Replaced Heater Element And Red Wire Burnt To A Crisp

[pkillur]

Hi all - I have a windriver spa that uses a SpaBuilders LX-15 2 pump + ozonator spa pack. I recently replaced the motherboard and the heater (the board went bad and the element wasn't heating after I replaced the board). Not sure where to check but I'm wondering if something is either faulty with the heat sensor or if I just have a crap board. It wouldn't heat on my last element - but I figured it was a few years old so let's replace it. So I did and it started heating. I noticed that it felt a little cold as I was doing chems yesterday and found it to be burnt up about 2 inches on the red wire.

My questions:

1: Anyone have any ideas why it would have done that?

2: Could it have been grounded or something?

3: Is it safe to use the current heating element or should I replace it? It's literally a week old.

4: I think my flow sensor is good - but I'm not sure how to test my heat sensor.

5: Could my eprom have anything to do with this? I'm battling an issue with my topside controls not working also - trying to figure out if the issue is a topside, prom, or main board issue. For reference the eprom version is 6.77 WR Alpha.

Thanks,

-PKillur

[PreservedSwine]

1) It overheated at that spot, because the physical connection was poor. Either loose, or corroded, or undersized. The same amount of amperage is being pulled through both leads. If one overheats, it's because it was a weak spot in the wiring, and unable to carry the amperage. The heater terminals must be VERY tight after attaching new wires. Loose connections will melt very quickly.

2) No, this is not a grounding issue.

3) If the heater terminal is not damaged, it's fine. But if it is damaged, it may overheat and melt the new wire, and you'll need a new heater.

4) I think your flow sensor is good too, or it would not have heated at all.

5) No, the eprom had nothing to do with it.

[pkillur]

1) It overheated at that spot, because the physical connection was poor. Either loose, or corroded, or undersized. The same amount of amperage is being pulled through both leads. If one overheats, it's because it was a weak spot in the wiring, and unable to carry the amperage. The heater terminals must be VERY tight after attaching new wires. Loose connections will melt very quickly.

2) No, this is not a grounding issue.

3) If the heater terminal is not damaged, it's fine. But if it is damaged, it may overheat and melt the new wire, and you'll need a new heater.

4) I think your flow sensor is good too, or it would not have heated at all.

5) No, the eprom had nothing to do with it.

Thanks for the info PS - looks like the terminal cracked from getting too hot - so I'll need a new one... :/