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Sundance Cameo not heating


Rich-nh

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I went to put chemicals in my 2007 Cameo 880 this morning.   The water was cold and display showed the watchdog error ————.

i cycled power and when it came back up, the temp said 103 and was set to 97.   I’d be surprised if the actual temperature was over 75.  Also, there was no circulation pump running.   I tried both pumps and they worked.   I looked at the flow switch and it was working   

I shut down the power for a couple hours and then powered up again.   This time, the circulator pump came right up.    I set the temp to 82 and it was reading about 75.   Everything looked normal and the heater was showing that it was on too.  About an hour later, I checked in and the temp was now reading 95 (water was still cold) and circulation pump was no longer running.  

My flow switch is about 2 months old.   My circulation pump is about a year old.   Is this a temp sensor problem?   Anybody have any thoughts on what needs to be replaced or fixed?

Thanks

Rich

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I removed the filter and repowered the tub this morning and it came up fine.   Temp set to 82 and started at 74.   Circulation pump working fine.

After about an hour, I checked in and the temp was reading 88 and the circulation pump was not running.   

And I do have an ohm meter.

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UPDATE, less than an hour later - I checked on the tub and the temp was reading 84 (set at 82) and the circulation pump was not running.   As luck would have it, the circulation pump turned on while I was standing there and I watched the temp reading fall to 75.  The heater then came on - I felt it in the water - and after about another 90 seconds, I watched the temp display rise to 85 again.  Heater display went off and about a minute later, the circulation stopped again.

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Turn off power. Remove the black plug with 3 gray cables labeled "sensors". One of these cables is the flow switch, the other two are the sensors. Take an ohm reading on the two sensors. This will be hard to do as the terminals are very small and the access is on opposite sides of the plug. The sensor resistance readings should not fluctuate and should be within a few hundred ohms of each other. If not, replace both sensors. 

Let me know and I can explain how to do that.

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Took both readings.  The sensor on the end of the connector - pins 1 and 3 - measures 28.5Kohms.   The next sensor inward in the connector - pins 2 and 4 - measures 21.2Kohms.

With those being 7Kohms apart, sounds like I have at least one bad sensor.   Neither has ever been replaced.

 

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No. The temp sensor is threaded with an o-ring and installs in the filter well, correct?

Get a plastic bag and some electrical tape. Turn off power. Cut the old sensor wire and remove from the pack but leave the ends in the connector so you know where they go. Unscrew the sensor and pull it just above the water level so you don't lose the end in the pipe, then stuff the plastic bag into the hole to stop the leaking while you work. Cut the sensor off the wire and remove the old o-ring. Install the new o-ring on the new sensor. Form a loop with the old wire and tape the ends, then thread the ends of the new sensor through the loop and form another loop with tape. Tape up the two loops so they cannot pull loose. Remove the bag and pull the old wire from the equipment bay to pull the new wire through. Thread the new sensor in and tighten down on the o-ring until the o-ring visibly compresses, use pliers or channel locks. Undo taped loops to access new ends. Using a small eyeglass screwdriver or knife tip depress the locking tab through the small gap in the plug assembly to remove. Install the new end with locking tab facing out. Do these one at a time to ensure you get them in the right spot.

Repeat plug installation steps for the high limit sensor and install into heater sensor tube.

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Everything is back in place and the tub has been running/heating for about the last 90 minutes.   

FYI - I did drain the tub to take my time and make the replacements easier.   

The temp sensor replacement was very simple.   My 2007 Cameo does not have a long tube to snake the wire thru - it's very short.    Don't forget to order the o-ring when you order the sensor.

The Hi Limit sensor was a little trickier.   My tub is 13 years old and I don't really want to disconnect hose clamps and hoses if I really don't have to.   So I unbolted the heater from the control box and twisted it a little to work on it.   I read a review when I bought the sensor that it was slightly lower diameter than original and some silicon caulk would be necessary to hold it in place.   There was already a blob of caulk around my sensor.  I replaced it and loaded it up with caulk and let it sit for a day to cure.   Basically, it's a very small and awkward-to-access space. 

I bolted the heater back on and connected the sensors this morning and fired it up.   All seems well - it's heating and I don't see any leaks.

Thank you for the help.  Another lesson learned on fixing this tub.   

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