I've just got a 1997 Savannah spa from a friend. The spa has had the following parts changed.

Pressure switch
Tecmark command center
High limit switch
Heater element
40amp GFI
Pump

When the power supply was initially switched on it would immediately trip the GFI. Through the process of elimination I pulled out each connection on the side of the main Hydra Spa box, reset the GFI each time after tripping and found that, when I removed the command center plug and reset the GFI once again, the tub started. There was circulation and, when the jet button was pressed (activated by an air tube from the command center to the box) the jets worked.

The temperature dial for this spa is on the command center and, as I'm unable to plug this in without the GFI tripping, the water remains cold.

I've also noticed that when I press the light button on the command center (also controlled by an air tube to the main box) this also trips the GFI. I then have to press it again and reset the GFI before the tub will power up again.

The contents of the main box appear very clean and there are no obvious signs of bad wiring.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I think the guy at the spa center is running out of ideas and new parts (and getting very rich)

This is my first spa so I'm learning as I go - Another question - Should I be getting some heat from the element even though the command center (with temperature dial) isn’t plugged in?

Thanks in advance
Al

Just got it from a friend...

Do you know if this spa had experienced any electrical surges or lightning strikes prior to you getting it?

Does it have a circuit board inside the lower control box?

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly
Ok so just spoke to my friend and he said the neighbours house was hit by lightning 3 years ago - the only thing affected at my friends house was the garage door opener. The spa was fine and worked for a further 2 years. He used to empty it every fall and start using it again the the spring. Went to use it again this spring and nothing.

The main box has a sticker saying United spas model S3C-22-TL - no curcuit board inside

Found the wiring diagram of the main box - doesnt appear to have changed much since 1997 http://unitedspas.com/PDF/22SL.pdf Thanks again

Does your unit have the time clock? (If so is it actually running?)

Does your unit have TWO separate contactors?

That schematic btw, is not totally representative of your spa as there is no provision for the tecmark topside control.

I assume this is a new gfci installation?

It does have a time clock and that appears to be running ok.

You're right about the diagram posted - the only addition appears to be the female connection for the topside control - this has 5 wires coming from it- white, black, green, orange and yellow. This is positioned on the bottom left below the pump switch

It is a new GFI installation

You may have your Neutral line in your GFCI box miswired.

(Check it anyway).

Pump voltage is 230 or 115?

pump voltage 230v - just checked GFCI wiring - red and black in the GFCI - both the white from the GFCI and from the main wiring in neutral bar - copper wire from the main wiring also connected to the neutral bar (another friend wired it up)

Is that right or is the house about to catch fire?

No that's not correct.

The neutral coming from the spa MUST be attached to the neutral connector in the GFCI - NOT the neutral bus.

Only the white pigtail that comes WITH the GFCI can go to the neutral bus.

Ill do that now - what happens with the copper wire (sorry to be so thick)

Note I'm only talking about the neutral line coming from the spa.

The copper is supposed to be ground, in most cases attached to the neutral/ground bus-bar.

Ok, changed the wires as directed now GFCI fails to set at all - obviously a problem with the initial wiring as my main spa box has a stove connector and I didn't have this plugged in at the time. The set up my friend wired is as follows: spa main box plugs into stove receptacle 4 wire (red, black, blue and copper). This then leads to the wall kill switch (probably not the right terminology - forgive me I'm British " title="Smile" /> from there to inside the house - junction box that connects external to internal wire - internal wire to main panel. I know this is really tedious for you but if I can sort this I'll be a happy man (not to mention how excited my girlfriend will be)

Well this is a little kooky.

I've never worked on a canadian system.

I know the physics are the same, but you're referring to blue wires which I'm assuming for the moment is neutral... however that doesn't mean that my assumption is correct.

You'll need to verify everything from the main box all the way to the spa.

The out going neutral line from the ground fault circuit breaker should never be wired or attached to ground anywhere. I'm guessing that it may be most likely that your neutral line is not isolated properly, that means all the way to the tub control box.

Which is why I suspect initially that the gfi trips when anything that runs primarily on 115 volts is turned on, including the topside control.

You need to verify everything is correct before going to work on the controller. Photos of everything start to finish will help that, and, without something like this to justify any further troubleshooting, nobody will be able to help you with this.

You're an absolute genius, you nailed the problem on the head - I checked the kill switch and the neutral had been wired where the ground should have been - changed it over and all looks good.
Both myself and my girlfriend are very very grateful

Well that's good. At least something's working today... " title="Twisted Evil" />

Can you believe I'm back so soon " title="Sad" /> So, the tub is running, jets, light command panel - but no heat. The heat light shows up on the command center but is off on the main box. I've also felt the tubed area where the heater element is - nothing Any ideas oh, one of the new bits this year was the heater element

That doesn't really mean the heater is not working. Those indicator bulbs are usually neon and do wear out.

You won't be able to feel heat at the heater. It's not a lot of power going into the element anyway...

If you rotate the temp knob low to high can you hear the contactor 'click' on and off?

Unfortunately no clicking

Try it on high speed to see if that will kick it on. If so, then suspect your pressure switch needing adjustment. If not, then suspect that it may be that something is amiss from you replacing everything :" title="Question" /> You are getting good water pressure right? And check that switch setting on the front panel.

When I move the temp switch on the command center I hear a quiet click from there but nothing from the main box. By high speed do you mean pressing the jets button. I think I'm getting good pressure, the jets really kick out when i turn them on. And you mention check the switch on the front panel, which one (now you can see I'm really new at this " title="Smile" /> Roughly what should my pressure switch be set at (tight / loose)

Leave the jets off.

Turn the knob from low to high and that should turn on the main pump to low speed.

See if that works.

If not, then change the switch position on the front panel of the controller (that freeze thing).

if you mean the temp knob, should it automatically start circulating if I switch it to high? If I'm not in freeze mode or I haven't got the clock starting the circulation, the temperature dial only clicks quietly, the heat light on the command center comes on but nothing else happens.

Thanks again for your help - I'll leave it running on freeze mode overnite and let you know how it went

Was your previous topside control thermostat made with a copper tubing type of sensor (capillary)?

And, does the new one have something different (as in wire with plastic sensor case)?

Good Morning
Both the same other than four buttons instead of 2 on the newer command center (jets 1, jets 2, blower and light - just using jets 1 and light) The original one had just jets 1 and light otherwise looked exactly the same (both tecmark command centers). Both have a grey wire with what appears to be a 2" black plastic sensor on the end - This plugs into a white tube on the moulding of the tub.

I've just played with the pressure switch, loosening it and heard a click and a low hum - not automatically circulating the water though - should it do that? The heat light was off on the command center. I then started the circulation on the timer and the command center heat light came on (still no heat light in the main box)

Current temperature is 57 so i'll give it a couple of hours and check it again. We have snow here and current temp outside is -2. If working, roughly how long should it take in these conditions to heat?

Hopefully discovered the problem - when my friend had the spa guy out he replaced the relay. The only problem being that he replaced it with a 240v relay instead of a 120v.

New one on order so hoping for the best.

Thanks again for your help.