harrykerry Posted March 18, 2023 Report Share Posted March 18, 2023 I reset the GFCI, everything seems fine for about 10 minutes, then it trips. I took the controller pad off, its all dry, I thought the problem may have been moisture, as I dont have a cover for it right now, just trying to get it going, I have some 4x8 2" insulation sheets till I order a new expensive cover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted March 18, 2023 Report Share Posted March 18, 2023 The first thing when you have a breaker tripping is to disconnect the ozone if you have one. Next would be to disconnect the heater element from the circuit board and try. Last try and disconnect each remaining components one at a time (pumps, audio) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrykerry Posted March 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 Thanks for your responce, I dont have an ozone, but did try with disconnecting one of my pumps, still did it, Im doing the other pump right now. This balboa spa pac is brand new. Im wondering, if maybe I just have a bad GFCI breaker...Actually Im an electrician... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted March 19, 2023 Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 27 minutes ago, harrykerry said: This balboa spa pac is brand new Has it run before this or just installed? Is the GFCI a new install? Post photos of circuit board and schematic on inside cover. If GFCI is new install post photos of how it is wired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrykerry Posted March 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 Yes, it ran fine before, but my cover took a crap, so I shut everything down for a few months, weve been having snow, rain, etc. The GFCI has been in for probably 8 years, Im starting to suspect its bad. I may just buy another one, but usually breakers arent returnable if thats not the problem...Still trying different things..Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted March 19, 2023 Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 Process of elimination. Disconnect one component at a time until you find what is causing the trip. Heater element is a common cause of a trip especially if the spa was without water for an extended period of time. When you remove the water from a spa the air gets at it and metal parts that are normally encased in water will rust/decay. Replacing GFCI would be the last thing I checked. Check all wires for tightness and clean contact in the GFCI and the wires powering the pack. See loose wiring all the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrykerry Posted March 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2023 Thanks for the good ideas. Its never been dry, and the control box/heater is new. Im going to put a non GFCI breaker in jus to see if I can get it to heat up and run pumps, an no I wont be getting in! Ha. Imagine the headline, electrician electrocuted in his own improperly wired hot tub...No thanks. ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
390AMX Posted March 21, 2023 Report Share Posted March 21, 2023 Personally I would never run a hot tub w/o a GFI. The amount of current that is leaking can be very small, medium or high depending on the issue. A small leak of current w/o a GFI protection is probably not too much of an issue (damage wise to the tub), but a medium or high current leak could cause further damage to a component IMHO. Anytime I had a GFI issue it was always solved by methodically removing loads and running the tub on the GFI, as others have suggested. Over 33 years I have had 3 GFI issues. Twice was the heater, once was a motor that had a slight intermittent current leak. The motor was the one that was hard to figure. The fault would only show up every couple of days. So it became important to run with each component removed form service for days before the culprit showed itself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted March 21, 2023 Report Share Posted March 21, 2023 10 hours ago, harrykerry said: Im going to put a non GFCI breaker in jus to see if I can get it to heat up and run pumps Waste of time IMO. Find the trip and fix it. 10 hours ago, harrykerry said: electrician electrocuted in his own improperly wired hot tub Oh no not again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cusser Posted March 21, 2023 Report Share Posted March 21, 2023 3 hours ago, 390AMX said: Personally I would never run a hot tub w/o a GFI. I bought my CalSpa brand-new in 1988, had professional electrician wire up 240 VAC/40 amp through the attic and to the spa. The only GFCI then was on the little electric light circuit. This was Phoenix Arizona. Years later, I read an article about spas in Popular Mechanics magazine about GFCI, and I went out and installed an electrical box and 40 amp GCFI and accessible shut-off for it, was apparently real dangerous as per the code didn't require GFCI then. Since then, I've had the GFCI trip a few times, all because of corrosion/leak with the heater element. Fortunately, heating elements for my 1988 CalSpa are the same type as used in a home electric water heater so not expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrykerry Posted March 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 Hey Canadian Spa tech, you win! I just recently installed the new spa pac. Had no reason to believe it was the heating element, but I unplugged it, and everything is working. Sorry I resisted your advice.,.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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