bernhard Posted May 22, 2022 Report Share Posted May 22, 2022 Gday, I bought a hot tub online and the former owner promised me everything works fine. The wood was rotten and needed to be replaced. Basically the entire structure. I did a massive repair job with replacing basically everything that’s wood, welded a solid metal structure and it looks beautiful. Now I put in the water and it isn’t working When plugging the power in, the motor will run for 4 seconds and then switches off. Water will get sucked in from the bottom and through the filter and the jets will spray out water too. But after 4 seconds it all comes to a halt. Blower and light button work fine. The hot tub has a Balboa GS501 heater but won’t heat because of no flow I suppose. I also noticed the top half of the LCD screen is not working so I have a hard time reading any error messages. Anyone has an idea what is wrong? Thanks, Bernhard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernhard Posted May 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2022 More information: So I think I have to test if the low speed and high speed relay are on at the same time. The relays can get stuck apparently and this would be a cause for this behaviour. This is the manual of the GS501: https://www.vortexspas.com/_vortexspas/Library/Support/Balboa-GS-501-Spa-Controller-Tech-Sheet.pdf Also attached is the wire diagram for the motor (Flo master xp2) and a picture of my GS501 motherboard (focus on the motor plug). I suppose the colours of the wires are coherent. Someone could tell me between what contacts of the plug I have to measure in order to proof that the two relays are on at the same time? Do I measure between Neutral or Ground? Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernhard Posted May 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2022 Update: I measured at the end of the motor. And there are 3 connections H (red) C (white) and L (black). Between H and C and L and C I measure power. Meaning the relays are both on. Anyone could tell me which relay I would have to change on the motherboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratchett Posted May 23, 2022 Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 When you filled the tub - did you fill through the filter well specifically? You could have an air-lock (bubble) in the plumbing. If the tub has a bleeder valve you might need to open that and release the air pressure until water starts spitting out and then try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernhard Posted May 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 When the motor is on for those 4 seconds, there is water coming out of the jets though. So I don’t think it’s an air lock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted May 23, 2022 Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 Does the motor make a hard buzzing noise? Disconnect the red (high) from the motor...will the motor now run in low? If the high speed relay is stuck on and the motor tries to start on low but gives a hard buzzing noise it is likely sending power to both speeds at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernhard Posted May 25, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2022 Hello! i just tried this, no change. I detached individually the high and low speed at the motor and both have the same result. It will pump for 4 seconds and then stops. Any help in this matter is highly appreciated. https://youtu.be/Gg_SNo3LVb0 IMG_2880.MOV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted May 25, 2022 Report Share Posted May 25, 2022 Is the motor wired for the right voltage? Post pics of motor specs sticker and circuit board. If wired correctly, I'd say centrifugal switch or start switch. Worst case it's shorted a winding. On the motor shaft just behind the terminal plate there is a (usually dark brown) disk sticking out around the shaft. You can see it through the vents if you try with a good light. A small screwdriver in the right spot can reach it. Push it and it should depress and spring back when released. On 5/21/2022 at 9:37 PM, bernhard said: Between H and C and L and C I measure power. Meaning the relays are both on. This is incorrect. Since H and L are connected internally to C they will both read voltage to C if either is on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernhard Posted May 25, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2022 Those are the specs. I have noticed that the smaller capacitor (start) is 125VAC. In my country we have 220V. However the motor was running before for years over here with that 125V capacitor. The capcitor does get quite warm in those 4 seconds though. i will try the screwdriver tomorrow. Will let you know. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernhard Posted May 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2022 Update! I have managed to open the motor up. Screw number four couldnt withstand after all. The plate (1) is not moving up or down. I reckon this is the source of my troubles. I cant figure out how the fly parts (2 and 3) are supposed to move. Anyone could give me a few hints what to look out for and check? Thanks, Bernhard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernhard Posted May 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2022 Update again. I managed with some wd40 to make plate 1 move up and down. (It also makes sense now how the fly parts move). However it is very difficult to move this plate. I have to put a lot of force to make it move down and it will not come back up by itself. With force I can snap it back up. What to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted May 29, 2022 Report Share Posted May 29, 2022 Either get it working or replace it. That switch must operate easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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