you can check it easy enough.  Look for 115(or 230) volts going into the transformer, and either 12V or 5V coming out.  Most hot tubs use 12V.  Sometimes you can stick your voltmeter probes into the back of the transformer plug.  Sometimes you need to stick a safety pin or paperclip into there to make an extension to test with your voltmeter.