About 2 weeks ago the pump on my spa made some rattle nosies and then blew the breaker. Turns out the pump went bad. The new one arrived yesterday and I installed it. When it is hooked up control circuit board and I turn on the breaker it immediatly trips the the breaker when the circuit board attempts to activate the low speed relay. If I disconnect the pump connection cable from the board and trun on the breaker .. it activate the low speed relay. I can then push the high speed bottom on my control panel and watch the high speed relay move .. hit the button again it turns the high-speed relay off and re-activates the low speed relay. I know the pump moter is working fine as I've hot wired via jumper directly from the 220 line to the low and high connection points on the pump and it works fine.

I've also tried running jumpers from the relay's on the circuit board directly to the pump to rule out connection problems .. anytime the pump is connected to the circuit board it trips the breaker as soon as the low speed relay activates. No pump connected the relays works fine.

So I'm assuming the problem is somewhere in my circuit board .. any clues where to look.

What I'm trying to decide is this possibly a part that can be repaired ont he board via a repair person who has the right test equipemetn or shoudl I just buy a new circuit board?

Thanks,
Chris

Be absolutely certain, that your wires are connected to this pump:

Green - Ground.
White - Common.
Red - Low Speed. (red and black may be reversed depending on config)
Black - High Speed.

It sounds more like you've got one set of wires crossed on this thing as a relay activation alone should never cause a gfci to trip.

Either that or you've got a pump motor cord that's waterlogged, with deteriorating insulation.

I'd never replace the circuit board under these conditions as it sounds like yours is doing the job. Otherwise, with the pump disconnected, the relay activation would cause the GFCI to trip by itself.

Double, and Triple check the wiring at the pump, the cord, and the amphenol socket and plug and be sure there's no moisture in there.

Tell you what I would do, is disconnect the pump wires at the pump, tape them up or something to protect them, and then try the same test again without the motor connected.

If that doesn't trip the gfci, then the problem is more than likely in your wiring configuration at the motor. If you're not sure.... upload a close up picture of this thing or send it to image91 @ spanet.net

Lastly, be sure that the old and new motor voltages are the same...

Thanks.

I'm glad you agree if the board works fine not connected it should be a short somewhere between the board and the pump.

While I didn't do the exact test you described I did run jumpers directly from the low speed relay to the low speed terminal on the pump moter (skipping the cable) and a jumper from the white (netural) terminal in the board to the netural connection point on the pump ... still throws the breaker. Run the same test directly from the 220 line it to the motor skipping the circuit board motor runs right ... red to high = high speed .. black to low = low speed.

As for the pump motor ... it is the exact same one that was in there as the motor that was replaced was only 4 months old when it blew as was exchanged with the mfg.

What I wonder is there some sort of capacitor in the circuit board to absorb the load from the motor when it kicks on/off that got damaged when the motor blew a couple of weeks ago?

The system I have is a 1996 Balboa SC2000 circuit board. The wiring diagram on the back side of the circuit board box cover says "C2000 system Wiring Diagram"

I've called a couple of local repair shops and they think the short is in the board ... but like you I can't figure out why it doesn't trip the breaker when the pump is not connected and the relays move up/down according to the buttom pressed on the circuit board control panel.

I don't mind buying a board (which I'll get from SpaBabes) but I want to make sure this is really the problem.

Appreciate any additional thoughts.

Thanks,
Chris

Let's try something different....

I would disconnect both heater terminals and be sure they weren't touching anything.

Then power it up again...

May not make any sense at this point, but give it a shot. I still don't think you need a circuit board. And it would be particularly annoying if you paid 300 bucks an still get the same symptoms.

Fwiw, there is no type of device on the circuit board to absorb any kind of inductive kickback from the motor. It's a straight connection. The only inductive kickback eliminator are diodes connected to the relay coils themselves. But that's a 12 v application internal to the board's power supply and has no effect on anything that we're looking at.

I'm so glad you agree with my gut instincts .. there is nothing wrong with the circuit board/panel .. it is shorting somewhere between the board and the external parts.

I called a couple of our local repair shops (Livermore Calif) and described the same symptons to them that I wrote you about and their instance response was .. you need a new board. Like you said I don't want to shell out $300 until I know for sure this will solve the problem.

I'm going to pull out the multi-meter today and start measuring continuity and voltage from the panel to the connectors to the external devices.

I'll let you know how it goes ... and if all else fails what I might do is call a local repair shop to come-out .. that way if they replace the board and it still does not solve the problem I can argue I'm not paying for a part that didn't fix the problem.

Best regards,
Chris

Wanted to give you an update and see if you agree with my theory what is causing the breaker to trip.

The muti-meter showed a clear 240V coming out of the conection point if I touch the probs to the "white" and "Black' connection point on "low speed" an dthe "white" and "red" connection points on "High" (see attached pictures)

I also ran this same test with the cable pluged in but disconnected at the terminals at the pump .. got the same reading.

I realized when I did my "hot jump" test from the breaker box to the circuit board (220 line) ... and connected it to the pump I was really only running 110 e.g. White from breaker box to White on Pump, Black from breaker box to "low" on pump .. left "red" from breaker box disconnected. What that meant was I was really only sending 110 to the pump .. which is when it worked fine ... I could also move the "black' to the "high" terminal of the pump at it went to high speed.

So what I wonder is even though the label on the pump clearly says it is a 220v 60amp pump is it possible the guts in the pump are really only rated for 110 which is why when it is truely connected to the circuit board it is getting 240v which is why it is throwing the breaker?

In others if you hook-up 110 to a 220 motor it will work
However if you hook up 220 to a 110 motor it will throw the breaker

Given every other reading is correct and the only thing that changed is the pump was exchanged when the previous pump failed and was exchanged under warrantly.

Thanks,
Chris

Well then that makes it even easier.

If this motor will spin up completely on both high and low speeds on 115, then it is a 115 V motor... not a 230.

And yes you can spin up a 230V motor on 115. But it will never get to full speed though... kind of sounds like a wheels of a car going across a suspension bridge or something like that.

Connecting a 115V pump to 230 is a very bad thing to do. Your breaker probably saved it from total destruction.

And yep again, one time I did receive a motor that had the wrong markings on it... So you're right on here. Good thing you didn't buy a circuit board.

Good news/bad news ..

I took the pump back to Lesile's Pool supply. They were able to bench test it hooked up to a 220v power supply and it worked .. so the pump is rated for a 220v connection. The muti-meter confirmed it was getting 220v

What I noticed is the Balboa SC2000 circuit board says the electrical rating is 240VAC, single pahse 60HZ

So I measured the output from the panel through the cable to the leads disconnected from the motor .. sure enough measures 240v (see attached photo's)

The label on the pump motor says 220v power rated at 230v

So I'm guess if the motor is only rated for 230v and I'm sending 240v to it no wonder the breaker is tripping.

Leslie's is positive this is the same type of pump that worked for the last 4 months and that the mfg. does not make a 240v pump. I of course question if the pump I had 4 months ago was correct why did it fail in 4 months. Unfortunatley I don't have the OEM pump to compare specs.

I've sent a message to Cal Spa asking if they have what the pump specs should be but haven't heard back.

Do you agree that the 220v/230v pump Leslie's ordered is probably the wrong one and the reason the breaker is tripping?

Thanks for all your help and advise,

Chris

Chris,
Here's what you really need to do.

With the cover off of the control, take a good full frame picture of it. 800X600 or larger with decent focus if possible.

A picture of the inside diagram of the controller.

An overall picture of the entire equipment enclosure..

A close up back end view of this pump with your pump cord connected.

A close up view of the nomenclature label on the pump.

Email those to image91 @ spanet.net

We really can't go any further until I can see exactly what you've got.

(PS: Your motor will work between 208-240 vac no problem).

Hurry .. the hot tub is once again operational

Turns out the new pump that was replaced under warranty was also a bad pump. Here's why ....

I contacted Cal Spa and spoke to their head technician ... He said he has seen similar symtoms as mime with Vico pumps the last couple of years. They supposedly have a Mfg. Flaw with the pump senoid that grounds out when the pump starts vibrating/moving and both the low speed and high speed terminal are connected to power. That is why it bench tested fine as only one terminal was connected but when it was connected to the circuit board it threw the breaker..

Anyway, I took the pump back to Leslies' Pool supply asked if I could exchange the pump once again for a new one. New one arrived today .. pluged it into the board and it is working fine ... Hot Tub should be up to 100 degrees within the hour and then the wife and me are in for a dip.

I appreciate all the help and suggestions you provided ... if I would have went with my local repair shops advice I would have been out $350 for a new circuit board and still not had a working hot tub.

All the best,
Chris