Gentlemen,

I am tasked with the job of bringing a very old Jacuzzi brand spa back to like...
The tub is in very good condition and all the plumbing is okay, no leaks etc.

Here is what I have to work with:

Len Gordon FF-1000LTC Controller

2 - 1HP 2 speed pumps 220V

1 - Blower pump 220V

2 - air switches connected to controller

6 - tub jets

All 3 pumps/motors are brand new
The controller is in very good condition
The air switches work properly...
The jets are very basic and show signs of wear but they work, kinda....
but that is another problem...

Here is my main trouble
My questions are:

what should the sequence of the 4-function switch be?

which pump runs in 2-speed mode?

which pump should be controlled with the timer? and what would the duration be?

should the filter pump run in hi or low speed?

one air switch controls the 4-funtion switch, and it works...
the other air switch contols another contactor, it closes it but doesn't seem to do anything.



I am an Electrician/Electronic technician, however i have never worked on a spa before...
I have the Schematic of the controller, so I uderstand its function, but not the application.

some more info:

1 pump (i think it is the jet pump?) just flows water into and out of the tub.

the other pump comes out of the tub thru the pump, into the filter , then thru a gas heater and back into the tub,

the 6 jets are plumbed in seriies with the output of the filter/heater pump feeding one end of the jets, and the "jet pump" is connected at the other end of the jets.

when the blower comes on the air shoots up thru small holes in the bench, there is an air flow controller on the tub which seems to direct air to the jets....but that is not working.(another problem)

the heater is controlled by a thermostat on the wall, it does not look like the heater is connected to the controller in any way. shouldn't the pump be flowing water thru the heater, when the heater is on?

As you can see I have a few problems, but I feel confident that I can get this baby up and running properly. Over the years it seems someone has re-arranged some of the wiring to and from the controller, but I will figure that part out. Why they did it i have no clue. I see no reason not to wire it exactly as the schemo shows. This could be the reason why the 2nd air switch does nothing.
another thing is that I have to rotate the timer to get anything to work. the timer has three trip points, i rotate it thru one of them and everything works, the 4-function switch starts to work.

any help would be appreciated.
as you can see i have my work cut out for me.
ps, the filter pump does not pump anything, it comes on but no flow......but that again is another problem, i found several small plastic kids toys in the plumbing when i was swapping out the pumps, maybe i didnt get them all....

me again, apparently i was aguest when i first posted...

when i cycle thru the 4-functions i get:
1 - all pumps on
2 - no blower, 2 pumps on
3 - filter pump only
4 - all off

I do not think this is correct.....as one of the 2 pumps should be running in 2 speed mode.


i was told that the 2nd switch could be for the tub light....
but in this installation, the light works on a switch on the wall, just a regular lite switch...
there must be a transformer somewhere cause it's a 12 volt bulb...

should this switch turn on and off the blower???
that makes sense to me but maybe i am wrong...

PLEASE someone help me!!!!!

Actually, this is screwed up... (as in rewired!)

1. Pumps and blower on high speed.
2. Pumps only, high speed, blower off.
3. Blower only, both pumps off.
4. all off. (The timer can still turn on the filter/heater pump on the low speed leg).

The low speed of the pump is controlled by the filtration timer. The heater is controlled by the thermostat and the pressure switch in the heater.

So, in order to get heat, at any time, the pump has to be running, high or low speed shouldn't matter, as the heater operates independently of everything else. If it senses good water pressure and the thermostat says it's time to heat up, then it's supposed to activate.

I was going to post all of this yesterday but got tied up , sorry for the delay.

I'll post more to finish this up shortly.

Ok, yeah those things get rewired by idiots quite frequently... and you're correct to follow the schematic for wiring the thing, (as long as the previous ahem... 'person' didn't change anything behind it).

The function of the second air button on those things is normally for a light switch, not control functions.

The heater.. yes you are correct, it should not connect electrically to the controller. It's turned on only by water pressure and thermostat setting. The thermostat can be self contained in the gas heater, or remote like on your wall. Just a real cheap speaker/bell wire thing works fine with these as it's usually dependent on pilot generator voltage (like 600 millivolts dc) to turn the gas valve on and off. If it's electronic ignition type of heater, then it'll usually have 24 vac running through it. It's just a simple kill switch with a temp sensor.

The timer, will turn on and off the pump (low speed) that's connected to the heater and filter. The other pump should not have low speed connected to anything. It should only work as a secondary high speed pump. So while it may sound a little convoluted, the spa can only heat when someone has the jets turned on, or the timer says it's time to filter.. AND the thermostat says the water's too cold.

Now if you energize the high speed thing by pushing the button... it will break the low speed voltage, and switch over to the high speed leg. (You can never have high and low speed applied at the same time to a pump motor!). In any event, if the heater's thermostat has indicated a need for heat to the spa, as long as there's water pressure, it'll kick on and heat up. This controller and heater combination will always be independent of each other. Electric/electronic spa controllers work entirely different from this so prepare yourself... they're actually more fun to work on than these older designs.

Now when you get through with this and look back at how ridiculous this situation was, maybe you can see how I got hooked into this crazy biz so long ago... Every other customer I went to... it was "now what nut case wired this thing!!!", or "unreal, it's a wonder nobody was electrocuted or the house hasn't burned down yet"... ugh!

Thanks for the help.
The info you provided is exactly what I needed.

I will post the results as soon as this spa is up and running!