bobert78 Posted August 19, 2022 Report Share Posted August 19, 2022 I have a Caldera Vanto spa, and the other day i noticed the 2 speed pump wouldnt run on low speed, but ran fine on high speed. The second pump worked fine. As soon as i turned the pump to high speed the heater then came back on and worked as it noticed the flow. I pulled the capacitor and tested it as it was dead. I replaced it and still having the same symptoms. I thought maybe the pump was bad, but when i swapped the low speed and high speed wires, the pump would pump low speed when i turned it on. This showed me that the pump was able to run at low and high speed. The next thing i tried was to check the power coming from the main board but didnt seem to getting power from the board when i went to low speed. This tells me that for some reason the board isnt triggering that plug to turn on on low speed. Does anyone have any ideas what would cause this? My gut is telling me the board, but was hoping it would be something i could replace on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted August 19, 2022 Report Share Posted August 19, 2022 Bad low speed relay. Can be repaired by an electronics repair shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobert78 Posted August 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2022 Thanks for the quick reply RDspaguy! I had a feeling there may be something that may be a little cheaper (but maybe not easier) than replacing the whole board. The board i have says Watkins P/N 1303401-1 on it. Unfortunately I figure I will need to take the board out either way whether it is to replace a bad relay or the entire board itself. I don't see any obvious burn marks or discoloring on the front of the board anywhere, but will inspect the back when I remove it. I am attaching a picture of the board with an arrow to the plug for the low speed Jet 1 that doesn't seem to be getting power. Are you able to know which relay controls this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted August 19, 2022 Report Share Posted August 19, 2022 I normally have my electronics guy replace all the relays to freshen up the board. Try tapping the relay with the orange sticker using the back of a screwdriver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobert78 Posted August 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2022 So i pulled the board from the tub and tested it and it does appear to be that relay with the orange sticker. I tested the other relay's and they work, but the one with the orange doesn't function properly. Now I am trying to locate a new relay but don't know where to look. I searched online and the few websites i can find show as out of stock. Does anyone have an suggestions where to buy a single relay either online or if a shop in the Portland Oregon area? The relay number says J114AF1AHS12VDC.72 Thank you, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM6687 Posted August 24, 2022 Report Share Posted August 24, 2022 That's a CIT relay. Here is a link to the data sheet for it. https://www.citrelay.com/Catalog Pages/RelayCatalog/J114AF.pdf I don't see any suppliers that currently have any stock for the .72W version. Digi-Key has the .53W version in stock. You can try contacting Digi-Key or CIT directly to find availability for the .72W version. https://www.digikey.bg/en/products/detail/cit-relay-and-switch/J114AF1AHS12VDC-53/14002297 Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobert78 Posted September 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2022 Well bad news. I was able to special order a new relay and the old was indeed bad. I installed the new one and put it all back together. Everything worked great for about 30 seconds then i saw a small bit of smoke coming from the new one and i had to cut the power off. I am in a tough situation since i believe replacing the board with a new one would work but they are so expensive. On top of that i see that the Caldera/Watkins ones need to be updated through USB for my specific model. My guess is so they only have their certified repair people replacing them, but is that something anyone can have access to the software? THIS SUCKS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobert78 Posted September 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2022 So I found a few places online to buy a replacement board for about $420 that includes the software to update via USB. Before I buy the new one, I would like to test the pump just to make sure there is nothing wrong with it that could cause the board to fry, so I don't fry the brand new one. Is there an easy way to bench test the pump (preferably while still connected to the water in the tub) to see if the high and low speed do indeed work fine? I just removed the capacitor and the new one is still good. I have tested 110v pumps before with an extension cord with the end cut off, but not sure about this 220v 2 speed pump. Thanks for any info guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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