when i turn on the breaker the motor turns on low the electronic display starts at 98 then count down to 80. flashes 80 then the heater turns on for abount 4 sec then the heater shuts off leaving the pump on low??
its a 240v 4kw heater balboa "lite leader" circa 1998? pcb is a icon 15
i think when the heater turns on it is looking for some other input and gets a no, so it shuts off? if I measure the heater element I get 14 ohms?
any ideas TIA

I'd guess either topside, circuit board, or temp sensors.....

No way to tell without trying new ones

Can you tell if the heater element is ok with a meter?

yes. simply ohm it out, as you did. 14 ohms is fine for a 4 kw heater.

Why do you think the heater is bad? The heating element has nothing to do with the unit supplying power to the element. It either sends power to the element or it deosn't. The condition of the element has nothing to do with this. The press/sw, or other logic in the topside, circuit boad, or sensors are what open and close the heater relay, thus energizing the heater.

You can even disconnect the (load) heater wires from the heater. It has no effect on whether the heater relay will energize or not