Coincidence Or What? I Cant Power Up Spa After Water Change

[elkski]

I have a old coleman spa and we recently decided to keep it for a few more years. I have fixed several minor leaks new pumps etc over the years . We even had a lighting strike take out the coleman controller several years ago and went to Balboa as a replacement. Not real happy with that decision as the balboa board wont power the perimeter lights. any way we just purchased and have a new RH cover arriving Monday so we decided to change the water this weekend. The spa has been working fine for many months so today I pulled the quick disconnect and drained the water out cleaned the filters and spare and we refilled it. then it wont power on at all. I have taken off the side and we seem to have power to the controller although I measure 132 Volts on one leg and 122 on the other?? Power seems to be on both sides of the major fuses. I did not pull the fuses and ohm them out. It is dark and cold out so I put in a heater in the cabinet and shut it up for the night. It will get down to low 20's tonight.

The wife said she made sure not to get any water on the topside as it can leak down and drip on the pump connectors and trip the GFCI. Everything looks dry inside the spa. The only other thing I can think of is that as she dumped out the last 10 gallons onto the frozen ground maybe it puddled up and went into the 240 J box ?. I did check and the cover was loose. This would trip the GFCIi if the insulation is cracked or it bothered the nutral leg that is got a twisty on it there but I dont see how it could affect the controller not powering on without tripping breaker. I put a shop vac on it and sucked the 20' to the disconnect box. no liquid came out but maybe some mist.?

It just seems like to much of a coincidence.? I don't think there was any chance that the pump froze up as it was near 35 today when the wife first tried it on. and just 30 when I got home and tried. I hate to have things like this broken and of course I will have to wait till Monday to put in a service call. I usually do all my spa work like pumps and heater replacements and even major valve replacements but I might have to call in a pro unless you guys have an idea or the light of day sheds something new. I can do some trouble shooting on circuits but not controller chips.

I guess I am asking if just pulling the disconnect can damage the balboa board?

I will check the fuses in the am and hope to find something there but not real excited about working with the forecast as cloudy and highs at 35.

[bart6453]

Strangly I had the same thing happen to my circ pump one time during a water change. Everything was working just fine, did a quick water change, re filled it and my damn circ pump took a crap.

Very strange coincidence if you ask me...but that's murphy for you.

Had a snowmobile that was running poorly two nights ago, so I rebuilt the carb and it wouldnt start after I put it all back together.....took me all night to finally figure that the ignition switch crapped out when I turned it off to pull the carb and that the newly rebuilt carb was just fine.

I hate murphy.

[elkski]

Well I dont even get the control panel to light up and there is usually a lag of a few seconds until the pump is turned on. I know this as one time when my circ pump was going bad the panel would power up and then you would hear the relay go and then trip the power when it tried to fire up the pump.

I more suspect a fuse was taken out when I pulled the disconnect?

[elkski]

Well I cant explain it but I just cracked a cold one. If finally warmed above 35 and the sun came out so I ventured out for some more serious troubleshooting.

I pulled the 3 fuses and they tested closed. I remade all the pump and blower connections and then turned on the power once again to test for voltage but this time it powered up. 45 degrees is what our tap water measures. Not sure if the little blower heater dried something out or what. I am happy not to have to call a pro but a little worried to explain what happened. This is not a problem you want to have when the high is 22 degrees for the week but I hope that weather is behind us now.

[bart6453]

Well I cant explain it but I just cracked a cold one. If finally warmed above 35 and the sun came out so I ventured out for some more serious troubleshooting.

I pulled the 3 fuses and they tested closed. I remade all the pump and blower connections and then turned on the power once again to test for voltage but this time it powered up. 45 degrees is what our tap water measures. Not sure if the little blower heater dried something out or what. I am happy not to have to call a pro but a little worried to explain what happened. This is not a problem you want to have when the high is 22 degrees for the week but I hope that weather is behind us now.

Could have been a bad connection between the fuse and the block....or something else that you wiggled.

I would remove the fuses and make sure they are making good contact, also check all the associated wiring to make sure nothing is loose and causing a momentary open.

or it could be a case of PFM....Pure F'ing Magic....and yes...that is a technical term.

[elkski]

well its gaining about 5 degrees per hour 375 gallon.

always seems so slow even with a 5.5 KW heater. that is only 6 months old. To bad the wife and kids cant use it after sking today.

PFM it be but the wife will get a 100 bill

[DK117]

well its gaining about 5 degrees per hour 375 gallon.

always seems so slow even with a 5.5 KW heater. that is only 6 months old. To bad the wife and kids cant use it after sking today.

PFM it be but the wife will get a 100 bill

So, I hate to hijack a thread, but I pull the quick disconnect once a week to clean the filter. Never had a problem in just 4 months, is this a bad practice?

DK117

[Roger]

well its gaining about 5 degrees per hour 375 gallon.

always seems so slow even with a 5.5 KW heater. that is only 6 months old. To bad the wife and kids cant use it after sking today.

PFM it be but the wife will get a 100 bill

So, I hate to hijack a thread, but I pull the quick disconnect once a week to clean the filter. Never had a problem in just 4 months, is this a bad practice?

DK117

When you guys say pull the quick dissconect do you mean shut off the GFCI breaker? Or did you put the GFCI in the house and use one of the shut off switches for AC units outside by the tub?

[DK117]

well its gaining about 5 degrees per hour 375 gallon.

always seems so slow even with a 5.5 KW heater. that is only 6 months old. To bad the wife and kids cant use it after sking today.

PFM it be but the wife will get a 100 bill

So, I hate to hijack a thread, but I pull the quick disconnect once a week to clean the filter. Never had a problem in just 4 months, is this a bad practice?

DK117

When you guys say pull the quick dissconect do you mean shut off the GFCI breaker? Or did you put the GFCI in the house and use one of the shut off switches for AC units outside by the tub?

Switching off the exterior GFCI breaker.

[pkillur]

well its gaining about 5 degrees per hour 375 gallon.

always seems so slow even with a 5.5 KW heater. that is only 6 months old. To bad the wife and kids cant use it after sking today.

PFM it be but the wife will get a 100 bill

So, I hate to hijack a thread, but I pull the quick disconnect once a week to clean the filter. Never had a problem in just 4 months, is this a bad practice?

DK117

When you guys say pull the quick dissconect do you mean shut off the GFCI breaker? Or did you put the GFCI in the house and use one of the shut off switches for AC units outside by the tub?

Switching off the exterior GFCI breaker.

I never switch mine off, I just yank it out, but there is a pretty decent downdraft form the circ pump, but nothing I can't get the filter out with. I'd think maybe the dealer would say to turn it off for someone without a fairly normal amount of leverage, or to prevent a lawsuit or something, but I don't think it'd be necessary unless you have some monster circ pump.