I. Trips GFCI
First, check the equipment and electrical connections for any water. Water
dripping onto equipment will cause the gfci to trip.
1.
Most common cause is the heater. If the gfci pops instantly its almost always
the heater. To isolate, do the following:
Turn off power. On MOST spas the heater is a canister heater and simply plugs
into the side of the control box. If you have this style, unplug the heater cord from
the side of the control box.
On models with horizontal heater connected to the control box, remove the cover
on the control box. You will see 2 wires from the heater post to the board
terminal. You need to disconnect both wires connecting the board to the heater
posts.
Turn ON power. If the spa comes on and operates fine without tripping the gfci as
it did previously, you have identified the heater as the cause. That is common
because the heater’s element can crack or corrode enough for the voltage to leak
and the gfci to see the leak to ground and trip.
NOTE: On some spas the heater is not turned on until after the #1 pump comes
on. You must wait until that occurs.
2.
If the spa still trips the spa, try disconnecting the ozonator and leaving
disconnected to test to see if that is the problem.
3.
It the two steps above don’t isolate the problem, then the circ or #1 pump
could cause the problem. Usually the motor will be hot to the touch. But either
way, sporadic gfci failure is most likely the pump/motor.
4.
In rare cases the gfci tripping is caused by the board. It’s the least likely
cause.
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