Thank you for the video as I'm going to be digging into our hot springs hot tub this weekend to figure out why it won't heat. All the jets work filters are good just won't automatically kick on and heat the water. Thanks for some insight!
I should point out, some AFTERMARKET twin-tube heaters have a tiny reset button on the back of the heater above the 1/4" vinyl tube connection. These oddball aftermarket heaters sometimes stump me for a few moments, until I realize what was put in there prior to me coming out.
Craig, thank you for the video. I am working on my 2004 Sovereign II (240) that sat empty for 10 years. I have owned it since new. I checked all wires and repaired any that appeared chewed by rodents. I replaced the NoFault heater endocarp that was cracked (stop leak). I filled the hot tub. Turned on 20amp breaker and circumstances pump worked and also had bubbles. After 5 minutes I tuned on the 30 amp breaker. Everything came to life and worked great .... except it never got hot. I do not have any flashing lights. Both LED's on MB (Heat, LIM) are lit up. I have 110VAC between H1 and GND, and 110VAC between H2 and GND. However, I do not have 220VAC between H1 and H2. The tub is steady at 91 degrees (thats when ready light comes on). I hear relays click (don't know which) when I dial down to 88 and again going up. Heater does not feel warm to touch. removed Heater relay board and could find no burned marks or corroded solder joints. Any thoughts? Oh yes, when disconnected I have 10 ohms between the white and black lead to the heater. Thank you
I'll be doing a video soon on relay board replacement. Look for white streaks/dots below the input terminals heater relay board. Also look for black char between the relay's above the input terminal strip. Indicates a blown relay board.
@@craigsmith5025 I only had 10VAC at 1&3. Checked the output of the 30A breaker and it was 10VAC. Trip to Home Depot, $100, and everything is working. Thanks for the steer. A better schematic study on my part might have made that more apparent. Thank you so much
@@billcox1962 Glad it worked out. When I arrive on a job, I have my electrical meter, amp clamp, and start troubleshooting. I usually find the issue in moments. Typing to others who likely don't have those tools can be very hit & miss, and often impossible. Glad to help.
The lack of 230 between H1 and H2 is a problem. What about between 1 and 3? If you have 230 going in on 1 and 3, you should have 230 out to heater on H1 and H2.
i need some help with my hot tub it is a hot spring and just replaced the relay board and the heating pump but light is still off don’t know if i messed up any wiring somewhere along the way!
Thank you for this video. I think it will help me solve my no-heat issue. That looks like my exact spa, and it's just about 20 years old, according to the people we bought the house from. I'll take a look at the relays, and look for those old style heaters! Liked and Subbed. :)
Craig, replaced heater but only have 120 volts on the right heater prong, left side has nothing. Checked power coming in from breaker to circuit board and have full 240 volts.
Hi Craig, I have the exact thing happening (no heat but lights on) I replaced the “other” circuit board because that yellow piece was all melted….I just assumed it was that???. But I installed the new circuit board and it’s doing the same thing. I’m thinking it is the heater really board based on your video but I have a question: How do you tell if it’s the circuit board or the heater? Ie. what is the proper way to test the heater circuit and the proper way to test the heater relay board? 2008 Vanguard - VV model. Thanks in advance!
We replaced our pressure switch which had failed, but also our heat sensor because one of the wires broke off well repairing the pressure switch. We can’t seem to get the heat sensor override to reset ideas?
Hi Craig, My 2004 Jetsetter has no heat. Had blinking red light on display, replaced relay board and light is solid red and the two lights on main board are solid, red and green. Relay board has solid green light. So far so good. No voltage to the heater. The main board does show a bit of scorching near the jet electrical terminals. Thinking I should replace mother board. What do you think? Other voltages and installation of relay board are OK.
No voltage to the heater, did you put in the power jumpers like I did on my relay board video? Different spas require different power jumper placement, follow the diagram for your model J. I wouldn't replace boards unless you KNOW there is a problem with it. A flashing red light for example was a Hi Limit heater overheat error, not a relay board.
When I remove the pressure switch connection to the board the red call for heat light goes out. With the switch connected red light is back on and there is 230 volts between white and black wires to heater. Heater has 11 ohms of resistance? Is it the heater?
Are you talking the heater reset button? Twin-tube heaters AFTERMARKET can have a tiny reset button above the small 1/4" drain line. But Hot Spring direct heaters either have a gray wire coming out the side for pressure switch style, or no wire which indicates PDR style. Power Down Reset will kick themselves out when overheated, and you correct the flow/overheat issue, and power down/power up to reset.
The black IQ 2020 control box is front and center in the spa service compartment. I have a video on replacing a relay board, but I did it in my shop for the video, I always do them in the spa out in the field. Controlled conditions in my shop for the relay board replacement video after dark.
Great video! My 2003 Sovereign runs, and heats, the button that controls heat up doesn't seem to work. The heat down button works fine, and does the rest of the buttons. Any thoughts where to start?
The buttons on the control head circuit boards tend to die with age. Although, the spring loaded gray buttons within the black oval housing can get gummed up with dust and debris. Someday I should do a video about disassembling the control head to clean and inspect. You could possibly find good used control heads in your Hot Spring dealer junk pile out back.
@@robnash1700 the control head is the electronic control panel module with circuit board. The control bezel is the black oval dash board with gray buttons that it fastens to.
This happened to me after a refill. I unscrewed the intake filter and alot of air came out. I ran it a bit with the intake filter unscrewed then put it back on. No more blinky light.
I have been watching all your videos today my door closed on accident and it shut my hot tub down all the lights on panel are on like they should and c pump is running good but heater and jets are now off for weeks now and I checked the ohms on thermistor and they both read same for my 60 degrees
Door closed on accident? I'm not sure what that means. If jets and heater functions are locked out, it's usually a power light flash/hi limit error. Gotta reboot power to clear it. If it keeps coming back, there's a reason why. See if it acts normal with just the spa breaker rebooted, leave the heater breaker off. If it only occurs after the heater breaker is rebooted, then I have reasons for it.
A bad auxiliary panel at the back of the spa can interfere with the call for heat function. Disconnect the phone line style aux connection and reboot. If not that, the multi color LED could be bad or getting wet from a leaking light lens. Try disconnecting that if it's not the aux panel. Always kill power when plugging or unplugging things in the IC INTERFACE port. You'll damage the board if you don't.
Hi Craig I have A Grandee hot tub that is not heating , no blinking lights and there is power to the heater but no heat. Recirc pump and filter are good, there is good flow. Could it be the pressure switch with steady red power light?
Proper way to test voltage is across both wires of the heater, you should get 230v. If you are testing each wire to N or ground, you will get 115v even with a bad board. If you get 230v, power down and reset the heater breaker to ensure it didn't kick itself out on an overheat... some heaters are a PDR power down reset w/o a pressure switch wire. You can test a heating element by killing power, pulling out the black and white wires, and check for continuity through it with the meter.
Craig, thank you for your videos. I have a 2006 Jetsetter Model J tub. No heat with LIM OK and HTR ON LEDs lit. AC power is 115VAC, breaker has been reset properly. There is no sign of burnt relays. The relay board is the newer type for the 2001-2009 tubs. the power jumpers are correct for the 115VAC. The heater was replaced with Watkins PN 73790 No-Fault 1.5 kW, along with new limit and thermistor sensors. There is no reset on the heater. Tub warmed up initially, green came on at temp, now it is cooling down. Checked filters. I am out of options. Please advise.
With a multi meter, check voltage at H1 and H2 to see if your heater is getting voltage. If it is, your PDR heater may have kicked itself off due to overheating from a flow issue. Twice this past week, I had flow issues. One was dirty filter, the other was an obstruction in the mazzei ozone injector tee.
The breaker for my heater keeps turning off. We have to wait an entire month for service. Is there anything we can do in the meantime to try to fix it ourselves? Maybe take out the heater and see what may be the problem?
Disconnect both white and black wires of the heater, and see if the breaker holds. With those wires disconnected, use a meter to see if there's ohms between one of those disconnected wires and the heater ground wire.
Just got a 2007 Hot Springs Grandee from our neighbor. Can the IQ 2020 run the light or not? has a pin and place identified on the main board but it doesn't work. Neighbor said "light doesn't work." But I'm not going to spend $350 to replace it. Any ideas on the light?
The main light in the light lens may be leak damaged, or mouse chewed. You can buy the replacement tri-color LED module for it. But those rarely fail all by themselves. NEVER plug/unplug the long IC interface connection with the spa powered up, or you'll destroy the board.
A old established Hot Spring Dealer may have the old discounted 72016 in old stock, was strictly blue LED, and was only about $100. Or perhaps they have a blue or multicolor LED that's still good in a junk spa out back.
Hello Craig, I have a 2000ish hot springs spa. The heater was bad. Replace the heater along with the new updated circuit board. Fill the tub up jets run heat set at 95 and doesn’t get hot. Lim LED lit green, red heat led is not lit….i have a d10 lit on the heater circuit board not sure if that’s suppose to be lit. Checked 2 and 5 have 240v checked 2 and 4 have 120. My circulation pump is warm to touch but can not feel it that it’s working…. Filters are new. The thermistors were new with the new heater so i don’t believe that’s an issue. Have any thoughts? Thank you
I think that's a typo on power inputs since 5 is and has to be a neutral. If you have a hot in 5, and reading 230 at 2 and 5, you'll blow the board. However... with no HEATER ON red LED, there is no call for heat. A bad aux panel can interfere, unplug phone jack connection. A bad light lens LED can interfere, KILL POWER and disconnect IC INTERFACE and LED LIGHT connections, reboot. Something has to be interrupting the call for heat. Make sure you're not on SUMMER TIMER. I had that last week in near freezing temperatures.
Do you have a flashing green READY light on the exterior of the spa? That would be bad control thermistor temp sensor, or plugged in at the wrong spot, (ozone interface) or plugged in off to the side a bit. Double check sensor plugins at the board.
77119 for 2001 through 1st quarter of 2009. That's a IQ2020 PUG. Later they were Orca or Eagle and had different style relay boards. Check all my videos, I have one for relay board replacement.
@@craigsmith5025 so what tends to cause the relay board to fail? Are the copper traces not thick enough to adequately allow current which causes them to heat and eventually deteriorate the board or do the relays have an eventual lifespan?
@miss lolaaa ooh, I could write a book on the 5 revisions to the heater relay board. Let me just say either they finally took my advice, or they eventually listened to someone else that suggested what I'd been saying all along. The last 2 revisions are now trustworthy. Get a replacement now with confidence.
Replace the board. I've seen some people try to replace the relay. It's soldered on traces on both sides of the board. Replacement relays only get successfully soldered on one side. The board fails again soon.
HI again, I have got my balboa circuit board back from the repairers. It warms only to 29 degrees even if I have it set for 38 degrees. All relays have been changed. When I lowered the heat to 26, I see the temp light goes off. And I hear a small click. Then I put it back to 38 and get a small click. The heat light then flashes and then is steady after 90secs. but it is not going over 29 ? The fuses look fine, but the big main one is not glass, so would need to check that one. I checked the AC current on the element, with it all powered up, And it read nothing. is this strange or what? The element is warmish to touch not hot to burn yourself. I need to switch it off now to check, the ohms. just checked the ohms, around 18,9-19? What does this mean if it is not around 11 or 12? I don't know where the problem is, any ideas?
My Hot Spring Highlife series troubleshoot videos do not pertain to Balboa control systems. These videos are for the IQ-2000 and IQ-2020 Invenseys control systems.
one weird failure mode in a Hot Spring Vanguard tub turns out to be a failed tub light.....for some reason, Hot Springs have a glitch in the IQ2020 control board that shuts off the board if the LED tub light fails.....
That was common with the early multi color LED modules, before revisions 2 and 3. However with a leaking light lens, it doesn't matter what revision you have. A wet LED circuit board can wig out the motherboard.
I have a Hot Springs sovereign 2 that came with the house we just purchased. I flipped off the breakers and drained, refilled ( but overfilled) , drain necessary amount out. Flipped breakers back on and now the LED display is just a blank screen with only light blue background. The jets work, on the board the LIM ok light is green, the HTR on light is red, bus status light is green. Any ideas on the display ? It was all working before I flipped off the breaker.
If water overflowed and got in the control panel, it may be shot. And if it is an Orca control system 09-12 LCD screen panel with no USB port on the motherboard, no panel is available. You got to replace both control panel and box in an ORCA to EAGLE upgrade.
Thanks for this Craig! My spa has a weird issue, where it's only heating when the jet system is on... Any ideas what the issue is? it's a 2006 Vanuguard if that helps...
I didn't check it... yesterday I filled the spa and it was at 80F. Set it to 90F and left it over night and this morning it was still at 80. I then turned on the jets and it started warming - now at 100. I tested the board now and it looks like the heater light remains on when I close the jets. I also think that after I filled it the heater light was out and the one above (high limit?) was red and is now green. So maybe the jets just resolved an air lock or something?
@Nir Drayman I always fill down the gray filter pipe to prime the circ pump. Then power up the spa breaker to run pumps and burp air. When I know there's circ pump flow, THEN I flip on the heater breaker.
Thanks Craig! A follow up - while the jets were off, the spa dropped from 101 to 98, even though the heater light is on... Any idea what the problem could be?
@Nir Drayman if the LIM OK and HEATER ON lights are lit, there's a call for heat. So you should be reading 230V at inputs 1 and 3. Also 230V out at the heavy duty black and white wire heater connections. It's possible your spa was getting warm on pump motor heat alone.
hi craig i have a 2005 hot springs envoy that i added a little water through tthe spa filter pipe with the jets running in the clean cycle as i also added chemicals at the same time . I lowered the temperature to 80 and noticed the ready light dosent come on now does that mean i tripped the heater and have to reset it thanks in advance ed
The green ready light is on only when the water temp and set temp is within 2 degrees of each other. So if your set temp is down at 80, and your water temp is still up in the 90s, that's why. It's hard to get a spa actually down to 80 in the summer.
Thanks for the video. I have an older Hot Spring and my problem is that the auto clean cycle does not seem to be working. I think it should clean every 24 hrs but that does not happen anymore. Everything else seems to be working and if I press the clean button that works without problem. Any ideas??
The only auto clean system had a timer on the box, like the kind that turns on lights when you're away. They had that on some old models long ago. Sounds like that timer died if you have one. Otherwise without the timer no, only the circ runs 24/7 and the jets never came on.
hi craig so first off id like to thank you for the great video im having an issue with no blinking red light and no heat i had an old heater board replaced it with a new one when turning on there is a little red light and a little green that turns on and the heat turns on after about 5 minutes the little green light shuts off and the power to the heater shuts off any help would be greatly appreciated
@@craigsmith5025 yeah, they look the same so I wanted to confirm. I also have to replace the circulation pump which says on the inspection from a few years so that they cost about $375 yet I can't find one online that is at that price. There is one for $160 that is an E5. And it's the most common model i think.
@@craigsmith5025ok so it's been some time. I put in a new circ pump and I took out the heater relay board and inspected it. It looks brand new. There are no markings, burns, and it's the newer model that you described. Now it still could be bad, I just wasn't sure and reinstalled it. Finally turned the tub back on after years. First thing I had was double blinking error lights red and green. I put a hose in the grey filter to prime the circ pump and restarted. Now the pump is working but the blinking continues. So I let the tub finish filling since it was only half full. Now the tub is full and the blinking stopped, but it just won't heat with the solid red light. I'll see how it looks tomarrow since I did this all at night AND we have no lid for the tub right now
Hi Craig, I’m getting a blinking power light even with heater disconnected or off. It goes straight from powered down to blinking. The only thing that works is the circ pump (new). Heaters are new, jet pumps are new and control panel is new. Filters are clean, getting good flow and ozone from bottom of tub (Grandee) What the heck do I even look for now 😆?
Sounds like a bad Hi-limit thermistor/sensor. Do you have a digital multimeter? Kill power to the tub, and immediately unplug the REG THERM sensor plug and the LIM THERM sensor plug. Read ohms where the wires go into the disconnected plugs. You should read something like 8 ohms at room temp. 4.8 ohms if the temp is 104. With a bad Hi Limit thermistor you might be reading false way high temps with a way low ohm reading... 3 ohms or less, More rare is a sensor reading way high ohms in the teens at room temp. Either way, both sensors SHOULD be within .20 ohms of each other. ie; 6.22 + 6.35 ohms ok. 6.22 + 6.57 not ok.
ALSO: Could be a bad multi-color LED module at the main light lens. You MUST kill power when plugging/unplugging anything into the IC interface. The main spa light connects to the IC interface and a SPA LIGHT connection. Kill power, disconnect both, reboot. Rare occurrence, but it can happen.
@@craigsmith5025 Thanks I will check the LED and the ohms on the sensors. Sensors came new with the new heater (installed 2 weeks ago heated/worked fine for the 2 weeks). Maybe a bad batch. I did pull a few connections when it was power on to try to find the bum equipment (oops). I didn’t notice any sparking or sudden changes so maybe I got lucky and didn’t cause any damage. I also tried every connection from power off position then rebooted. I never got any reaction this way or that.
See my video on replacing the heater relay board. You get sure identifying tips for troubleshooting before I pull the board. After pulling the board, it's obvious.
Hey Craig, I’ve got a 2008 jetsetter wired for 110v that isn’t heating. I’ve replaced my heater board and waited 20 hours it hasn’t even started to get a little warm
I’ve got two new heater relay boards, I’ve made complete sure the tub is wired properly. Everything is all good, just no voltage to heater. Blinking D9 light steady D10 and the Heater indicator and LIM lights are steady. I’ve also applied additional tape to the chip that makes contact with the aluminum L bracket. I’m stumped, and I used to work for a hot springs dealer!
Did you insert the power jumpers atop the terminal block strip? You need a triple jumper on 3, 4 and 5. And break the center out of the other jumper to make a wide double connecting 1 and 2, missing the H1.
@@davidcoffey8806 When the old relay board is removed off that row of pins to the upper right, you have to 'rock' the board off those pins. You also have to 'rock' the board onto those pins. Many just mount the board against the pins, and never get them within the spring-loaded connections. Also check for leaking light lens/wetness that may cause the system to wig. I cover that in one of my videos.
hello Craig, you helped me troubleshoot a failed circulator pump last year in my Hot Springs Prodigy (about 20 years old) and I replaced it, thanks again. A few days ago one evening I went into my hot tub and noticed that it didn't feel as hot as usual and didn't feel very hot water out of the bottom "vent". I typically keep it on 99 degrees. The next day I checked and the ready light still wasn't on. I reduced the setting to 94 and it went on. What do you suspect the problem is? Today I added some water as it had gotten a little low and waiting to see if the water is heating, but so far I can't tell much of a difference. The heater in it is the second one replaced about 14 years ago I think. I also tried the outside breaker which has a 20 and 30 amp, one is for the heater and the test trip button doesn't seem to be working. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks Phil
If the test button isn't working, it likely isn't fully on, probably half-tripped. Does the breaker handle feel like it's solidly in the ON position, or does it 'flop' loose in that upper ON area? If so, it's tripping. Push it all the way off, then all the way on.
@@craigsmith5025 It definitely feels like it's solidly in the ON position, not loose at all. I've pushed it all the way off then to the ON position again, but no change.
Hi Craig, so while test button doesn't work, breaker is solid, not loose in either position. Water temp down to about 83 from 94 a few days ago. Each day when I lower the temp setting, green light goes on when it matches the setting. Thoughts on what the issue is? Thanks for your help.
@Phil Colchie the only way to be sure is to check input power at 1 & 3. You should read 230v with probes on 1 & 3. If that's good, check output voltage to heater where the giant heater cord connects at it's connections, sometimes not labeled on older relay boards, but labeled H1 and H2 on newer boards.
@Phil Colchie some aftermarket heaters have a overheat reset button, tiny little thing above the small 1/4" drain tube off the back of the heater. Watkins factory heaters do not have reset buttons anymore. Not since they went to the twin-tube design.
Fill with hose down the gray filter standpipe. Power on only the spa breaker and get things flowing. When flow is going, THEN power up the other breaker. My spa MUST have trickle water feature valve open to burp air out of the circ pump after a refill.
Can anyone tell me if d17 is supposed to be consistently lit up red? I'm having issues with ours not heating up and I'm wondering if that has anything to do with it.
You can't. They made the tri-bend heater for less than 2 years. It was so horrible, they redesigned to the twin tube heater. Same connections, same sensors, same wiring. But no reset button. You go with the PDR style heater with the twin tube now.
Both breakers on solidly, heat issue with no blinking POWER or READY lights. Hmmm. Either CONTROL UNPLUGGED is lit on top center of the motherboard in the black box, or leaking light lens getting the LED module wet, causing interference. You use a tablet floater?
Temperature up will go 102 103 104 ut1 ut2 ut3 and ut4. Those are override codes for temperatures over 104. If you cannot get the DOWN button to get the temp lower, your up button is working, but down button may not. Make sure you have no padlock icon indicating Temperature lock or spa lockout features are engaged.
@@aslauggudmunds7651 any jet or light functions? Is the entire control panel locked up? If you have a flashing power light, that will lock up a spa. Sometimes a bad panel at the back of the spa locks up the main panel... unplug the phone jack wire to the aux panel to see. Are you sure there's no padlock icon on the panel?🔒
When they shut off, is it in a blinking power light error? Make sure you have clean filters and the floating weir door is not sticking in the UP position preventing water from spilling into the filterwell.
