surfer454 Posted November 9, 2022 Report Share Posted November 9, 2022 Good morning! I have 2001 Hot Spring Sovereign that is constantly tripping the GFI breaker. The breaker trips as soon as it it is turned on. The problem initially started about 3 years ago. I read many posts and forums at the time, and I isolated the problem to what I thought was the circulating pump. I replaced the pump and it ran for about a year before the breaker tripped. Interestingly, I kept the old pump, wired a plug to it and it ran fine connected to a regular GFI outlet in my yard. I swapped the one year old pump out and put back the original circulating pump. Everything ran fine for several months, then the breaker tripped again. I've been going back and forth, swapping between the two pumps. That bandaid approach of swapping betwee the two pumps is getting really annoying because now whatever pump is installed only runs for a couple of weeks. I really want to get this fixed because i will not be able to do this in the winter. * there is no ozinator * I tried letting the tub sit for a couple of days before attempting to turn on the circuit breaker. I let it sit with the pump in place but with the pump wires disconnected from the circuit board. * I tried disconnecting just the circulating pump and the tub powers on and stays on. (I know the heater is not running because there's no circulation.) I'm looking for some thoughts or ideas. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I'm starting to think maybe its not a circulating pump problem, but a problem with something else. Thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer454 Posted November 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2022 I've added some pictures. The hot tub panel is outside near the tub. The electronics is called IQ2020 The hot tub service area is completely dry and moisture free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castletonia Posted November 9, 2022 Report Share Posted November 9, 2022 Which breaker is tripping? If the 20A, likely the circulation pump, especially if it doesn’t trip when disconnected. Circulation pump gets power as soon as the breaker is on, nothing else does. Otherwise I would think bad breaker, especially if that breaker is from 2001. Heaters will rarely trip a breaker on a Hot Spring. I personally never saw a heater trip a breaker in 5 1/2 years as a Hot Spring dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer454 Posted November 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2022 Hi @castletonia Thank you for the quick response. Yes, it is the 20A that trips. What I don't understand is why the pump keeps tripping the hot tub breaker, but when i take it out and plug it into another GFI, it doesn't trip and i can hear it running smoothly? I've only owned this tub (and wiring) since 2015, but i guess the breaker could be bad. I thought it wasn't the breaker because when i swap pumps it runs immediately. Is there anything else the pump interacts with that would cause it to trip the breaker? Is there anyway that the inside of the pump is getting wet - even though the inside of the tub maintenance area is dry? Im just at a loss... i could buy another circulating pump, but I'm afraid that would only fix the problem temporarily. Then i would be rotating 3 pumps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted November 9, 2022 Report Share Posted November 9, 2022 3 hours ago, surfer454 said: when i take it out and plug it into another GFI, it doesn't trip and i can hear it running smoothly? Without water? 3 hours ago, surfer454 said: there anyway that the inside of the pump is getting wet That's what it sounds like, since it will work once left out to dry for a while. Can't imagine how it would get wet with everything dry in there, but that is the way it sounds. 5 hours ago, castletonia said: I would think bad breaker Maybe. The circ pump is such a small amp draw it's far more likely that the jet pump would trip it if engaged in the case of a bad breaker. However, the decreasing time frame would suggest a failing breaker. Disconnect the ozone from the board. It's unlikely to be the cause, but lets get it out of the picture just in case. Tighten all terminals on the gfci breaker. Next time it's tripping, with main power off, feel the side to see if it's hot. It should be no warmer than the box it's in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer454 Posted November 10, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2022 1 hour ago, RDspaguy said: Without water? Yes. I completely remove the pump from the hot tub and test it stand alone without being connected at all. I know it's not good to run a pump without water, so I don't run it too long. That's what it sounds like, since it will work once left out to dry for a while. Can't imagine how it would get wet with everything dry in there, but that is the way it sounds. Maybe. The circ pump is such a small amp draw it's far more likely that the jet pump would trip it if engaged in the case of a bad breaker. However, the decreasing time frame would suggest a failing breaker. Disconnect the ozone from the board. It's unlikely to be the cause, but lets get it out of the picture just in case. Thank you. I did this today but it didn't make a difference. I left the ozone connector disconnected from the circuit board since I don't have an ozinator. Tighten all terminals on the gfci breaker. Next time it's tripping, with main power off, feel the side to see if it's hot. It should be no warmer than the box it's in. Thank you. I will give this a try tomorrow This afternoon my normal band aid approach of swapping pumps didn't work. I have 2 pumps: one in the hot tub (pumpA) and a spare (pumpB). I always test the spare pump (pumpB) on the bench for a few seconds to make sure it doesn't trip the yard breaker before swapping it for the pump connected to the tub (pumpA). That has always worked fine and gave me at least a few weeks before having to switch them again. This is what happened today PumpA was tripping tub breaker-> removed from tub -> tested and worked fine on bench -> put back in tub and tripped tub breaker immediately-> took back out and tested fine on bench again. PumpB worked on the bench-> installed in tub and tripped tub breaker immediately -> removed from tub, tested on bench and now tripped yard breaker. I tested circulating pump leads on the circuit board poweted up (no pump connected), and had a reading of 120-120.2 volts. I left the tub unpowered and with no circulation pump connected. I'm beginning to think either the circuit breaker has a problem and is more sensitive that the gfi breaker in my yard bench that i use for testing and/or these two pumps are marginally shot? Long post, but hoping someone will see this and can make sense of it. Tomorrow I will try what @RDspaguy mentioned about tightening tetminals on the breakers. I don't mind buying another pump if that is the issue, but i don't want to throw away $200+ if the problem is something else. Any other thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer454 Posted November 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2022 Just wantedto (hopefully) close the loop on this topic in case anyone has the same issue. I decided to replace the circulating pump. Working well so far. Hoping it lasts. Thank you to those who responded 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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