Hey everyone,
I recently purchased a used hot-tub from someone off Craigs list. It's a CalSpa model "System 3000", manufactured in 1996. The previous owner said he believed it to be working, but admitted that it had not been hooked up for some time. The model was intended to be installed flush with a deck or similar construct. What I mean by this is that it has no (aesthetically pleasing) "side panels" on it, unlike a unit which is intended to be "freestanding / stand alone" (like an above-ground pool). I'm new to hot tubs, so I'm not familiar with all the jargon associated with them. Because this hot tub was meant to be installed down in a deck or something, it's main controller board / box (does this have a technical name?) and two main pumps are not part of the hot tub unit it's self (as I am used to seeing). Instead, they are mounted on a metal plate; there is a place for them to sit underneath the hut tub.
I'm mentioning the free-standing pump/controller board assembly because it's the reason I'm in the position I'm in. The hot-tub was all setup when I arrived at the gentleman's house from whom I purchased it; pipes to pumps were hooked up, main controller connected to top-side controls, etc. Due to the weight of the pumps and main controller box assembly, and because they were not mounted in the hot-tub itself but only sitting under it, I had to disconnect the pipes form the pumps, controller wires, etc. and move that part separate from the hot tub itself. Upon getting it home and attempting to test it, I realized I had made one huge error: I had not noted the pin-out configuration (which color wire corresponds to which pin) used to connect the cable that runs from the "top-side" controls for heat, blower, etc. to the main controller board.
Here's how it's setup: On the main controller board (which is affixed to the board with the pumps, etc) there is an RJ-45 connection port (Ethernet style, like a wide phone-jack) where the cable which runs to the top-side controller plugs-in. That's fine; the issue is the connector on the top-side controls box. The top-side controller just has a set of (5, I believe) pins where the other end of the cable connects.
My problem is this: since I don't know how the cable is supposed to be connected to the top-side (as in which color wire corresponds to which pin), I have no way to test the main controller board, pumps, heater, blower, etc. I cannot simply start connecting the wires to pins and figure it out by process of elimination because I would (of course) break the top-side controller by applying voltage to the incorrect leads. I've already called CalSpa directly via the number given on their website to ask them, but they told me they would not provide me with that information and all they could do was refer me to an "authorized CalSpa repair company". I was shocked and irritated beyond belief, needless to say. Here I am with their product, and they won't provide me with simple information on how to use it! Of course, I've scoured their (useless) website to no avail. I did find some schematics for the main controller board and (annoyingly) basic setup instructions, but they seemed careful not to mention that pin-out I need to connect that top-side box. There is one other thing I should mention: I do not have the cable that I am talking about (the one that has an RJ-45 connector on one end and probably just a bunch of stripped wires on the other end which connects to the top-side). Now that I think about it, that cable was probably not there when I picked the unit up, as I surely would have grabbed it and noted that pin-out. So, because I don't have this, I'll have to make one. Which is no big deal, I have plenty of cables with RJ-45 connectors on them, and I could just cut off the other end to expose the wires (I'm in I.T. professionally). However, in additon to the wire-color-to-pin configuration I'm asking about on the top-side side, I would also need to know that layout of wire-color-to-pins on the other end of the cable (with the RJ-45 plug on it).
So I'm hoping the "hot tub gods" here at Spa Forums may be able to assist me. I'm good with electronics and quick with a soldering iron, so setting this baby up would be no problem (provided it works), but I can do nothing with the correct color-to-pin (a.k.a. pin-out) configuration for that top-side box. Maybe someone here has this or a similar model CalSpa and wouldn't mind doing me the huge favor of simply unscrewing their top-side controller and taking a picture (or just documenting) of the wires connected to the pins. I'd be eternally indebted to anyone who could point me in the right direction here!
I also have one other question, then I'll leave you all alone: is there any way to test this unit (just a very simple "power on, pumps work" type test) without the top-side controls hooked-up? I just want to make sure that the critical (expensive) components on this unit work before I spend anymore time on it, e.g. the pumps, main controller board, heater, blower, etc. In my experience with other hot-tubs, if you connect them without the top-side hooked-up, nothing happens at all. No pumps, heater, blower or anything, which makes since of course -- the system has not idea what to do without that top-side to tell it. I was just wondering if anyone knew of a way around that (sort of just hooking the pumps directly up to a 220v line for a quick test, which I'm considering).
Thanks so much for your time everyone! I would really appreciate any tips what-so-ever on this problem. We want to get this baby working before summer starts in full-force.
Best regards,
Dylan Marsh
webdev.dylan (at) gmail.com |
