Hello, new user here, and so glad I found this forum! Been surfing around here for the last hour or so just amazed at all the great advice...and finally got around to searching for what I came here for in the first place. lol.
I have an A&A Low-Profile Tsunami Water Valve Kit, which I believe is the same/similar as that shown in the pic posted by Melt In The Sun above. I had the same issue with the pop-ups suddenly stopping (in the deep end for me as well, though sound like that's just coincidence) in one location and continuing to run. I checked the water valve unit and the impeller was still spinning, but the gears were not rotating. I removed the lid, checked the gears, and they rotated fine by hand. I set the impeller back in place and turned it, which turned the gears no problem. Problem solved I think! I put the lid back on, turn on the pump, and the impeller starts spinning, but the gears still aren't moving...
So i then take the whole gear unit apart, check the T-valves, they all seem to be functioning properly (no resistance to lift/lower). I reinstall the cam on top of the anti-friction washers, making sure only 1 T-valve is raised and the cam rotates freely and lifts all T-valves in sequence. I reinstall the gear plate on the cam, make sure the stainless steel shims are in place on the center shaft post of the gear plate, then reinstall the impeller. I spin the impeller and the gears spin freely. Eureka!? Nope...i put the lid back on, turn on the pump, and again the impeller starts spinning, but the gears still aren't moving...
The impeller appears to be "popping up" and becoming dislodged from the gear set as soon as the pump is turned on? Is this an impeller/gears issue, or maybe some kind of "safety" device to prevent the gears from trying to turn? I thought maybe I had an issue with the pop-ups in the zone (deep end) the gears had initially stopped on, but durring the reinstall I changed the open valve to the zone that controls my elevated spa and the pop-ups came up in there (and went down in the deep end) no problem.
The entire gear set and T-valves are less than 2 years old, as is the actuator lid...the only thing that hasn't been replaced at this point is the body of the unit. The system ran perfect for the past 2 years since the gear/lid replacement.
Any suggestions/advice greatly appreciated! Thanks!