Sovereign Blinking Red Light - Tried Just About Everything

[PreservedSwine]

i highly suspect the heater is tripping itself. i suspect it is overheating due to calcium build up inside the heater itself. i think i actually "have" flow as i always have and it appears i still do, but the heater itself over heats due to calcium build up in areas i cannot see within the heater which i cannot snake either.so... .

If the heater is tripping the high limit, while the high limit is sitting in a glass of 85F degree water, It's *possible* (and entirely coincidental) you have flow issues as well- however:

You Either:

1) Did not have the high limit sitting in a glass of water (possibly you had the control thermistor/limit thermistor confused?)

2) In addition to any flow problems (which is not detectable by the spa logic while the high limit is sitting in a glass of water), either the control head or IQ2020 has failed.

That was not a flow test. It was to rule flow out as a culprit- because even if the flow was good/bad, it doesn't matter-it takes the "flow" entirely out of the equation. This was only testing the internal hi-limit "limit" (the temp at which the high limit trips), and the thermistors. We're assuming the new thermistors are in range, although you can meter them out at 20kOHM, along with the temp of the water, to double check their accuracy.

[Homer14]

the thermistors checked out, both sets, in one of the original tests i did. they cross checked on par against the temp/ohm charts.

what does the heater tell the spa to shutoff with, only the high limit? the spa did indeed shut off with the high limit thermistor in a glass of 85F water when you asked me to test that.

the heater has a hot spot on the back side outflow area i can feel much hotter than the rest of it once it trips. if that means anything.

[PreservedSwine]

what does the heater tell the spa to shutoff with, only the high limit?

Yes

However, a communication error will result in the same symptoms-but you have already checked the "cntrtl unplugged" trouble led on the pcb, so that is not an issue for you.

[Homer14]

Ok i just did three tests with my extra set of thermistors..

[test 1] put both thermistors in a bow of 85-90f water. heater turns on and keeps running fine. [test 2] put 2 pin squarish thermistor connector, high limit?, only in a bowl and left 4 pin rectangle thermistor connector plugged into heater, trip. [test 3] put 4 pin rectangle thermistor connectory, reg control connector?, in a bowl and left the 2 pin thermistor connector connected to heater. no trip.

... any ideas now?

[Homer14]

with the heater currently on with my reg control 4 pin thermistor in a bowl of water, the outlet side of the heater is HOT as HELL to touch. this norma or flow related?

[Test 1 pics] http://postimg.org/image/kt0alvwot/ and http://postimg.org/image/abb5svtpl/

[test 2 pics] http://postimg.org/image/w5mi93gzv/ and http://postimg.org/image/ngtfp7z8x/

[test 3 pics] http://postimg.org/image/qczwu1p9v/ and http://postimg.org/image/sf9lhjub1/

[Homer14]

ok, so i went back and test 3 also tripped it but it took longer. the ONLY test that didnt trip it was with "both" thermistors in a bowl of water at 80ish degrees. i read somewhere they need to be within 5 degrees of each other or the system will trip. so we probably should have had both out together during our tests earlier this month?... anyway, it doesnt trip if both thermistors are out. heater stays on and runs in that scenario.

[PreservedSwine]

So- It's **not tripping** while in a glass of water we're using as a control, but it does trip while in the heater.

And no- the system will not trip the high limit if the thermistors are more than 5 degrees out of range of eachother. You can get a thermistor error, which is different than a high limit trip- the green ready light will flash- everything will still work, only the heater circuit is turned off.

Your instincts were correct- you have a flow issue.

You need to determine were the blockage is. Defective filter- circ pump not working properly, blockage in the heater, or elswhere...

(btw- the two-pin is indeed the high limit thermistor, the four pin the control thermistor )

[Homer14]

I'm going to take apart the heater. The circ pump is brand new (old one was even good im sure), the pipes are clean and snaked and clear looking. did a spa system flush too and a refill.

Should the heater be extremely hot to the touch on the outward side pipe? I read places it shouldnt be too hot to touch if flow is right?

I'll bet its calcium build up in the heater. I guess lowering ph and ta to levels that put calcium back into the water do not break up deposits on heater walls? Does anything out there have that ability? Like a chemical i could put into the system that will break up all calcium before a drain?

[PreservedSwine]

No, it shouldn't be too hot to the touch- although some heaters that work properly have a hot spot that they really shouldn't.

[Jerry Thibault]

please keep posting your progress. I have a very similar problem . I don't know what is causing the board to kick off! Is it the flow/pressure switch or is it one of the temp/thermistors?Either way, mine kicks off after only a few seconds every time I power it up and the the little D17 LED lights up. 

[cutting edge contractors]

Hello, I found this post describing exactly my issue. I kept having my hot tub "trip" every few weeks and then it started happing every other day until it finally went out. I would turn flip the breaker and within 2 minutes it would click off, show the code D17 as described above and only run the circulation pump.

(Back story- I have already been running the tub without the ozone as it is 20+ years old that I inherited from a neighbor who "had it running a few years ago". When I had it moved from his yard to mine, I also ended up inheriting the carpenter ant nest that was inside the tub foam! Needless to say, my wife wanted it taken to the dump and I had just started a contracting business so I said to myself, "If I can't fix this issue, what kind of contractor am I!" We flipped it over, killed the nest, removed the damaged insulation, completely restructured it, refoamed it, re-sided it, flipped it over and filled it up. It worked great for about 6 months. End of back story)

I then assumed it was a heater malfunction that was overheating. I put my hand on it and it would get very hot then shut off. I ended up finding a ($300) replacement heater with an exact match to my current 25 year old tub and swapped it out only to find that it didn't fix the issue. I was about to call a hot tub technician until I stumbled onto this forum. After reading these posts, I went to try and follow the blockage theory first. I have 5 filters in the tub and the one closest to the pump was the one with the issue. As I was unscrewing the top, what seemed to be an air pocket released. The circulation pump reacted by running completely different right away. After resetting the breakers, it's been warming up ever since. Although this may not fix Homer14's problems, it solved mine and I hope it helps some one else in their search for the solution. 

My concluding assessment. The heater was overheating due to an air pocket causing the system to trip (I had primed the lines with good water flow and made sure there were no obstructions when installing the heater).

Thanks!

[npatten317]

On 12/24/2013 at 1:38 AM, PreservedSwine said:

Great work, detective!

It's not a flow issue, nor is it s thermistor issue.

When it trips, look at the trouble code led's on the main PCB. Is "ctrl unplugged" lit when it trips? If so, power down, uplug both plugs on the multi-color light harness. Power back up, and you should be fine. The light has failed, causing a communication error if this is the case, shutting the whole thing down.

It is now May 2023!, ten years after this original thread and I have a 2006 Sovereign 2 which had issues with not only the main IQ2020 board which is now repaired but a faulty circulation pump. New pump fitted and the spa worked fine for a week and then went onto red light flashing mode. Circulation pump working fine and after a few Leds flashing on and off the ctrl unplugged light came on.

Having had a faulty multicoloured spa light for a while now I happened to be reading this thread.... and having changed 1) the circulation pump 2) repaired the board and 3) changing the sensors to rectify the previous problem I decided to try disconnecting the two light connectors. Hey presto after resetting the power the spa now appears to be working. The red light is now solid, the jets work and we are waiting for the green light to tell us the temperature is correct, and water is heated. Obviously at some stage I will need to drain the spa and replace the light. Thank you from Australia Mr PreservedSwine.