geebjen Posted November 4, 2021 Report Share Posted November 4, 2021 I have a Saratoga Spas 2003 Spa. I replaced both the main board and topside control in 2017. The main board is a Gecko 0201-300045 (Replacement Kit for MSPA-1 and MSPA-4) and the topside control is BDLTSC8GE1 (TSC-8-GE1 AND OVERLAY Keypad). Just recently I started having these symptoms. - Temp displays correctly. - Circulation pump runs, heater heats, and maintains temp at 104. - Temperature up/down and light buttons do not do anything. - Every other button (power, pump1, pump2, blower, filter) cycles the blower through high/med/low/off. - If I disconnect the topside control the system still circulates and heats. So I took a guess that the topside control was bad and bought a new replacement. However, even with the new topside the symptoms were exactly the same. I have to assume the problem is in the main board, but it seems like really odd behavior for a bad main board. Also, the main board is pretty expensive so I don't want to buy a replacement if that's not the problem. Any advice here for something else to look for? Or other steps to debug? Or maybe what might be wrong with the main board so I could attempt a repair myself? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted November 5, 2021 Report Share Posted November 5, 2021 Remove board and check for discoloration or debris. That is very odd behavior. I've never seen that in 26 years of fixing spas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebjen Posted November 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2021 Thanks. I'll take a deeper look as soon as I get a chance and post whatever I find. Glad to know I'm not the only one that this doesn't make sense to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castletonia Posted November 5, 2021 Report Share Posted November 5, 2021 Disconnect the aux control panels, see if that makes a difference. I sold Saratoga back then and granted this applied to those MSPA Gecko controls, but I saw more than a handful of hot tubs where the aux control panels would be back and cause everything else to act weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebjen Posted November 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2021 Aux control panels? My hot tub only has the main 8 pad keypad with temp display.....is there something else I'm not aware of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted November 6, 2021 Report Share Posted November 6, 2021 If the new topside acts the same as the old and because it is a very odd issue then I'm looking at the board. I'm checking the pins where the topside connects to the board for a coating of some sort on the pins or a bent pin. If none of that works and because it is an odd issue I am contacting Gecko Tech support. They are usually very helpful https://geckoportal.com/technicalsupport 1 800 784 3256 If you find a fix please post back to help the next person 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castletonia Posted November 6, 2021 Report Share Posted November 6, 2021 17 hours ago, geebjen said: Aux control panels? My hot tub only has the main 8 pad keypad with temp display.....is there something else I'm not aware of? My fault, not all Saratoga's had aux control panels, only the Victoria, Pavilion, and one other I believe. You may not have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebjen Posted November 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2021 I haven't had a chance to look closer at the hot tub yet, but when I do I'll let you all know if I find anything new. Thanks for your tips so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebjen Posted November 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2021 The only thing odd I see is that the right side of the board is sort of milky colored, but it looks like that side is coated with epoxy or something prevent moisture damage. Is that normal? And why isn't the whole board that way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted November 21, 2021 Report Share Posted November 21, 2021 I don't want to say it's normal but I see it a lot on MClass boards. Likely heat related. All the fuses test good. Transformer test good. Post photo of the schematic on the inside cover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebjen Posted November 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 Ok, here is a picture of the schematic. Also, I double checked that the control jumper is set to 8-key (not that I would have ever changed it). And now that it's cold I can verify that the jet pump does come on automatically for freeze prevention even though I can't manually turn it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebjen Posted November 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 For what it's worth I broke down and bought a new board. It has the same milky colored epoxy front and back. I'll post again once it's installed to let you know whether it fixed the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebjen Posted December 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2021 So I installed the new board and everything is working fine now. Didn't' see anything obviously burn or broken on the old one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosiakdefrogosa Posted December 2, 2021 Report Share Posted December 2, 2021 Greets. Glad to know I'm not the only one that faced with such a problem. I've never seen that in 10 years of fixing saltron mini in Canada. Although, during my work with the spa renovation, I faced various problems and breakdowns. I will follow the branch. I wonder what other solutions you would suggest. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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