drewskie Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 My 2001 Altamar was running fine for the last year or so, and I just recently noticed that it was completely shut down, so i checked the fuses and the 30a main fuse was blown. I replaced it, and switched power on to the spa, it immediately blew that fuse as well. Anyone know what would cause this? I read in an old thread that it could be a bad motor. if so, is there a way to check? Can I just unplug one from the board and try that? Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Sure. Does it have a small circ pump? If so try unplugging that one first. Then if that doesn't work try pump 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted December 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Roger, you're the man, as usual! Yes, it has a circ pump that I replaced brand new about 3 months ago, and was working perfectly since installing. How do i disconnect the pumo from the board itself rather than removing the wires from the actual pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted December 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Quick update, I put in a new fuse,and it seems the breaker is tripping along with blowing the fuse. Maybe it's something more serious? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMES THE HOT TUB GUY Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 You need to contact me i can help you drop me a email premierhottubs@etcmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted January 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Quick update. turns out it was a bad heater, because the tub runs fine when the heater is disconnected. I have a replacement one, but just need to get it in installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Well....... I am back again. I replaced the heater, and now I have a flo error. I was able to determine (with help) that the circulation pump is the culprit. The pump is only about a year old..... so I doubt it failed that quickly. Also, it failed only after I replaced the heater. Is there another cause for this? Could it be a bad relay? Could the heater failing have caused something to happen to the circ pump? Thank you all again for the help, it is very much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettnolan Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Is the circ pump running? Can you hear/feel it running or see that the shaft is spinning on the back of the pump? If so, try running it without the filter cartridge(s). If the FLO error goes away, thoroughly clean the filter. If still have the error, replace the filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 No sir, the circ pump does not run, and I have tried without the filter in. It's also a brand new filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 No sir, the circ pump does not run, and I have tried without the filter in. It's also a brand new filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehorvath Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 You're getting the FLO error because of no flow through the heater since the circ pump isn't running. Check the 30AMP fuse again to see if blown, if it is, replace. If it's a relatively brand new pump, the motor shouldn't be shot yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettnolan Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 yeah...what he said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Umm, I think if the fuse was bad, the tub wouldn't be running at the moment, and it is. I read an old thread on another board and someone had the exact same issue I have. He said a bad relay was the culprit and he was able to just switch some wires because thee is an additional relay on the Sundance board. Anyone ever heard of this? I would really like to be able to use the tub. Thanks again everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettnolan Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Do you know the voltage of the circ pump? Is it a really small pump (little smaller than a football) or a relatively normal sized pump? Either way, can you see where it plugs into the circuit board? Is it an amp plug or are all 3 (or 4) individual wires plugged onto the board with wire connectors? You need to make sure that the pump is getting voltage. If it is not, then you will need to back track to find out why...bad fuse, bad relay, fried board, etc. If it is, you need to replace the motor or pump (if it's the smaller one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Thanks for your response Brett. It's the smaller sized pump, with 3 wires, each goes into the board. I will check if it's getting voltage and hopefully figure out my issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I think I would bench test the pump to see if it is working. If it is then yes, after replacing the heater like you did you likely have a board problem. Not very common but possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettnolan Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 That was also where I was going with that. The small pump is most likely 120v (3 wires only also would suggest that) so it would be easy to pull out of the spa, or even run a cord TO the pump and plug it into a regular outlet to see if it works. You could also test voltage at the board where the pump connects to it. If there is no voltage there, then the board is not sending the message correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 The pump is a 220, so I don't think I can test it on the regular house plug. Is there another way to test to the pump while it's still on the spa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewskie Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Another update, in case anyone has the same issue, and also one more question. So it turns out I had a bad circulation pump, even though it was only about a year old. I replaced it, and everything seems to work ok. What I am wondering is if a bad circ pump would trip the breaker or blow the fuse. I did also change the heater, which fixed the tripping issue, but I wonder why the pump and heater seemed to go out at the exact same time. Is this common, or did I replace the heater unnecessarily? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettnolan Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 If the breaker was tripping immediately, 90% of the time that's a bad heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Another update, in case anyone has the same issue, and also one more question. So it turns out I had a bad circulation pump, even though it was only about a year old. I replaced it, and everything seems to work ok.What I am wondering is if a bad circ pump would trip the breaker or blow the fuse. I did also change the heater, which fixed the tripping issue, but I wonder why the pump and heater seemed to go out at the exact same time. Is this common, or did I replace the heater unnecessarily? Either way you are good to go. Check the resistance on the old heater from terminal to terminal. If you still have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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