bpkeeper Posted April 25, 2020 Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 I have a jacuzzi j365. Over the winter we started having an fl1 error start coming on. I have cleaned the filters, run it without the filters, topped the water off, tried forcing the "airlock" through the circ pump with a garden hose and changed out the flow switch.....to no avail. Can anyone help me figure out why i keep getting this message? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted April 25, 2020 Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 After all you have checked I would be looking at the circ pump next. Can you see water flow going over the flow switch and closing it against the post inside the housing? When you replaced the flow switch did you align the toggle correctly so when water is flowing the toggle pushes up against the post making a connection? If water is not pushing the toggle closed against the post and holding it there see below. You likely have a Laing magnetic drive circulation pump. It uses a very small impeller and the magnets that drive the impeller can get weak causing intermittent spin of the impeller. The housing that the impeller sits in is comprised of 2 halves that are drawn together by magnetic force. Scalr xan form between the 2 halves and weaken the magnetic pull. I would remove the circ pump and get it out to a spot where you can look into the 3/4" face of the pump and power the spa back up and watch what the impeller does. You can try and pinch off the lines going to the circ pump but best done with the spa empty on a Jacuzzi as there are no gate valves. Ok to run spa empty for a minute to get a look inside the circ pump. Before draining I would take the opportunity to purge the plumbing with a line cleaner (I recommend Ahh-Some). You can try to open the face of the circ pump and separate the two halves and check for ant scale and clean it up if there is any but it usually only work 1/5 times. Replacement is more likely. How old is the spa/circ pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpkeeper Posted April 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 Thanks for the reply! Yes the flow switch was replaced and was installed correctly. When i reset the breaker you can see the flow fully close the flow paddle against the stand in the switch. This spa is about a 2005 i believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted April 25, 2020 Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 So, your flow switch is closing but you still get the fl1? Are you certain it is plugged in the right place? Can you check that it is closing with an electrical tester by unplugging the wires and testing for continuity on the switch? Or try using a screwdriver to short out the flow switch pins on the board where it plugs in. If the fl1 goes away the problem is the switch, if not it is the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted April 25, 2020 Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 Dear Spa Guru.. That is all 😂🤣😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted April 25, 2020 Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 Guru, engineer, technician... all good titles. I myself prefer to be called a spa ninja, but that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpkeeper Posted April 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 I did check the flow switch amd was getting 2.5 ohms of resistance when it was was closed and the circ pump was running. I figured it should have been 0 ohms so i replaced the switch and now have 0 ohms when the switch is closed. The intermittent magnet issue in the pump might be the problem though! I am also going to make a jumper and jump the two pins for the flow switch on the board and see if the problem comes back. If it does I guess im buying a board or a pump. Any other tests I can try on the board or the pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 3 hours ago, bpkeeper said: I did check the flow switch amd was getting 2.5 ohms of resistance when it was was closed and the circ pump was running. I figured it should have been 0 ohms so i replaced the switch and now have 0 ohms when the switch is closed. The intermittent magnet issue in the pump might be the problem though! I am also going to make a jumper and jump the two pins for the flow switch on the board and see if the problem comes back. If it does I guess im buying a board or a pump. Any other tests I can try on the board or the pump? CAUTION! Careful doing this...If the flow switch is jumperd and you have an intermittent circ pump and it shuts off it will not shut the heater off and you could have a major melt down or even fire. The flow switch protects the heater from running when there is no flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 Intermittent circ pump is pretty rare. If you jump the flo switch and the circ pump does go out you could burn up your heater. Beat ne by a nose, canadaguy. Gold star buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpkeeper Posted April 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 thank you guys for the tips on this. Usually the error comes up within two hours or so. Ill turn the temperature down so the heater doesn't run while im testing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 If you set it too low the circ pump will turn off. Is it in standard mode? Sometimes economy mode can cause issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 17 minutes ago, RDspaguy said: Intermittent circ pump is pretty rare. If you jump the flo switch and the circ pump does go out you could burn up your heater. Beat ne by a nose, canadaguy. Gold star buddy. Not so rare with those Laing pumps. That little impeller and weak magnetic pull can cause intermittent operation on it's way to complete failure. Personally I would remove that pump and get it in my hands. Open up the front face so you have the impeller right there in front of you. Pull the 2 halves apart and when you direct them back into place that magnetic pull should be strong enough to snap the removable half right out of your hand as the 2 halves get close together. Then I would also start the spa back up with it in front of me and check the operation of the impeller. Check for scale build up between the 2 halves as well. Correct water level dirty filters...Leave them out until issue fixed recently cleaned or not take them out and leave them out bad flow switch bad circ pump blocked plumbing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 Eazy enough to have the flow switch removed and be able to close it by hand for testing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 In my experience it either works or it doesn't. Maybe it's something in that canadian water. I also have never "revived" a laing by cleaning scale from the impeller in any meaningful manner. I have made them work for another few weeks by fiddling with them, that's about it. The idea that a millimeter of calcium carbonate can interfere with a magnet that strong does not make sense to me. I find that an imbalanced impeller will wobble and eventually lock because there is no physical connection keeping it straight. A few hairs or any debris can cause this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpkeeper Posted April 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 So here is todays development. I jumped the flow switch terminals and restarted the tub. The circ pump ran for about 45 min until i went out and checked it. There was no flow past the flow switch and there was no fl1 error code. I turned the breaker off and back on again with no change, no flow. I left the breaker on and turned the temp up to see if the circ pump would kick in. The heater kicked on and instantly there was air in the flow switch but no real flow. Ive never seen air in it before today....and the pump never attempted to run this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted April 27, 2020 Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 Sounds about right if your pump is not running and you jumped the flow switch. You'd be amazed how fast 5.5kw will boil water. 12 hours ago, CanadianSpaTech said: CAUTION! Careful doing this...If the flow switch is jumperd and you have an intermittent circ pump and it shuts off it will not shut the heater off and you could have a major melt down or even fire. The flow switch protects the heater from running when there is no flow 12 hours ago, RDspaguy said: Intermittent circ pump is pretty rare. If you jump the flo switch and the circ pump does go out you could burn up your heater. Beat ne by a nose, canadaguy. Gold star buddy. Get a circ pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpkeeper Posted April 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 Will do. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpkeeper Posted May 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2020 Got my pump installed. When i pulled the old pump i did find a piece of foam in the inlet tube near the pump. How that got past the filter i have no idea! Pulled the old pump apart, magnets still stick, no scale or residue of any sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted May 4, 2020 Report Share Posted May 4, 2020 48 minutes ago, bpkeeper said: Got my pump installed. When i pulled the old pump i did find a piece of foam in the inlet tube near the pump. How that got past the filter i have no idea! Pulled the old pump apart, magnets still stick, no scale or residue of any sort. Have pulled a lot of stuff from the face of pumps..Foam, kids toys, dogs toys, T-shirt, 6 limes (quartered), wedding ring and yes even a G-string. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpkeeper Posted May 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2020 I can only imagine! It ran all night, should be good to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted May 5, 2020 Report Share Posted May 5, 2020 Little black dress. I have no idea how, but there it was. I handed it to the red-faced homeowner without a word and did not mention WHAT obstruction I removed from the pump on my paperwork. I have the feeling it was not his wife's dress. 😏 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.dc5a6170fa916412670749ff27e20047.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.