I recently bought a sweetwater aspen model spa from a good friend...I am familiar with the tub as I would go over to their place and sit in it. It had been having no problems

Just before I was going to purchase the pump was making a funnny noise like bearing were going out! Old pum had a jet housing stuck in the in where the impellor is....we have no idea where it came from as there are no jets missing...anyway, new pump was purchased and I put it in!

Filled tub as stated in manual...through the filter area....turned on tub and water began heatiung and pump ran on low! I was feeling good! Water got to tempature and I began the enjoyment! Turned motor in high from low.....things were great! After about 19 mins. everthing shut down with an error message of -03. Upset I went to manual and said to check filters, pump not primed, pressure switch not closed while pump activated!

Called place that got new pump and he said run without filters and see if you get the same thing! I did and got the same error message! He then said replace pressure switch and I did!

All excited with new pressure switch hit motor on high and after 20 mins. it did the same thing! After a few mins of flashing error code it will kick back on!! Or I can go trip breaker and start it back up asap! PLEASE HELP

Can you tell me if your pump wet end on this thing is rotated 90 degrees to the side? That is, it pumps SIDEWAYS, instead of straight up?

The wet end makes an "L" shape for the water.. it goes straight into the wet end which is running the same direction as the motor shaft then make a 90 degree in the wet end and comes out to make another bend to go into the heater!

I'll clarify the question. Tell which one of the pump pics below would most likely represent your pump wet end mounting style. Vertical, left, or right?

PICTURE #3

Your pump is what has the airlock. Because it's rotated sideways, air gets trapped in the top of the cavity and it has no way out. This problem may haunt you forever, but it's easily solved.

With the power off... There should be a small vent in the face of the pump that needs to be opened enough until nothing but water comes out. Close it down, power it up, and it should be fixed. If not, give it a little time switching between high and low speed.

If that doesn't work, what I do is close down the discharge valve if there is one about 1/2 - 3/4 of the way, slightly loosen the coupler on the discharge side of the pump, just enough so that it will leak with the pump running, no more. I run it like this until nothing but water leaks out, and it's pretty strong. Then I open the valve all the way, tighten down the coupler and it's back in business.

Here's an old article related to hot tub and spa airlocks: http://spasupport.com/airlocks/

Last thing, you must be absolutely certain that the pump suction is tight and has no leaks! A pump can sit statically and not leak water, but yet when it's turned on, it can definitely suck in air through the suction fitting and cause this problem to repeat itself!

Hope this helps.

I'll try it tomorrow!!! I will get back with you on this!!!

Well I did as instructed and let water run out of the threads! I have also ajusted the pressure switch about 1/2 turn clockwise! This was advise from the guy that sold me the new motor! What is your feeling on that? But everything has worked as it is supposed to as of 3 times today!

Thanks

Well it was doing good since last post but tonight it did the same thing!!! Anymore advice......I was told to try unplugging the ozonenator??? What do you think???

Unplug the ozonator? Good grief, who on earth said that? And adjusting the pressure switch, especially clockwise might make you quite unhappy as your spa may stop heating. (A clockwise turn on the pressure switch means that it will take more pressure from the pump to turn the heater on). Jeez...

What's probably happening is that your suction fitting is not as tight as it should be, or the gasket is leaking.

Even if your pump doesn't leak water, the suction force can cause this to happen. If it gets enough in there, then the airlock situation will repeat itself. Also, if your filters are old, then you should replace them with new ones.

I'd replace the filters, try the same airlock correction procedure that you did earlier, and see if that solves the problem. If it does, then you are getting air into the line somewhere for sure. Post back if it repeats...