Hot tub woes - please help


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Old 09-19-14, 04:14 PM
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Unhappy Hot tub woes - please help

Hello all, I am new to the forum and would like to thank anyone in advance for advice. I'm relatively handy and would like to fix this one myself as cheap as possible (housebroke blues).

I have a 2006 Master spa Downeast that the previous owner had installed. Recently it went dead (no indications of life, no display on the topside panel). I found the GFI breaker was not tripping on a test so that has been replaced. When powered the spa does not trip the power.
Model information: Balboa MS1500, 54493

Here's a summary of what I've done:
Verified proper power at TB1
Tested all fuses
Verified resistance of L1 through Neutral (43 ohms with power off)
Inspected both sides of the circuit board - no charring or obvious damage.
Inspected the board on the topside panel - no obvious damage.

I don't have another topside panel for testing and am unsure of how to test the transformer alone. It's getting cold and I'm starting to worry about residual water in the pipes freezing, Any help is appreciated!

Dustin
 
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Old 09-23-14, 06:23 PM
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No one has any input??
 
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Old 09-23-14, 10:48 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

Let's see if we can get you going again.
Just to make sure we have the correct power coming in - check the following...
240vac from term 3 to term 4
120vac from term 3 to term 2
120vac from term 4 to term 2
0v from term 2 to term 5

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If the voltages are not close to above then you need to troubleshoot the power wiring.

I have the manual for your hot tube but it's pretty useless. You have the Balboa MS-1500 control system. Did you remove the cartridge fuses to check them ?
 
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Old 09-24-14, 03:08 PM
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Thanks PJmax, I've verified the incoming power correctly and removed each fuse to test it. I did note that I do have 240V on the downstream side of the power supply fuse indicating I have good power. Do you have any other ideas? The circuit boards look healthy.
 
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Old 09-24-14, 10:34 PM
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In the picture below is the 54494 board. Is it similar or exactly the same as yours ?

There are many fuses on the board..... have you checked all of them and especially the one I've circled ?

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Old 09-25-14, 01:45 PM
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PJmax, my board looks identical. I've tested the circled fuse installed and removed. Do you know of a place to test low voltage? Or is there a way to test the voltage output to the topside panel?

I remember the previous homeowner mentioning a control board had been replaced prior to me moving in, and the serial number on the topside panel is newer than the hot tub. Theoretically the step down transformer could be bad causing topside panel failures but I wouldn't know how to test either component individually.
 
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Old 09-25-14, 11:43 PM
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If you could take a real closeup and large pic of the back of board and send it to me I could guide you. I don't have one of those boards here to use as a demo.

Check your PM's for my email address.
 
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Old 09-26-14, 08:21 AM
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Pictures received. I'll see if they'll work. Those pics can post here. I usually need large file size pics that I can take and blow up.

Easiest to check the transformer with an ohmmeter. You have an 8 lead transformer. In the pic the red circle is the high side or in and the blue side is low voltage or output. Check the outer two red circles for continuity and then check the outer blue circles.

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The two 120v coils are in series for 240v source. The two LV coils are also in series but I don't know that voltage.
 
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Old 09-26-14, 09:09 AM
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Thanks PJ

Using a digital Ohmmeter the outer Lo Voltage PINs read 1 (and beeped) and the outer Hi Voltage PINs read 41
 
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Old 09-26-14, 06:52 PM
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That would mean your transformer is ok. The next step would be to carefully reconnect the 240v to the board and see if you get an AC voltage reading on the blue terminals. Should be better then 12vac. At this point the board is vulnerable and any short or slip of the test probe could be a disaster. Those two copper straps that go to the heater need to be insulated or protected.

Do this first...
In the following pic.... check the green part (orange arrow) with an ohmmeter before connecting the board. It should measure as a dead short.... somewhere near 0. Look at J2. Is that the port for the topside board ? That socket looks corroded. Look into it.... the pins should be shiny and bright. If they are green and corroded... that's your problem.

If the socket is clean and that green part measures a short.... carry on with the top part.

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Last edited by PJmax; 09-26-14 at 07:27 PM. Reason: added mucho info
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Old 10-04-14, 12:06 PM
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Well, after a week of troubleshooting vehicle issues (a bad coil pack and a bad battery) I had a chance to perform the recommended tests.

1) Testing the green part with an ohmmeter yielded a beep and OL on the lowest 200 ohm setting an a reading of +1.5 on the diode setting. What was strange was that when I went back to verify the measurement with different settings I could get a reading of 1.5 on the ohmmeter settings that would quickly zero out, if I swapped the position of my meter leads it would do the same thing again.

2) You are correct that the J2 port is the topside board port. The greenish appearance is the result of a bad photograph, the pins are shiny and bright.

3) I reconnected the 240VAC and measured a voltage of 15.2 VAC on the outer two pins that were previously circled in Blue.

Any ideas for a next step PJmax?
 
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Old 10-12-14, 08:30 AM
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I gave up and bought a new topside panel, and with no success (tub is still "dead", no indications or trouble codes on the panel). I suppose it's an expensive paperweight until the old one really dies.

PJMax - any ideas of what to test next?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dustin
 
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Old 10-12-14, 09:34 AM
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Sorry.... I missed your post on the 4th. I'll post again on this later today or early this evening.
 
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Old 10-14-14, 05:02 PM
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PJMax, any ideas?

Thanks,
Dustin
 
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Old 10-14-14, 09:31 PM
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I've been looking into the board. There is only one more check you can make. In the picture below you'll see J2 is highlighted as well as a filter capacitor is marked. You need to set your voltmeter to DC volts. Put the negative of your probe on the - side of the capacitor. Use your positive to check all 8 pins on J2. You should +5vdc on one of the pins. Let me know what you find. Be careful working on the live board.

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Old 10-17-14, 09:36 AM
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Well, the weather finally permitted the test.

Testing all 8 PINS starting at the lower left and going clockwise on the 20 vdc setting I found: 6 0 .15 .30 0 0 0 0

The topside panel I bought is brand new, I'm having a hard time understanding what else could be going on here. Any more ideas PJmax?

Thanks,
Dustin
 
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Old 10-20-14, 03:53 PM
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PJmax - any ideas?

Thank you,
Dustin
 
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Old 10-20-14, 04:11 PM
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Sorry... I missed your results post. If I had a schematic here for that board I could give you an instant answer. I was expecting to see 5v and a higher value. The 5v is a logic supply. The 6v may be the five. Logic would handshake from the top to the bottom and then there would or should be more voltages on the board once it was powered up.

I'm going to look over the board pictures and see if I can make sense of what you've posted.

Just to reinforce a point.... are you're sure that where the plug goes into J2 that the pins are clean. That is a low level logic connection point and any corrosion would cause a problem.

I'll repost a little later tonight.
 
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Old 10-20-14, 04:41 PM
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Thank you for more of your time PJmax. I am certain that the connections are clean.
 
 

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