Jump to content

Leisure bay heater tripped breaker


Smith87

Recommended Posts

Have a used leisure bay spa g2 balboa pack with a dry element. Finally got it working properly. Has been for about 3 months. Now my heater is tripping the breaker. Unhooked heater it no longer trips. Checked the resistance and it is 15.5 ohms on element. Unhooked heater lines from the board, ohms are fluctuating all over the place.   Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And voltage into the spa is steady? Are any relays making noise?

The little black box beside the yellow relay coils covers the contacts. Are any of the heater contacts worn or not closing? Use your finger to check the movement of the hinged arm (with board out, use a screwdriver if board is installed as that arm is hot when power is on). The relays are labelled high limit and heater.

If voltage into the spa is steady and no relays are noisy I would replace all 3 relays. Any electronics pro can solder in new ones. If it comes to buying a board, I would recommend a new control system.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also on my terminals 1-6 all are reading around 125v except for number 1 it’s reading 30-40 which is where my other heater wires is. With the heater wires unhooked k3 high limit relay is engaged 

Edited by Smith87
Added quote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The high limit relays should both close if power is on, and open if the spa reads an overheat or power is turned off. Only the heater relay switches on and off for normal operation. That means one leg of the heater is always on unless there is an OH.

2 hours ago, Smith87 said:

all are reading around 125v except for number 1 it’s reading 30-40

Tested to ground (green or bare) or neutral (white)?

That is a huge voltage drop, but what it means depends on wether the heater was connected, and on or off.

The heater circuit is just in and out through the 3 relays. Disconnect the heater and turn on power, then initiate a heat call and test across the heater connections on the board. If it says it's heating but has no voltage or low voltage it is a bad relay.

Then end the heat cycle (turn it down or unplug pressure switch) and test again. If it has ANY voltage across the heater connections it is also a bad relay.

With pump running and heater disconnected, turn off and unplug the sensor harness and test each sensor (through the tiny slots on the side) for resistance and post results. The resistance will be in the ballpark of 20k ohms, so set your tester accordingly.

At this point I have little doubt that you have a bad relay or 6, but the OH is likely a different issue, and the tripping breaker could be as well. 

Post a pic of the board all wired up, the wiring diagram, equipment area, and breaker (close up so we can read the front label).

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/17/2021 at 5:20 PM, RDspaguy said:

The high limit relays should both close if power is on, and open if the spa reads an overheat or power is turned off. Only the heater relay switches on and off for normal operation. That means one leg of the heater is always on unless there is an OH.

Tested to ground (green or bare) or neutral (white)?

That is a huge voltage drop, but what it means depends on wether the heater was connected, and on or off.

The heater circuit is just in and out through the 3 relays. Disconnect the heater and turn on power, then initiate a heat call and test across the heater connections on the board. If it says it's heating but has no voltage or low voltage it is a bad relay.

Then end the heat cycle (turn it down or unplug pressure switch) and test again. If it has ANY voltage across the heater connections it is also a bad relay.

With pump running and heater disconnected, turn off and unplug the sensor harness and test each sensor (through the tiny slots on the side) for resistance and post results. The resistance will be in the ballpark of 20k ohms, so set your tester accordingly.

At this point I have little doubt that you have a bad relay or 6, but the OH is likely a different issue, and the tripping breaker could be as well. 

Post a pic of the board all wired up, the wiring diagram, equipment area, and breaker (close up so we can read the front label).

 

Both green ground and neutral. Showing 240 volts on heater.with the heat turned off I’m reading 32-34 on terminal 1 and 3. Unplugged the sensor harness everything shuts off with code sn1. And the picture isn’t clear bc I have my labels on my wires still.  Also for the wiring diagram front cover was gone off unit when I got it. That’s also the clearest picture I can get of breaker with my iPhone 5 lol 

63B9904B-EF88-4C54-BE9D-F193CCD84869.jpeg

3558FBA3-193F-49EB-BAAE-820FB2A43311.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remove the jumper wire on the relay tabs and re-test.

1 hour ago, Smith87 said:

240 volts on heater.with the heat turned off I’m reading 32-34 on terminal 1 and 3.

That makes no sense. If you are dropping that much voltage you should have a huge hole burned through your circuit board. Maybe it's related to that jumper. I have a couple of those old 6-finger boards (yes, that's a technical term 😉) floating aroung in the garage. I will dig one out tomorrow and check it for that jumper, but I am certain that one is not original if it's even supposed to be there. I am concerned you are bypassing the relays with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m not sure it was on it when I got it. It just sucks because if I buy relays and it doesn’t work, I buy heater with no change then i buy board. If it goes that way I’d been better to buy whole unit and heater lol. They’re not hot tubs their land boats😂

2 hours ago, RDspaguy said:

Remove the jumper wire on the relay tabs and re-test.

That makes no sense. If you are dropping that much voltage you should have a huge hole burned through your circuit board. Maybe it's related to that jumper. I have a couple of those old 6-finger boards (yes, that's a technical term 😉) floating aroung in the garage. I will dig one out tomorrow and check it for that jumper, but I am certain that one is not original if it's even supposed to be there. I am concerned you are bypassing the relays with it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The heater is easy to test. The sensors are a pain because the connector gets in the way of an ohm reading, but still fairly easy to test.

That circuit board is probably nla (no longer available) and, if it comes to that, you will likely have no choice but to replace the whole pack. 

https://www.spadepot.com/Balboa-VS-Spa-Control-Kit-P3185

It's an easy swap, and much better technology than that old one you have. At that price, a new pack is a very reasonable option.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shouldn’t I have 240 between the heater and hi limit when running a heat call

19 hours ago, RDspaguy said:

The heater is easy to test. The sensors are a pain because the connector gets in the way of an ohm reading, but still fairly easy to test.

That circuit board is probably nla (no longer available) and, if it comes to that, you will likely have no choice but to replace the whole pack. 

https://www.spadepot.com/Balboa-VS-Spa-Control-Kit-P3185

It's an easy swap, and much better technology than that old one you have. At that price, a new pack is a very reasonable option.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...