spanorth

I was seconds away from ordering a new circuit board, since it's getting below freezing at night now and I can't risk a freeze up, while waiting for a board repair. I was working with the folks over at spacare.com who are really really helpful and quick to respond. I tried everything they suggested. Then I decided I would check the GFCI breaker a little closer and found that it was the GFCI. I had just put a new one in back in July, so I had basically written that off as a possibility. Well it WAS the GFCI! Everything is back up and running.

The clicking is coming from the little black part (relay?) in the lower left corner of the circuit board. It's kind half hidden by the big green wire.

From everything I've read a constantly tripping breaker is almost always a bad heater element. So I took a chance and replaced it. No luck. I reset the breaker and I immediately hear a click in the in the equipment bay and the GFCI breaker is tripped. I've tried unplugging the motors and the ozone module from the main board, reset again, with the same results. Any suggestions?

Just want to update this post with the final outcome. I sent the board in for repair to SpaCare.com. They were very helpful walking me through trouble shooting, until eventually it had to be sent in. It was diagnosed to "Replace 9 volt zener diode." Whatever that is. Cost was $160, shipped. A far cry from a replacement board at $700. They were good at communicating through the process. I shipped it on the 13th and I got it back on the 29th. I reinstalled it and everything is working fine. My only complaint was the terrible packaging for the return shipment. They used the same box, with half the packaging I used and the box was crushed and had a large hole in the side of it. I had put the board in a static proof bubble wrap envelope and the lots of other bubble wrap. Upon return, the static proof bubble envelope was laying in the bottom of the box and hadn't even been used. Any decent tech would know what it is and would re-use it. I am actually quite surprised it even worked considering how bad the box looked. I wouldn't use them again for this reason.

All the general equipment rental dealers have them here in Minnesota. Not to mention about every other person in my neighborhood has one! I paid about $30-40 for the day I think.

After talking with a spa circuit board repair service they suggested I send it to them and it was likely a board problem. That seems to make sense as it seems there is not much else it could be at this point. So, I packed up the board and control panel and sent it off for repair. I hope this fixes it!

There is no flow. Nothing is running. Just OHH flashing. I did remove the filters early in the trouble shooting process with no change.

Both sensors have not been replaced with new ones. Same problem, no change. I also tried unplugging all lights, Ozone kit, heater, and both motors from the circuit board. Same problem, no change. I suspect I am now looking at a circuit board problem.... What do I try next?

I don't think it would be a problem. I moved mine a couple times now and used a snowmobile trailer both times. They are great because they are, cheap to rent, flat all the way across and have a tilting feature so it's easier getting the spa on and off. I also used 1" pvc pipe to roll it around on which made it super simple to slide across a driveway or patio. Good luck!

I went to the dealer this morning and they only had 1 sensor in stock, so I grabbed it. I tried installing it at both locations. No change...display still flashes OHH before I even see Pr on the display. I tested the Ohms of both original sensors and the new one (I suppose I should have done this first). Everything is testing within spec according to this chart: http://www.spacare.com/balboasensorresistancevalues.aspx I also tried changing the dip switch to "test mode" and there is no change. But I was just guessing that this might bypass the sensors altogether.

I came out to find a flashing OHH Code on the display panel. Nothing else is running or works. Display buttons don't function either. I turned power off and back on and the display never gets to the prime code like it normally does when it starts up. Can anyone tell me where to start with the troubleshooting process? I have searched and some say bad pumps, or motors or sensors or boards. I just don't know where to start. The local deal is over a week out before they can get to come look at it. I guess that's fine, I usually prefer to fix things myself.

Yes, it's been working just fine as far as I can tell. I don't have much reference from before it was replacd, so I can't say how much difference it makes.

Well good to know it "normal" and not a problem. I sure didn't want to have to pull that motor. Would it be a bad idea, if I wrapped the pipes with something like one of these products to deaden the sound/vibration? It might also help decrease heat loss from the pipes into the equipment area. I'm guessing the spa pak should be left alone so it can dissipate the heat and keep the circuit board cool?

I ended up with the JED 103 ozone generator, just because my dealer had them in stock, they were $107 and they had been installing them as replacements regularly on the Marquis tubs. Install took about 15 minutes and I'm in business. I'll be curious to see how it effects my chemical balance and use. Although, I'll probably not be able to tell very much, since I don't have a solid handle on the whole chemical thing yet. Anyway, I figure for $100 it can't hurt and if it means less chemical in the tub, that will work for me!

Mine did start heating faster as it got warmer...still, like you, not fast enough though. Congrats on your tub. I'm amazed how much I love ours. I was rather indifferent about the whole idea. I did it for my wife...sure glad I did!

I did a little more investigation this afternoon. It might just be the harmonics of this whole system (and my perfectionistic nature), but here's what I am seeing & hearing. I don't think it's a bearing. I did the screwdriver stethoscope test, nothing obvious and both motors sound the same. I noticed what I believe is the source of the vibration/hum. It is coming from the area in this oval in the picture below. When I rest the screw driver on any spot inside the red oval it jumps around like crazy. As I rest the screwdriver in spots outward from this oval the vibration of the screwdriver diminishes. Rest the screwdriver on the motor and the vibration is minimal, even though yesterday I believed it was the source. The source I now believe is inside the red oval. Again, this all only occurs when the motor is on low speed. Turn it on high and the vibration/hum is greatly diminished. Perhaps the elbow is the spot with the most turbulence and causing the vibration/hum. OR perhaps there is some kind of obstruction in there. I tried switching the diverters around and that changed nothing. I removed and replaced the filters and that didn't change the vibration/hum. And it's really more than a hum....the spa is in my garage at the moment and I can hear the vibration/hum from pump 1 on low, from inside the house, through the wall/door. Maybe it's a normal thing, but it really doesn't seem right to me. Thoughts?

My local Marquis dealer supplies the JED 103 ozone generator as a replacement. Same price at ~$100. Any thoughts on this unit vs. DEL APG?

I'm not going to be much help on the leak issue, but for the picture, you should upload it to a photo hosting service (flickr, photobucket, shutterfly, picasa, etc) and then place a link to it here. You are likely to get more help by giving the brand, model, and year of the hot tub as well. Good luck!

I've got the worst of the vibration dampened now. This has allowed me to compare the two motors a little closer now, though. Kind of an odd thing happening. Motor 1 on low, really has a noticeable vibration when I place my hand on it and a pretty noticeable hum. In my experience motors should not vibrate or hum like that. When I place my hand on motor 2, on low, it is smooth and quiet as I would expect a motor to be. No vibration or noise/hum at all. My first inclination is to think the bearings are going bad on motor 1. However, when I switch motor 1 on high, the vibration goes away. Hard to tell if the hum goes away with the noise of the water flowing and such. And when I compare both motors on high, they both feel the same - fairly smooth. Now, that doesn't seem like bad bearings to me. Any thoughts?

Great. I was starting to think about looking at other units too. Glad to hear this one is working well for you. I'll be ordering it tomorrow.

Wonderful. That's what I hoped to hear. I'll fix that today.

I'll call the dealer on Monday and find out what they'll charge for it, in the mean time, by googling that part humber I found it here http://thespaworks.com/parts/marquis-spa-parts/marquis-spa-ozone/marquis-spa-ozonator-amp-plug-120v230v-convertible for $212. However, this one sure looks like the exact same thing for half that. http://www.creativeleisureproducts.com/servlet/the-182/ACC,Applied-Computer-Controls,ePACK,spa-control,hot/Detail Am I missing something between these two?

I have found that my Ozone unit is not working. My dealer is of no help. Unfortunately, the moron who I usually have to talk to on the phone can even look up parts and tell if they are in stock or not. I assume this is a Balboa unit like this one found here http://www.spaguts.com/Products/balboa-uv-ozonator-kit-with-amp-cord-52468-01-59024-602.aspx I'm willing to spend $150 if it's the proper replacement and it will work. However, I wonder if there is a better option for a replacement. I'm not too worried about the plug/connector being different, as I can always reuse the old one. Here's a picture of mine. Suggestions?

When Motor 1 is on low, I get a pretty loud vibration. I think it's mostly coming from the control box where the board and heater are. Here is a video that demonstrates the noise. It doesn't sounds as bad as it really is in person, but should give you a good idea. The at the starts of the video, I switch Motor 1 on Low and demonstrate what I can do to reduce the vibration. At 0:24, I switch to Motor 1 on High. I'm not sure if it stops vibrating at this point, or if it is just drowned out by the general noise. At 0:31 I switch Motor 1 Off, then switch Motor 2 on Low. Motor 1 kicks in right after motor 1 but you can hear for about 1-2 seconds how much quieter Motor 2 is. I realize the vibration is emanating from Motor 1 and making something in the control box vibrate, either the cover or something inside vibrating against the cover What can I do about the vibration? Is it a sign that Motor 1 or the pump is going bad? (oh and in case you noticed, I just have temporary wiring to get this thing working right, it's by no means permanent, but it's still on a GFCI)

Well so far so good. She's been holding water for about 6 hours now! This was a slick process. How you do it in 40 minutes, I'll never know, but that's why your a pro and I'm a hack! I was really pleased with how much silicone I was able to get out with the rope method. I feel like I got it cleaned really really well. I thought I had a method figured out to pump silicone under the flange, but I just couldn't get the silicone to flow through the tube very well. I ended up fumbling around with this part trying to find another bigger tube, but I couldn't get it to work right, so I ended up packing it in with a putty knife, which would have been fine from the start, but the silicone started to skin up on me a bit because I took so much time with the tube. I suspect the silicone might have been old, so that might have contributed to the lack of flow. I just hope she stays sealed up for a few years...I really don't want to do that job again, anytime soon! I got the temporary electrical line run and connected and it fired right up. Everything seems to be working well. Now I need to figure out the chemicals...but that's another thread. Thanks again!