Ok, I'm looking at purchasing a 1996 Seven Seas 6-man tub from a guy. I haven't seen the thing yet so that's all I know about the tub's make, model and so-on. Unfortunately I'm gathering that Seven Seas doesn't exist anymore making finding info a bit tough. The only thing I can find is that they used Balboa controllers but that doesn't mean they used them exclusively.

He's only asking $100 for the thing but it has the issue mentioned in the subject. Here is his exact description:
"The pump starts to turn on and off after it gets up to temp. the ribbon
cable to the control panel got cut, put all the wired back together and
that's when it started. It's a Seven Seas Spa,around a '96. it is enclosed
but the top was getting bad so I put it below the deck and put deck boards
up to the shell. It should come out pretty easy with a few guys. It's
84x84. I replaced the heat element and a pressure sensor thinking that was it but it wasn't."

Any thoughts or suggestions for what might have gone wrong or what the worse case scenario is? For $100 I feel it's a no-brainer but my wife isn't so keen on me having another "project" around the house.
Thanks,
Bryan

Could be the topside control panel is bad, or the cabling between needs to be replaced (ok, it's a given it should be replaced anyway). Could be just that simple.

Any tub that holds water and otherwise works is well worth 100 bucks

Can replacement ribbons be purchased separately? Looking through the catalog here it doesn't seem that you can.

Not to my knowledge, But if I remember correctly, Balboa can use standard cat 5 network cables. You just need to make sure that your balboa uses 8 pins. Some are 6.

I thought those cables looked familiar although even some Balboa panels use something altogether different (ex. 50799 - Balboa Deluxe Digital Panel).

So alright, my wife has ok'd me getting the tub as long as I cut spending on my other hobby (homebrewing). So looking at this seriously now, what would I do to start trouble shooting it? Obviously get it installed, fill it, leak check, power up, and get it to temp if that works. From there how can I pinpoint where the issue is. Can I bypass the interface and tell the controller to run the jet pump(s). If that fails can I bypass the controller to see if that's the issue?

Thanks again for your help,
Bryan

... also, can a tub be safely put on its side to move it through a doorway?

This tub is 84in or 7ft and I have to put it through a doorway that is exactly 6ft wide and 7ft tall. Can I put it on its side to slide it through or is this a bad idea?

Thanks again.