High speed pump runs but low speed won't

[tjschultz2011]

Hi, 

I have a 2003 Cal Spa Victory series 300 gallon portable spa that's hooked up for 110 volt operation. It's been wired and running properly for over 2 years now (bought it used) with very few issues. Today I went outside to get in it and noticed that the high speed jets were running which is odd because they normally only come on when called for with the button on the control pad. The pad only has a temp button and jets button that cycles through: OFF, LOW, HIGH. Being on 110 volt, the heater only comes on during the low speed cycles when heat is being called for. 

I tried to cycle through the different speeds but it only goes back and forth between OFF and HIGH now. And the heat was at 104 which is what I keep it set at. The only other time that the jets ran like this was when the filter became too clogged and it overheated just a little bit. In that case, the pump ran on high to keep cool I believe but that stopped once I changed the filter and in that case, the temp showed up as higher than what it should have been. And now the filter isn't that bad and it's still doing it even after I remove the filter. I also noticed now that if I set the temp higher than what the water is at, the heat light comes on like it's still heating even though the pump is running high speed (which I didn't think was possible on 110v). 

Anyone have some suggestions of things I can start checking myself? I'm fairly mechanically inclined and I have a multimeter but please be very specific. Electrical circuits aren't my strong suit but I should be able to manage some simple things if I have specific enough instructions. I'll try to upload a few photos showing my setup. 

Thanks so much in advanced

TJ

 

[tjschultz2011]

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have to head out of town tomorrow for work and I live in WI so I don't want anything freezing. 

[RDspaguy]

Turn off power and unplug the high speed pump (red) wire from the relay, making sure it is not touching anything. Turn back on. Does it still run in at the same speed? If so, you have a shorted motor. If not, does it turn off when you cycle the jet button? If not, you have a stuck relay on the board.

[tjschultz2011]

Thanks for the reply. I did recently go out and switch the black and red wires on the pump side trying to figure out if it was a relay or not. There was no change so that would indicate a bad motor? I found a drop in replacement on Amazon with the wet side all included for about $240 so I think I may try to swap it out myself if that's the case.  

[RDspaguy]

Switching the wires changes nothing in either case. You must disconnect one as I described, or disconnect both and test voltage at each relay to the common (white) wire from the pump.

[tjschultz2011]

Ok, I see what you're saying. I disconnected the red wire from the relay with no change in how the motor functions. So it sounds like the motor is bad, correct? If so, I'll order the replacement and swap them out.