Flashing Ready Light Tiger River Sumatran

[oldsmoboat]

Just bought a house and the spa doesn't heat. I noticed that someone had closed the cover on a wire and broke the wire.  I spliced it back together but still no heat.

Check all plug connections to ensure thy were tight (one wasn't) and unplugged unit for 10 minutes. 

Plugged it back in and light is still flashing

I see from another thread that this flashing light is indicative a of a bad control thermistor. 

The wire that was broken is the wire going into the side of the heater.  Is that the control thermistor?

TIA

 

[RDspaguy]

Those are the thermistors, and they can cause this issue. But so can a dirty filter or bad circulation pump. So remove the filter and check for good flow and lots of champaign bubbles from the heat return.

[oldsmoboat]

Thank you.

Filter appears clean but I ordered a replacement to start out fresh.

Is the cirrculation pump always on?  Is there a specific test that works best?

[RDspaguy]

Yes it is always on, and the test I use is visual looking at the heat return bubbles, which should be tiny and shoot out from the jet in an upward arc. Big bubbles going straight up is a bad pump or flow restriction. This is not foolproof, and I have seen thousands so know what to look for. 

Remove the filter, you cannot necessarily see a clogged filter, just the results.

[oldsmoboat]

Will do, when I get back there tomorrow.

Thanks

[oldsmoboat]

Temps in F.

Spa cover on.

Heater set to 104.

Pulled output line for circulation pump, good pressure.

Pulled filter and ran jets.  By the end of the day, the temp was about 2 degrees (86) over outside ambient air temp.

High air temp yesterday was 89.

This morning, the outside air temp is 72 and the water temp is 92.  I was hoping for 104.

I assume heater is not on and temp increase is heat transfer from the pumps?

Thanks

[RDspaguy]

1 hour ago, oldsmoboat said:

Pulled output line for circulation pump, good pressure.

Compared to what? Do you know how much pressure it should have? Or are you assuming that because water is pouring out of it that you have enough pressure to operate the system?

1 hour ago, oldsmoboat said:

assume heater is not on and temp increase is heat transfer from the pumps?

Yes.

It boils down to three things that the system has to determine a condition, and one is often not in use. Those are the thermistors, pressure switch (often not used in a hot springs), and the circuit board itself. So you are left with thermistors deciding everything to do with the flashing light error, unless there is some (highly unlikely) circuit board fault. 

The things that effect the thermistors are the parts themselves and the rate of flow in proportion to the heat created by the element. So replacing the thermistors, circulation pump, and filter will solve 99% of these errors. 

To narrow it down, we test by removing the filter, then take an ohm reading on both sensors when the heater has been off. If the sensors don't match, replace them both. If they do match, replace the circ pump (average lifespan 3-5 years). I have seen enough of them in my 26 years in the field to usually know by sight if the circ pump is bad, but even for me it is not 100%, and I have thought pumps were good that were not.

I will point out that, unlike a normal pump, a circ pump does not have a shaft that turns the impeller. The impeller is turned by a magnetic field, and can drag and run slower than it should, but still run. This will cause the motor to get very hot, but it is pretty darn hot when working correctly so that is not a foolproof method either, and relies upon having seen a bunch of them.

[oldsmoboat]

Yes, no concept on how much pressure this installation should have on the cir pump.  There is some flow and there are some bubbles from a floor jet.  

I keep turning the jets on after they shut off and the spa is now at 103 degrees.

[RDspaguy]

2 hours ago, oldsmoboat said:

is some flow and there are some bubbles from a floor jet.  

There should be a curved fountain of tiny soda bubbles shooting across the spa. Just from your description I would bet on circ pump.

[oldsmoboat]

50 minutes ago, RDspaguy said:

There should be a curved fountain of tiny soda bubbles shooting across the spa. Just from your description I would bet on circ pump.

Thanks

[castletonia]

The gray wire going into the side of the heater is for the pressure switch.  If the pressure switch is bad the hot tub won't heat.  Hot Spring does make pressure switch jumpers that plug into the circuit board in place of the pressure switch otherwise you could DIY one and see if the hot tub heats.

[oldsmoboat]

Thanks, I'll google "hot spring pressure switch jumper".

[RDspaguy]

13 hours ago, castletonia said:

The gray wire going into the side of the heater is for the pressure switch.

Missed that. 👍

13 hours ago, oldsmoboat said:

Thanks, I'll google "hot spring pressure switch jumper".

You can test by unplugging the pressure switch from the board and bridging the two pins on the board with a piece of foil. Make sure power is off when you do this. If it runs, cut the wires and splice them together and plug it back in (after you remove the foil).

 

[oldsmoboat]

 

Spa is getting hot when jets are on, so didn't have to jump the switch.

But it's getting 107/108.

Have circulation pump coming.

Is it possible I have an issue with the thermistor due to high temp and flashing ready light?

[RDspaguy]

17 hours ago, oldsmoboat said:

Spa is getting hot when jets are on, so didn't have to jump the switch.

Ok. Whatever... I'm tired of arguing and explaining myself to people asking for advice. You obviously know all about it, so don't need my help.

[oldsmoboat]

Actually, started ignoring you when you started getting condescending.  But thanks for trying.

[cranbiz]

16 hours ago, oldsmoboat said:

Actually, started ignoring you when you started getting condescending.  But thanks for trying.

That's a good way to get help here. You had 2 techs that know Watkins products trying to help you. All you had to do was do what they suggested and answer their questions.

Good luck with your repair attempt.

[oldsmoboat]

2 hours ago, cranbiz said:

That's a good way to get help here. You had 2 techs that know Watkins products trying to help you. All you had to do was do what they suggested and answer their questions.

Good luck with your repair attempt.

Not sure where I didn't do what they said or answer questions.  But I know forums, you take what you can get and go from there.  Heck, it took 10 responses to get an answer to the first question in the OP.  Not that I don't appreciate the help but I see no need to be condescending.

The circulation pump came in today.  If that doesn't fix the heat and flashing ready light, I'll get the thermistors.  

 

Thanks for your input.