Power at board. Panel works. But nothing works. No light. No pumps. Nothing.

[xenon2000]

I have a Diamondback Spas, generic spa I figure. Running on a Balboa 53414 Board EL2001 MACH2. 2 jet pumps, 1 with heater and filter. 1 light. 1 blower pump. 1 O3 system.


It was working fine. Then we had several weeks of monsoon storms and now it does nothing. The control panel works and lights up. No codes. Responds to button presses and lights up the icons like it is turn the light on, or any of the 3 pumps. But nothing actually happens. Act like none of the components have power. All 3 pumps and the light can't all have died at the same time. I have reset the breaker box. Same thing. I have tested all the fuses, they are good. I tested the extra leads on the board that go to the Neutral, Black, and Red hot mains and those have power too.


I can't think of anything else to look into. I figure it has to be something with the board.. it's only 1 year and 10 months old. But doesn't mean something didn't happen to it. Any ideas on what to check for? Just seems odd that ALL the functions don't work even though the panel does.[/FONT]

 

[kimkats]

No ideas but here is a bump to get this in front of more eyes.

 

[danpik]

I tested the extra leads on the board that go to the Neutral, Black, and Red hot mains and those have power too.

[/FONT]

What are you using to test with? You mentioned you have power on the neutral...I am suspecting you are using a non-contact tester. If so, you need to use a Volt/Ohm meter.

Dan

 

[xenon2000]

What are you using to test with? You mentioned you have power on the neutral...I am suspecting you are using a non-contact tester. If so, you need to use a Volt/Ohm meter.

Dan

Correct, Volt/Ohm meter. Neutral is 0 volts to ground, passes continuity tested to the board. So all the connections for all 4 incoming White, Green, Red, Black are tested via check points on the board. I will update original post, it's an EL2000 board in a metal housing that says EL2001.

 

[jza1736]

Please post a pic of the board.

How did you test the fuses?

 

[xenon2000]

Please post a pic of the board.

How did you test the fuses?

I have other pics of certain parts of the board if looking for something specific. I will need to take out the fuses to test them all. But visually they look good and hard to imagine ALL the fuses would blow at the same time yet the display works fine.

 

[jza1736]

The best way to test the fuses is to pull them and test for continuity with a meter. You can also go across the ends of the fuses with a volt meter. It should read 0. If you see voltage, the fuse is bad.

My balboa board was DOA when I first got my spa. There was a very small 125ma 250v fuse. That was blown. I replaced that but still nothing. They had to replace my board in a brand new spa

 

[xenon2000]

The best way to test the fuses is to pull them and test for continuity with a meter. You can also go across the ends of the fuses with a volt meter. It should read 0. If you see voltage, the fuse is bad.

My balboa board was DOA when I first got my spa. There was a very small 125ma 250v fuse. That was blown. I replaced that but still nothing. They had to replace my board in a brand new spa

Man I hope the whole board didn't go bad, it's only 1 year 10 months old. At least I was told it was a new board being installed and it looks new. Though it says 2003 on it, so maybe these sit in a warehouse for years.

Any way for me to energize any of the pump relays manually?

 

[jza1736]

I would start at the breaker and a volt meter. Verify you have the correct voltage. Then verify it's correct at the board where it comes in. If you are not comfortable checking the power live, then I suggest calling in a tech.

 

[xenon2000]

I would start at the breaker and a volt meter. Verify you have the correct voltage. Then verify it's correct at the board where it comes in. If you are not comfortable checking the power live, then I suggest calling in a tech.

As my original post mentions, I did test the power. I will list the numbers here though since I only said that I tested them and didn't originally give the voltages.

Neutral to Ground = 0 volts
Neutral to Red hot = 121 volts
Neutral to Black hot = 121 volts
Red to Black hot = 241 volts

Ground to Red hot = 121 volts
Ground to Black hot = 121 volts

Tested both at the screw terminals directly where the main leads come in. As well as at the board terminals available for Neutral, Red, and Black.

 

[jza1736]

You can try this to verify if it's the motors.

Turn the power off.

Pull 1 of the white clips out. With the 14/3 wires.

Turn the power back on

Turn all the pumps on from the control panel

Test the terminals on the board where you removed the clip. Make sure you test where the black and white wires go.

If you have 120v, turn the pumps off on the control panel 1 at a time and test again. see which one turns it off.

When off, plug the connector back in and turn it on. Follow the wire to the pump,it should be on.

If you didn't have 120v then it's most likely a board problem.



This is a tech from premium leisure.
That's my spa. I believe they bought balboa, but I'm not 100%.

Larry Hot Tub Parts

727-573-9611* ext 288

He was very knowledgeable with my tub. Maybe he can help you

 

[xenon2000]

You can try this to verify if it's the motors.
Turn the power off.
Pull 1 of the white clips out. With the 14/3 wires.
Turn the power back on
Turn all the pumps on from the control panel
Test the terminals on the board where you removed the clip. Make sure you test where the black and white wires go.
If you have 120v, turn the pumps off on the control panel 1 at a time and test again. see which one turns it off.
When off, plug the connector back in and turn it on. Follow the wire to the pump,it should be on.
If you didn't have 120v then it's most likely a board problem.

So odd. Both of the pump plug terminals with the pumps disconnected and panel showing both pumps running full power, show as below:
Ground to White Neutral = 120v, expected 0
Ground to Red Hot = 120v
Ground to Black Hot = 120v
Red hot to Black hot = 0 volts, expected 240v

Tub water light turned on, but no output at the plug. Same test with Blower motor terminal, 3 wires in use. No power there either.

I figured from the start it's a board issue since what are the chances all the fuses or all the pumps and lights went out at the same time. Since it was working fine for months with the new board and then just stopped one day.

What I would like to find out is what is wrong with the board and repair it. Crazy this "new" board didn't last 1 year. And odd that the control panel doesn't show any error codes and appears to act like everything is working at the panel level.

 

[jza1736]

Are they 2 speed pumps?

What do you get white to red or black?

White may not be a neutral

Does your meter test low voltage?
Lights may be low voltage

 

[jza1736]

And when you turn the pumps off with the control panel does the power turn off at the terminals?

 

[xenon2000]

Are they 2 speed pumps?

What do you get white to red or black?

White may not be a neutral

Does your meter test low voltage?
Lights may be low voltage

And when you turn the pumps off with the control panel does the power turn off at the terminals?

Terminal power for each pump didn't change when turning off or changing speed of either pump at the panel.

White to Red or black was 0 volts for both dual speed jet pumps.

Tested the 2 prong light output with auto range DC and AC settings.

 

[jza1736]

That sounds like a board problem. I'm not a tech, I'm an electrician. But that's just my gut feeling.

 

[xenon2000]

That sounds like a board problem. I'm not a tech, I'm an electrician. But that's just my gut feeling.

Thanks. That's my though as well from my original post. Has to be a board issue. I am just trying to figure out how to repair it since it cost over $400 and is less than 2 years old. I have contacted Balboa about the warranty.