Steven1 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Hi everyone, I'm pretty baffled by this hot tub issue so I wanted to see if I could get some help. I tried to be as descriptive as possible. I'm renting a home and a (broken) hot tub came with it - it is a 1989 Coleman Horizon 211 wired at 240v. The owner said I can do whatever I want to try to fix it, so I thought why not, I'll give it a shot. It hadn't gotten much use over the years and, with the mild climate in San Diego, the tub really seemed to be in good shape. Turned it on, jets work fine, lights work fine, only problem is it won't heat. So I fiddled with it some and finally figured out the high-limit switch was pushed out. I pushed it back in and left it to heat with the cover on overnight, and when I checked it the next morning, it was steaming hot. I thought great, I'll just drain it, clean it, fill it back up and I'll be good to go. After refilling the tub, the heater once again wouldn't heat (at all). The jets work fine with a constant stream, there were no air locks (that I could find), and I even took out the heater element and pressure switch and replaced them - no dice. I checked the voltages of the heater components while it was running and everything seemed constant (across the heater element and across the pressure and high-limit switches). I haven't replaced the high-limit switch, but I did try bypassing it with no luck. I've tried adjusting and even bypassing the pressure switch, but still the water won't heat at all; it stays at 70 degrees. I also tried removing the filter altogether to improve flow, to no avail. When I turn the temp up on the control panel, the heater light does come on, and there is a single audible "click" sound from the main panel where the wiring is located, but I don't get any heating, and the heater's housing certainly never feels hot (even with the new heater installed). I did open up the main panel wiring, and it's quite a mess, but I didn't see anything blatantly disconnected or burnt. The two fuses I could find also seemed to be intact. Any ideas what might be wrong? I know it's an old machine, but I'm having fun with the fix. I've also attached what I think is the user manual in case anyone is interested. Thanks in advance! -Steven 1988-1989-Coleman-Spa.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cusser Posted April 6, 2019 Report Share Posted April 6, 2019 I have a 1988 CalSpa, your Coleman likely is somewhat different. My heater element is a simple 5500 watt element like in a home water heater, and I've changed that every few years. If you get 240 volts across the heater terminals, that's good. Did you also disconnect the wires (with power switched off, of course) and then measure the ohms resistance across the heater terminals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven1 Posted April 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2019 Hey Cusser - thanks for your response. This is my heating element (also 5500 watts): Link is here. Measured the ohms across the terminals at 10.7, but you're right - I'm only getting 0.5 volts across the terminals (and at the high-limit and pressure switches)! What could be causing this? A bad heater relay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven1 Posted April 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2019 I traced the heating element wires into the main panel, and check it out! Anybody know what this thing is? I included some pics - looks like one side of the terminal blew out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubber49 Posted April 7, 2019 Report Share Posted April 7, 2019 It's the heater contactor. If you google the part # they are available. Check the wiring while you're in there. Loose or corroded wiring can cause contactor failure but it looks to me that the contactor itself got corroded. Did you hear any chattering or clicking before the heater failed? Lots of information on the web on contactors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven1 Posted April 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2019 Thank you! I am reading up about them now. There was a good bit of clicking/chattering before it failed. Last question for now, these are the ratings on the side of my broken contactor: VAC FLA LRA Non-ind 240-277 20 120 480 20 100 30 amps 600 20 80 If I buy a replacement like the one below, with higher ratings, should it still work? https://www.amazon.com/Holdwell-45EG20AG-Definite-Purpose-Contactor/dp/B01J4Z8QQG/ref=sr_1_22?crid=1PCCNL86HJGOH&keywords=definite+purpose+controller&qid=1554603485&s=gateway&sprefix=community+coff%2Caps%2C176&sr=8-22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubber49 Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 not knowing what your setup is, one side of your contactor slants in on both sides. I would make sure that there is room for the other one because the corners are squared off. Can you google the actual part no? I can't read it in the picture. I also don't see a connector on both sides of the contactor in your picture. The amazon part has it on both side another reason why it may not physically fit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven1 Posted April 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 Update - got it working! That contactor didn't work, but this one did: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KGSJ74/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 We soaked for the first time last night, it was awesome. Thanks for the help everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubber49 Posted April 12, 2019 Report Share Posted April 12, 2019 Great news! So happy for you and that's a great price, too! Enjoy your soaks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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