2000 Sundance Sweetwater Palermo

[chiprva]

Hello All, PLEASE HELP ME!!!

I have a sweetwater Palermo LX15, DOM 3/11/00, 240V.

This belongs to my friend & she has owned it since 2000.

The parts history has been the heater element & T-stat.

The unit has been maintained yearly with water & filter changes and used very little.

In the last five years there has been no use at all other than the filter cycles.

This year we decided to use it. We did the maintenance as usual, started it, covered it up & waited for the weekend.

Well, I have been chasing a FL1 code since Sunday.

What happened was this: main on low, pump 2 on, switched main to high, it ran for about 10 mins & cut off, control head was flashing FL1. About 5 mins later main restarts on low, let run for about a min & switched to high, main cut off immediately while flashing FL1.

This what I have done.

I have bled the pump at housing fitting, inspected the weir gate, & ran it without the filter attached.

Main pump has excellent flow on both speeds. Removed motor rear cover, checked caps, stator, rotor all ok, no signs of heat, no noises, bearings good.

Tested heater, t-stat, set a call & unit responded.

Temp has crept up from 88 to 97, not from heater, thermal transfer I guess.

I have tested the pressure switch when dead, open, infinity & alive, closed, 00.00, 5.04V / 1.83MA.

I backed off pressure switch to be permanently closed & set FL2 code, reset switch to original setting.

Sometimes it will work correctly on all speeds, sometimes low only, sometimes when going from low to high it will immediately cut off. Sometimes sets a code sometimes not. Sometimes control head will allow me to cycle through & cuts off led, sometimes not. When not, led is on & after a period of time starts up on speed originally set on. In a filter cycle I guess.

Sometimes no code is displayed. Control head always displays current temp + error code if set.

Sometimes when I cut main pump on, led lights, relay clicks & FL1 sets immediately, no pump. I can cycle switch low, high, & off each with relay click, but will not cut led off or turn pump on.

Voltages when this happens are

MB# J15 120

MB# J17 120

MB# J16 120

MB# J17-J16 0

main pump Low flow voltages

J15 120 motor term #2

J17 1 motor term #3

J16 120 motor term #4

main pump High flow voltages

J15 120

J17 120

J16 6

What have I missed? Do you have an opinion?? Suggestions??? Ideas?? - thanks

Yesterday, pump filter cycled all day, went out at night raised the cover, cut main on low, pump 2 on & let run about 5 mins.

All good, cut main on high ran about 5 mins, main cut off, led was still lit [indicating pump was on] and flashed FL2 once then FL1.

I'm thinking that the pump 1 relay [contacts burnt] / main board is the culprit?!?!

I would appreciate any ideas, thoughts suggestions, or opinions... Thanks

[chiprva]

Problem solved.

Hot tub got to the point main motor would stop within 5 mins of starting, but relay would stay energized for about 10 secs longer. FL1 error signal to controller.

Set up volt meter to measure voltage on MB high terminal, showed voltage until relay opened. Then ran a jumper wire to high terminal from fused side of power feed,

no motor run, jumped low speed, still no motor start. Let MB restart motor waited for motor to stop again. Went to main pump, tested draw, OK, tested both caps, OK, removed rear motor frame, checked centrifugal switch for operation & contacts, OK, then disassembled thermal switch & checked for continuity, OK. Then took a heat gun & heated the switch & it opened @ approx.

150f [to low]. Cut switch out, crimped wires in close end connector, reassembled motor & started up tub. Tub has been running flawlessly for the last 24 hours. Ordered a new pump & its on the way.