Boats Bros Posted August 23, 2023 Report Share Posted August 23, 2023 Hello y’all, I moved my hot tub to my back porch and now I am having issues, I believe it needs a new heater. I have a 2017 Legacy Whirlpool 730L. When turned on it trips the breaker within a few seconds. I opened it up and found this (see picture) I disconnected the connector from the board and stopped tripping the breaker, and tested all other features which seemed to work. Should I replace the entire heater or just the connector (melted a little) and the corroded parts? Any help would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevensphere Posted August 24, 2023 Report Share Posted August 24, 2023 Only replace the element inside. it will cost around 50$ for the piece. When you change it, be carefull about the little 2 new o-ring on the new, also clear as much you can when you remove the old element, its okay if a little bit of orange left. The oring are inside and they are what matter the most. (Tight the 2 nuts very tight) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted August 24, 2023 Report Share Posted August 24, 2023 Looking at the soot inside the pack I'm pulling the board and looking on the back for burnt out relays before going any further. Might just be from the fried heater element but I'm checking. Let us know results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted August 24, 2023 Report Share Posted August 24, 2023 You will need a 4KW or 5.5KW offset heater element. Should say wattage on the sticker on the heater tube. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted August 26, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2023 @CanadianSpaTech it’s a 4kw, but I’m confused how you get the heater element into place. I saw the soot as well and it looks like the damage stopped at the connector. Everything else functions as should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted August 26, 2023 Report Share Posted August 26, 2023 Remove the heater tube as shown above. Remove the sensor on the left side. Back off the black nut and just push the sensor up with your finger. Back off the 2- 3/4 nuts and the element will drop down inside the tube. Pull the element out (needle nose pliers might help) and then work backwards to reinstall the element. As mentioned above make sure the 2 o-rings remain seated in the grooves as you position the element back up into place. When tightening the element I will place my finger in the right side of the tube and VERY IMPORTANT hold it centered in the tube so it does not touch the side wall of the tube. I tighten the left 3/4" nut first and then the right side. I look down the tube to make sure it is not touching and centered in the tube. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted August 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2023 @CanadianSpaTech @Sevensphere I got the new element in and turned on the breaker and it did not trip after a few seconds, so that’s an improvement! I’m filling it with new water and then I will be testing it out. I followed y'all's advice and made sure the element was not touching the tube when installing. It’ll be nice during the Texas winter! Here’s a couple pics of what I went through to get it in the back porch. Follow up question, it is telling me to Run Pumps Purge Air. Does simply running the pumps purge the air? Is that what it’s telling me to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted August 29, 2023 Report Share Posted August 29, 2023 3 hours ago, Boats Bros said: it is telling me to Run Pumps Purge Air. Just press any button and it will go away or you can wait the 5 mins for it to start up on it's own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted August 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2023 @CanadianSpaTech I’ve let it run for about 2 hours set at 98 degrees and I got a temp increase of 1 degree, so I tested voltage across the heating element connections and got nothing. Do you have a wiring diagram for it? I also noticed fuse F2 was blown, does this have anything to do with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 On 8/24/2023 at 7:37 AM, CanadianSpaTech said: Looking at the soot inside the pack I'm pulling the board and looking on the back for burnt out relays before going any further. Might just be from the fried heater element but I'm checking. Let us know results. Is the heater wires connected to the board? (it happens) Test J100 tab to J101 tab (just below where the heater connects to the board) When heat indicator led is lit do you get 240V? If no see above. f2 3A 250V fuse might be for the light. Do the lights work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted August 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 Yes, but the connector is a little melted though, I’ll probably want to replace it anyways. Still looked like it was making good contact tho. Yes the light works. I’ll put a meter to it in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 7 hours ago, Boats Bros said: a little melted though, I’ll probably want to replace it anyways. Not a fan of the quick connect Balboa uses. You could cut the connector off the wire and attach quality female spade connectors and connect to the male tabs on the board at J100 and J101 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted August 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 @CanadianSpaTech I can tell you really know your stuff! No voltage at J100 - J101 with the heat light on. Sometimes the heat light blinks quickly. But still no voltage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 1 hour ago, Boats Bros said: Sometimes the heat light blinks quickly You have to wait until it goes solid... then test Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted August 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2023 Yessir I tested both ways, no volts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted August 31, 2023 Report Share Posted August 31, 2023 Blown relay. Pull the board and have a look on the back for darkened or burnt relays. post pics of backside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted September 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2023 @CanadianSpaTech got the board off and there really isn’t much on the back of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted September 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted September 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2023 I’m having problems uploading the photos but it’s letting me upload them one at a time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted September 5, 2023 Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 It won't always show a clear sign that a relay has failed. Based on your description I'm sending the board out for repair. I normally have my guy replace all the heater related relays to freshen up the board. You have correct power into the board and the topside is telling it to heat but no power out to the heater connections then I'm saying it's a failed heater relay. Did you replace the F2 fuse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted September 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 Do you have a contact for someone who repairs these board for you? I did replace the F2 fuse while I had the board out, I put the board back in and still no power to the heater. So back to square one. Are these the relays circled in the picture? While I don’t like throwing parts at something, it might be worth a shot at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted September 5, 2023 Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 Yes and the one to the left as well 3 hours ago, Boats Bros said: Do you have a contact for someone who repairs these board for you? I do if you are in the Guelph, Ontario Canada area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted September 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2023 I don’t mind shipping. Down here in Texas we don’t need the hot tub until December anyways 🤣 Do you know where I can get these relays online at? Thanks again. Edit: Found them and ordered online. Are these plug and play or soldered to the board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted September 6, 2023 Report Share Posted September 6, 2023 8 hours ago, Boats Bros said: soldered to the board You will need a good soldering gun that can generate a lot of heat to de-solder the factory connections. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Bros Posted September 27, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2023 Still no luck! Had relays replaced, all test good and click when bench testing them on the back of the board. Still no voltage at heater element. Currently replacing the board with a refurbished board bought off of eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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