2004 Tiger river Bengal power light flashing

[ccpanel]

paid 2k delivered and it was delivered over 2.5 hours away

 

will try the heater unplug-both the limiit and the heater or just the heater?

 

and yes-trumpet heater gone.

if you want pics we can email directly.

poolspaforum

and the a t symbol

and then 

custom classics

d o t 

org

[RDspaguy]

Just the heater.

[PotomacG]

I had to replace my heater control board early this winter and I had the same problem (same tub circa 2005).

Since I had an extra new set of thermistors, a spa tech told me I could jump start the tub by plugging the new thermistors into the board and placing the other ends into a bowl of hot water.  (when very cold, the in-place thermistors will show no resistance).

After 20 minutes powered on, I reset the breakers and the tub started heating normally.  After the tub had warmed sufficiently, I powered down, plugged back in the existing thermistors, and it has been working perfectly ever since.

Best of luck. 

[RDspaguy]

Yep, Watkins is notorious for that, but it takes pretty seriously cold water temperatures. I have warmed them directly with a heat gun as well, which has intermittent results. As I advised days ago that he get some sensors to test it out and he has not, we are trying to narrow it down another way to determine for sure that it is a sensor issue and not a flow issue. 

[ccpanel]

27 minutes ago, RDspaguy said:

Yep, Watkins is notorious for that, but it takes pretty seriously cold water temperatures. I have warmed them directly with a heat gun as well, which has intermittent results. As I advised days ago that he get some sensors to test it out and he has not, we are trying to narrow it down another way to determine for sure that it is a sensor issue and not a flow issue. 

I will be getting new sensors but with work and chaos-hot tub has unfortunately gotten to the bottom of any list.

Based on google, all you guys input, personal experience, and observation-flow does not APPEAR to be an issue. I suspect either heater or control board or both.

MIGHT if I have time this weekend, try to hotwire the pump to prove flow.

And I expect my water temp is not an issue-its East TX, it was 90 yesterday and during testing, day temps were in the 60's-70s with nights in the 45-60 range

[RDspaguy]

Slow down, buddy. It is not the heater, nor likely the control board. Most likely is the thermistor, aka sensor. By disconnecting the heater, we can eliminate flow as an issue. Sufficient flow can be difficult to determine, as it not only has to be moving water, it has to be moving ENOUGH water.

[ccpanel]

11 minutes ago, RDspaguy said:

Slow down, buddy. It is not the heater, nor likely the control board. Most likely is the thermistor, aka sensor. By disconnecting the heater, we can eliminate flow as an issue. Sufficient flow can be difficult to determine, as it not only has to be moving water, it has to be moving ENOUGH water.

Thanks

I did do the disconnect heater test and it did not operate.

I will try again.

Removing the heater from the control panel still gave me a flashing power label in the control display on top of the spa and the jets would not operate or be allowed to operate.

I am reasonably mechanical and electrical but i dont do well at all with control boards or circuit wizardry! Once I let the smoke out(not this case) I am not a repair tech for control board circuit components. soldering/desolder, choose transistors.. etc.

[RDspaguy]

If it still threw the error with heater unhooked it is a sensor. Very small chance it's a board. Get the thermistors, I would do both.

[ccpanel]

1 hour ago, RDspaguy said:

If it still threw the error with heater unhooked it is a sensor. Very small chance it's a board. Get the thermistors, I would do both.

Is there a way to trick the board and short out the sensors to make the board think sensors are good

[RDspaguy]

No. That is why I carry spares for testing. Got a box full of every sensor I see on a regular basis. Sensors, aka thermistors, are a common fail part on all spas. 

I supposed you could build resistors to the appropriate resistance, but you still need the plugs to connect them. I do not recommend cutting and splicing sensor wires, as the wire is part of the resistance of the circuit that it is calibrated for.

See if this helps. 

https://www.backyardplus.com/proddetail.php?prod=38416

Read the troubleshooting instructions.

[ccpanel]

UPDATE;

 

i made some time today to really get down and really look at the whole control area in thoughts of trying to maybe hotwire the blower pump.

So I was trolling around the control board verifying wires and locations and noticed some of the sensor wires were plugged into the wrong locations-2 wire plug in a 3 wire socket on board.. etc....

so google image results compared to my board showed some differences.

corrected those differences and now power light is steady, jets run and its been on for a couple 3-4 hours and no noticeable temp rise.

Now I think either heater is bad or something is not telling the heater to activate.

water temp mid-60's and temp set to 97(for now)

 

[CanadianSpaTech]

You need a multi meter to test for voltage off the board going to the heater. If you have correct power coming off the board going to the heater but no heat then likely a bad heater.