Strange Controller Problem

[jimzdat]

The hot tub in question – Keys Backyard Model KB331DX

Controller – Balboa VS Series; VS500Z, Board is a 54358 (which I’ve found has been superseded by 54369-03)

We’ve owned the tub for a few years now, it was working just fine up until this year. We replaced the siding on the house, so I had to drain and move the tub – wiring was disconnected and all water drained. Tub sat this way for approximately 4 months (siding took longer than I had hoped).

Got everything put back in place, filled the tub, wiring hooked back up, made sure the heater was not airbound, the whole nine yards. Turned everything on, and waited for the priming cycle to start – topside showed “SA” error.

Dug up the VS troubleshooting guide online, tells me to switch Sensor A & B and try again.

Still same error, even with sensors swapped.

Bought 2 new sensors and installed; still same error.

So I’m thinking that somehow the board has gone bad, although it doesn’t make a bit of sense since it was disconnected electrically – only thing I can think of may be the transformer drawing moisture and failing somehow?

Anything else I should check before dropping $240 on a replacement board? Should I say heck with the Balboa system and just spend a few more bucks for a whole new controller/heater assembly?

Thanks,

Jim

[Spa_Guru]

Couple of questions, after you refilled the spa, did you verify there was water flow after startup?

You see, tipping the spa up has a 99% chance of dumping out the water that lets the pump hold its prime, and if not reprimed, the sensor gets baked, not just once, but every time.

Are both sensors attached to the heater?

[jimzdat]

After filling, I loosened the fittings on both sides of the heater to verify that I had water flooding the assembly. I never tipped the spa, just slid it over a couple feet to allow access to the house/siding.

It was odd, in that I never had a chance to check for water flow, as the sensor error would come in as soon as the controller booted up.

Now for the "I think I need an exorcist" part - went out to the back porch for some firewood (covered porch encloses both the spa and woodpile); figured "what the heck" and turned on the power.

The dang thing started up, went through its prime cycle, and is now sitting there churning away and trying to heat up all the water. When I started it, it was at 43 deg F, 3 hours later it's up to 65 deg F.

Not sure what the heck happened, but I'm not gonna complain about the money savings - hopefully it keeps working. Time will tell.