The tub froze up and I had to thaw it out. Would this damage the heater and could this be the reason for the tripping problem?

I recently installed a new thermostat drywell in my '86 Hot Springs Classic. All the capillary probes are in the right position but on of the GFCI switches keeps tripping and cutting off the power to the tub.

My question (aside from the obvious one) is: what are some of the typical reasons GFCI switches trip? And, is it possible that the new part I put in is hampering the water flow to the circulation pump thereby causing it to overheat and trip the GFCI switch? It is a used tup that has worked perfectly up until this repair. Would decreased water flow to the circ pump cause the GFCI switch to trip?

Does anyone have some decent info on this?

Thanks, Brett

Are you sure it's the GFCI, on the end of the cord, and not one of the high limit switches on the control box?

If it's the cord end tripping and you suspect the heater...unlpug it and see if it stops tripping. if it stops tripping..replace heater.

If it's one of the red buttons in the equip. compartment, and you suspect low circ. pump flow..here's some things to check.

That year spa's circ. pump only operates when the thermostat calls for heat.

it was also UNFILTERED. In other words, it draws water from a fitting LOW in the spa's vessel. Check that fitting for lint or debris. Also check the fitting where the circ. pump returns hot water to the spa, I've seen those blocked. If those are clear and low flow is causing the heater to overheat and trip one of the red reset buttons....replace the circ. pump.

It would be my assumption that what happened was the heater element shorted, which tripped out the GFI. The freezing is, well, the result.

I don't remember if that spa is wired to where you need the heater plugged in for it to operate or not, but as the others have suggested, if you unplug the heater and everything now seems to work fine without tripping, replace the heater.

The GFIC either brokeout because it detected a L1/L2 hot line voltage on the heater casing or other component or it broke from an overload condition. You have to learn how to find the problem or call in a pro. There is a recent post on this site hopefully helpful on this identical subject. Find the post.
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