Spa mode and valves

[Severum88]

New homeowner. I can't for the life of me figure this out. The other day when I turned my jandy PDA to spa mode, the spa continued to overflow into the pool. I found my control valves and tried fiddling with the switches to no avail. They operate one direction or the other by flipping the switch....as long as the pump isn't actively running. I also think I have determined the bottom is my drain valve and the upper is the return. In the current mode showed in the picture, this returns water to the spa as well as the pool and seems to me my functional pool mode. When I hit spa mode, the upper valve rotates 180 clockwise and the bottom remains stationary. If I move the bottom 180 in the other direction, it seems to drain the spa. What am I missing?

Severum

 

[Bama Rambler]

Is there a pipe that we can't see coming in the bottom of the upper valve?

When the valve(s) rotate, do they rotate completely 180º?

You say"....as long as the pump isn't actively running" will they not turn if the pump is running, even by flipping the switch?

If one is turning and the other is not, then it's running the spa in overflow mode. In order for it to operate in stand alone mode both valves have to rotate completely.

Are there any other actuated valves in the system?

 

[Severum88]

Is there a pipe that we can't see coming in the bottom of the upper valve? Yes third leg on both pipes from what I can tell.

When the valve(s) rotate, do they rotate completely 180º? They both rotate 180 when using the toggle switches.

You say"....as long as the pump isn't actively running" will they not turn if the pump is running, even by flipping the switch? That is right. If my pump is running the switch does not affect the valves at all.

If one is turning and the other is not, then it's running the spa in overflow mode. In order for it to operate in stand alone mode both valves have to rotate completely.

Are there any other actuated valves in the system? None that I can find yet.

 

[Bama Rambler]

That is right. If my pump is running the switch does not affect the valves at all.

That means that the valves aren't getting any power at all when the pump is running. Sounds like a controller problem to me. Since they do get power when it's off.

 

[Severum88]

Update. Thanks for the advice. It ended up being a faulty actuator and not the controller. The actuator was swapped and all is well! Thank you!

 

[Bama Rambler]

It's odd that it would work unless the pump was running. Glad you go it figured out anyway.