Hi Billy,
I may be missing something, but what was your reading between Line one,
and Line Two. 220?
(Line to neutral, and line to neutral means little)

Black to Red Baby!!!!

I doubt this.

Most people will rarely be able to notice 'HEAT' as in 'WARM' or 'HOT' from a 5500 watt element in a hot tub. This is the equivalent of trying to heat two to four hundred gallons of water with 4 blow dryers.

Which means, it takes time. You would need to do this for at least 30 minutes and monitor temperature rise over that period using an accurate digital thermometer. If you had an ammeter and could measure the current draw of the system, I'm sure that once you powered it up configured this way, you would've seen at least 20+ amps being drawn from your line, which means you're definitely heating.


You've tested your element already and found you had continuity... 12 ohms which is normal.

Your element is ok.

Since you noted:

I would suspect that the T-92 high limit relay (Item C in your photo) is defective.

This is a common high failure item and if you follow the line from the heater terminal to it, then measure the voltage on the other side of the contact. Better yet, since you've replaced the element, go ahead and replace that relay while you're at it - it should've been replaced when you replaced the element anyway.

The coil voltage for it should be in the 115v range otherwise it's a special order item: http://spapartsnet.com/Electrical-Parts ... 1_0_1.html

You say you don't know anything about electricity, well you've done pretty good so far explaining your situation which is a lot more than I can say for the tons of calls we get daily.... just check back and post what you find so that the folks that follow the forum can chime in with you and check to see if what they're saying has helped.

Last thing... (Has nothing to do with your troubleshooting issue):

Whatever fool wired this hot tub without a ground? (Hope it wasn't you my man - in commercial electrican circles jobs like this make the bulletin boards all the time for humorous anti-diy fodder)

If I got a call on this one, I'd either refuse to work on it, work on it and leave with the entire electrical supply disconnected, fix the ground issue (and install a GFCI), or call the freakin cops If I were you I wouldn't do anything else until a proper ground line is run from the house box all the way to the tub - NO, do not substitute a ground rod - it's not the same and leads to a false sense of security.

This thing is not safe.

I have a hot tub that hasnt been in use for 4 months. I filled it up andturned it on and the jets work but it doesnt seem like its getting hot. i have had it on for 3 to 4 hours. how long does it normally take to start heating up. I also unscrewed the control box and didnt mess with any wires but now it wont even turn on. the jets or light. its a brett auqualine EM-203t. any ideas?

OK, ordered the relay; will let you know what happens.

When hooking the L1 to E1 and L2 to E2, I said it wasn't heating because I was feeling the element housing directly...assuming it would get warm if the element came on. I did not give the water time to heat up.

OK, no luck with the replacement relay.

So, in summary, I have replaced the element, relay, entire circuit board and nothing has solved the problem of no heat. That leads me to believe that there is no problem with the equipment, rather it is the wiring. Am I correct in deducing this?


>Hi Billy,
>I may be missing something, but what was your reading between Line >one, and Line Two. 220?
>(Line to neutral, and line to neutral means little)
>Black to Red Baby!!!!

L1 to L2 I get nothing on the voltimeter. Shouldn't I be getting something?

This was all wired by a friend who had previous industrial experience and a set of tools, not an actual electrician.

My question would be: if it is wired incorrectly, why am I getting power to everything else?

Do I hire an electrician to start over from scratch?
I have a GFCI breaker.[quote][/quote]

if your spa is a convertable model, as in it can run in either 120V or 240V mode, everything except the heater will run on just one leg of the 240V. If you are missing the other leg of the 240V, that would explain a lot. Check for 240V before the GFI, after the GFI and at the tub where the line connects to the spa's L1 and L2. I think by doing that you will discover your problem.

Hi Billy,

Line one to Line two should give you 220 volts.
When you read 110 volts from both legs to neutral, you may be reading the same leg twice. The voltage will come into the pack and pump, and return to its' break of line two.
If you have a "Space Saver" breaker in the panel, it may be only picking up one side of your panel.
This condition will only effect the componants in the spa that are 220V operated. Everything else is relying on the neutral to complete the circuit.
Your heater will not have a complimenting phase to light up.

I hope you also addressed the other wiring issues Pageup mentioned.

Please don't ever bypass componants to try to achieve an end result. This practice may end up in property damage, and personal injury.

Should you shoot for the Electrician? Yes
The liability of the safety, and code issues are included in his cost. The time and energy wasted on chasing "Ghosts" are also included.

Let us know what you find