VacaMike Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 I am bringing my Cal Spa back to life and got the motor to run but it shuts off after 53 seconds and needs to be disconnected to reset for another run. What causes this?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 Is it running or just making noise? You unplug the motor or the spa? Sounds like the motor thermal cutoff, which means the motor is getting too hot. Bring it to an electric motor shop for a cheap rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VacaMike Posted June 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 I thought of thermal cut off but the motor is not overheating because I put my hand on it and it is cold after shut off. The motor sounds fine and the water circulates for nearly a minute then it shuts off. I am thinking it is one of the sensors malfunctioning but don't know how to find out which. I will replace what I have to but don't know which to replace. I forgot to say it has a somewhat slow start but gets up to speed in less then a second Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VacaMike Posted June 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 Forgot to say I am shutting off the power to the entire spa to reset, so I think I am resetting the control board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 Post a pic of the circuit board. If it is shutting off from the controls it should show an error code on the display. Unless it is really old and does not have one. The thermal cutoff is internal and will trip without the motor housing ever getting warm. This can occur from bad bearings causing overamping on the circuit, bad capacitor (either of which would explain the slow start), faulty centrifugal switch, worn contacts on the switch, or a short in the motor. To test the sensors, take an ohm reading on both sensors. The reading should be steady, not fluctuating, and both sensors should read within a few hundred ohms of each other. If not, replace both sensors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VacaMike Posted June 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Sorry about the slow reply. I had two computer crashes in a row and just yesterday got it all back together. I did not get the whole board in these pictures but may be you can tell me some way to find out if it is the motor or the board. The control panel is yellowed with age and I have to find out what to do about that just to see if it is dead, but I heard disconnecting it will run the pump in slow speed in some models so I am using that to get it to run at all and just circulating it for about a minute a couple of times a day to keep it clean. I know I am being a tite wad but on retirement with all that is going on I have to be. Please help if you can, and if you can't thanks anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Sure. Before it shuts off will the jet1 button cause it to run in low speed then in high speed? You should see and hear a difference between the two speeds. Unplug the pump and check the voltage at the low and high speed pump connections. The relays are labeled, the one with the green mark and black wire is the low speed, the one with the red mark and red wire is the high speed. Put one volt meter probe on the black wire, and the other on the white wire from the pump plug, which is not in your pictures, to test low speed, and the red and white to test high. You should only have voltage to one speed at a time and that voltage should not turn off after 53 seconds. If all that checks out your controls are fine and the problem is in the motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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