anyone good with testing boards/ schematics and tracking problems?

[TurboRust]

Got a free hot tub from Trish that had been sitting for some years, got it all wired up correctly for 240 with 6awg wire, gfci spa breaker, 8 ft ground rod and so on, check and double checked wiring, but it kicks the breaker everytime its turned on at the breaker. Made sure the breaker wasnt bad by removing the power wires to the tub from the breaker and it doesnt kick. Anyone good at testing/diagnosing this shit.. I slept through this part of school.

[Tractor]

Blowing a breaker shouldn't be to hard to test. Usually thats an indication of a serious problem ie wire rubbing metal or wired incorrectly or some other means of being shorted.

Does the breaker pop instantly or are you turning something on and then it pops? If so the problem could then be a short in a motor or heating element.

[TurboRust]

No it blows as soon as turning on the breaker. Checked for.continuity of the pump motor it has none meaning the brushes arent frozen.. it is wired correctly I assume theres something messed up on the board/heating element

[unfunnyryan]

I've only worked on one hot tub and got shit for it, but anyways

 

TURN POWER OFF BEFORE WORKING. If it has solid state relays (unlikely) they'll still carry AC but at low current.

 

Check resistance on heating element. It should be very low. Anything but no continuity should be fine though, the element inserts are cheap and pretty easy to replace.

 

Make sure none of the relays for the pumps or heater are stuck open. Continuity check again.

[mmrmnhrm]

No it blows as soon as turning on the breaker. Checked for.continuity of the pump motor it has none meaning the brushes arent frozen.. it is wired correctly I assume theres something messed up on the board/heating element

 

Brushes... this is a DC motor?

 

After closing (and tripping) the breaker, have you ever gone up to the tub to check for heat/smells? Sure, the breaker is clearing really fast, but there may be a little residual effect you or someone else could see/smell. In terms of things to check, look for shorts between the motor windings and ground, the heating element and ground, and possibly a shorted start cap (which should be pretty obvious after dumping power through it a couple times).

[TurboRust]

Brushes... this is a DC motor?

 

After closing (and tripping) the breaker, have you ever gone up to the tub to check for heat/smells? Sure, the breaker is clearing really fast, but there may be a little residual effect you or someone else could see/smell. In terms of things to check, look for shorts between the motor windings and ground, the heating element and ground, and possibly a shorted start cap (which should be pretty obvious after dumping power through it a couple times).

 

sorry i'm a car guy i knew that wasnt the correct wording.. motor windings i meant.

[TurboRust]

and I dont even have a tester to house shit, the guy that was here helping me hook shit up had one, but I got the drift that getting into the board was over his head, thanked him and sent him on his way..

 

anyone wanna come probe some shit in baltimore for a few bucks???

[Tractor]

I'd unplug the motors, and heater and then turn the unit on and see if it trips. If it doesn't, turn off the system, plug in the parts one at a time turning it back on between attempts to see which one blows the breaker. Very simple and hopefully not a circuit board problem. IMHO a circuit board would have to have a serious problem to be the root cause of the breaker tripping.

[TurboRust]

thanks man will try tonight.

[TurboRust]

got through half the connectors and the only thing i disconnected that didnt make the breaker trip was the transformer. I get the basic function of this, but can a transformer go bad?

[TurboRust]

here's what i'm dealing with

 

 

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=899&pictureid=7785

[mmrmnhrm]

got through half the connectors and the only thing i disconnected that didnt make the breaker trip was the transformer. I get the basic function of this, but can a transformer go bad?

This was a small one going bad during a storm.

 

Now a little control transformer like what's in your tub isn't nearly as likely to go in such spectacular fashion, but yes, it's possible. Looking over that diagram (low res such as it is), my first thought would be if all your motor windings show "open" to ground, and just a couple of ohms phase-to-phase, and the same for the heating element, the next most likely cause to me would be the 120V/240V conversion at the bottom being incorrect. You said you've wired for 240V, but if the previous owner had set it for 120V, that might cause what you're seeing.

[TurboRust]

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=899&pictureid=7790

 

 

so while reading about how to test the transformer I found this, and apparently putting the white neutral wire from the tub to the neutral bar will pop the breaker every time. Moved it to the center post on the gfci and breaker,,,flipped it on.. and this time it waited a second or two before tripping

 

So i went to diag step number 1 again and disconnected the terminals off the heater(which looks corroded at the terminals) and the tub turns on, jets and pump run fine. I need a new heater $100ish bux and I should be good

[wnaplay1647545503]

Next hot tub question. A tree branch fell and boke my topside control panel. I want to make sure everything still works. The replacement panel is expensive. Is there a way to use the plug from the control panel and somehow jump from pin to pin to activate just as if i was pushing a button?

[unfunnyryan]

Next hot tub question. A tree branch fell and boke my topside control panel. I want to make sure everything still works. The replacement panel is expensive. Is there a way to use the plug from the control panel and somehow jump from pin to pin to activate just as if i was pushing a button?

 

If it is analog switches or buttons, absolutely. If it's a newer panel using some sort of digital logic or varying resistance (a knob would use this in either case) you might be out of luck.