redlightning Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 I have a Tiger River Bengal i purchased new in 2004. I think it was an 03 model. I have not used the tub much this summer. Everything was working fine. I drained and refilled the tub. Everything seemed ok, i went out today to check the temp and run the clening cycle and the red light was flashing. I dont think the heater was working. Water temp was not warm. I had seen this before when there was a power outage or something. I reset the power and it cam back to life. I ran the cleaning cycle and checked the temp setting. I adjusted the temp to around 90 and at some point i started to hear a kind of banging or bucking sound. While i was adjusting the temp. the green light came on solid at around 90 degrees. The water was not 90 degrees. Then the blinking red light of death again. I tried reseting the tub again. No luck. I killed power then waited a few min then powered back up and again it seemed to come up and work again. I pulled the cover off to check the inner workings and did not notice any obvious problems. I repeated the power down for a few min process and it came back up. The banging or bucking sound happened again and it seemed to be the heater making the noise. Not 100% sure but i would almost bet that was what it was. I am not sure if the circulation pump is working. Not really sure what to check first. I am good with a multi meter and tools. electronics tech in my early days. Any ideas would be appreciated! More info. I just went out to check it again. Powered up the 20a circuit. Controls came up fine. Air pump working fine. Adjusted the temp up, heard the relay click to acivate the heater. All seems good. Still not sure if the circulation pump is working. It if vibrating and seems warm like it is. I then powered up the 30a breaker. Everthing seemed fine for about 20 sec or so. Then the heater made the bucking sound. 20 or 30 sec later the red flashing light. I felt the heater and it felt hot. I am starting to believe that water may not be circulating and the heater is going into some type of shut down. This is not the original heater with the reset button. The heater was replaced i think once under warranty by the local dealer. I think the circulation pump has been replaced once also. Am i on the right track? How can i confirm that the circulation pump is working? Thanks Again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottubdan Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Have you chemically cleaned the filter? Is the drain sock free of debris? If the circ pump is restricted you will have these problems. If cir pump failed and you are original owner, you are under warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redlightning Posted August 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 No i have not chemically cleaned the filter. I can test that theory by removing the filter, i think. Where is the drain sock? I am the original owner, but out of warranty in February. I will say i have had several service issues with this tub. I think the main board had to be replaced once. The heater crapped out, then the replacement heater crapped out. The circulation pump and the diverter valve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n1oty Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 No i have not chemically cleaned the filter. I can test that theory by removing the filter, i think. Where is the drain sock? I am the original owner, but out of warranty in February. I will say i have had several service issues with this tub. I think the main board had to be replaced once. The heater crapped out, then the replacement heater crapped out. The circulation pump and the diverter valve. It sure sounds like a circulation issue. You are on the right track though. Check the filters first. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peteyboy Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Like the others said - pull the filter out and reset the power. See if you have a ripple on top of the water above the bottom drain - this will tell you if the circ pump is pushing water. The reason the spa seems to work after the power reset is that the heater has cooled and won't trip the high limit (red light) until it gets hot again from low or no flow. If you don't see the flow you can put your foot over the waffle cover in the bottom of the spa to feel for the flow. Another thing you can do to try to get the pump running is to put your hose down the filter standpipe and turn it on full blast - reset the power and look for the flow. If not you can go in the equipment area and jiggle the little pump slightly. Sorry to hear it's out of warranty, but they are easy to work on. Most people in here can help you through it. (a great bunch of techs in here) !! You should rinse the filter with your hose at least monthly and soak it like the others said when you drain & refill, about 3 or 4 times per year. Even when the spa is not used much you should keep track of the chemicals and still be cleaning the filter. The other possible problem would be the high limit thermister - I don't think it's that because usually that red light will start flashing right away on a power reset if the thermister is bad. The drain sock goes over that safety suction in the footwell on the side. Unless you see it really covered with junk I don't think that is the problem. Keep us posted ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redlightning Posted August 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Well it is defintly the circulation pump. Not spinning at all. Where is a good place to pick up one? Watkins PN 1109101 Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n1oty Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Well it is defintly the circulation pump. Not spinning at all. Where is a good place to pick up one? Watkins PN 1109101 Thanks for the help! They have a new, smaller circ pump now. The part number escapes me for the moment. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Well it is defintly the circulation pump. Not spinning at all. Where is a good place to pick up one? Watkins PN 1109101 Thanks for the help! You said this happened when you drained and refilled. Based on that scenario I'd first make sure you don't simply have an air lock in the pump as can happen with a drain/refill and is very easy to fix. Loosen the upper connections on the circ pump ever so slightly (upper one first) just until water starts to trickle out and then reclamp it; if you hear air escape instead of water that could be your problem. If that doesn't do it you might want to take it apart (very easy) to make sure there isn't debris in it hindering flow before you bother to simply replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peteyboy Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 The new circ pump is part # 74427. But definitely do what Spatech said first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfixit Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 I didn't read all the replies to this thread, so please bear with me if I am repeating. Sounds like an air lock to me. The red light is either a flow warning indicator or an overheat indicator. Try eliminating the air from the heater tube somehow. There may be a bleeder valve, or you may need to open one of the unions slightly. Be sure not to get ANY water on the circuit board when you do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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