IQ2020 blown heater relay compromise power to main board too?

[destep]

What a fantastic forum to have!  I'm new to the board and want to see if anyone has experience or suggestions with the following.

I have a 2001 Jetsetter with the IQ2020 control panel.  I too just suffered from the heater control relay burnout.  I have recently replaced the heating element (last year) and the circulation pump (last week).  Would the heater control relay burnout possibly affect the main pump from turning on?  Before I removed the heater board to check the back of it, the pump wouldn't turn on when I tried to put it in the "Clean" or "Run" mode.  I'd hear a click somewhere on the main IQ2020 board, a red light would come on right in the middle of the main circuit board (not the lights that deal with heater on/off, etc) until I turned off whatever mode I was trying to put the pump in.

I'm thinking since the main power suppy comes into the heater control board, that after a burnout, power supply to the main circuit board could be compromised and all bets are off (so to speak) on whether anything that draws power from the main circuit board would actually work.

Bottom line - should I go ahead and order an ENTIRE IQ2020 replacement (comes with the heater relay board)?  Or would you suggest just replacing the heater control board at 1/3 the cost to see what happens?

Thanks in advance for any advice/guidance offered!

[Chas]

This is not going to be a one-word answer! You need to know if the jet pump has issues first. I would recommend calling a HotSpring tech.

If you want to continue on your own, I would test the pump by unplugging it from the mother board and applying power to it. If it doesn't run, You will need to get that taken care of first, THEN go back to troubleshooting the HR board. At the same time, check to see if there is power going to the jet pump - and that will tell you if you need a mother board or not.

Yes, sometimes the heater relay board can 'take out' a mother board, but it is rare. And you usually know it right away because some other function, or many other functions, stop working. Every time I go out to replace a HR board I do this first:

• Check breakers in sub panel if so equipped
• Check all other functions: heat adjustment, light, jets, clean cycle
• Check heater itself (around 10 ohms)
• Then I look for a faint gray haze on the bottom of the box
• Then I replace the HR board

In your case, it seems the jet pump was not working. OK - as I said above, check it separately before you shell out the cash - and check to see if the mother board is sending out power TO the jet pump.

I haven't had that many mother boards get fried by bad HR boards - maybe three or four. But each of those times the mother board 'went nuts.' By that I mean that the functions would be very strange indeed: light button turned on the jets, or the display was wacky - something that indicated heat was not the only thing wrong.

One more thing: if you do replace the Mother board, it is a good idea to replace the control board as well.

HTH

 

[destep]

Fantastic advice, Chas! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge.

I'm sure it was accidental, but when the water had turned cold, I actually followed your diagnostic list.  This was Wednesday, couple weeks ago. Everything was working fine other than cool water - I had noticed during use that the circulation pump had lost some of its movement volume. I threw the breaker and removed the heating element and checked - 10 ohms. The circulation pump definitely had issues - lol. Cheap part, so I ordered and installed. Put everything back together, fresh water, powered up and the circulation pump was definitely moving water (a LOT better than before), however, the red power light next to the temp display was blinking and temp control buttons wouldn't work. Just a dark display where temperature would normally show. Odd I thought, so I let it stay for awhile and couldn't feel any hot water coming thru drain in the bottom. Decided to kick the breaker again and let it sit for a few minutes - turned breaker back on and the red power light was solid this time. Awhile later, still no hot water coming thru, so I suspected heater control. Before I kicked the breaker again, decided to check the jet pump - that's when I could here a click somewhere near the main board and that red light on the main board would come on. Temp buttons would work this time. Strange.

Pulled heater relay board and found it was blown in a couple places on the back.

I'll disconnect the jet pump tomorrow and see if it runs with direct power supplied, but it was working beautifully before the cold water symptoms.

Again, thank you so much for your time and dedication to responding thru this board! I've noticed you've helped a ton of folks along the way! 

[destep]

Hey Chas - just wanted to follow up on the troubleshooting.

Heater Relay board definitely solved the hot water issue.  Tub is up to temperature and the new circulation pump is doing a great job of keeping the flow going!   

"Clean" and "Jets" buttons still cause an audible "click" from somewhere on or behind the main circuit board and a red light comes on right in the middle of the main circuit board.  The light doesn't appear to have a label on the board - could it be a pressure sensor indicator?

I pulled the jet pump's wiring from the main board and tested with a separate 120v source - pump fires right up and sounds good and strong.  Next, I checked for voltage on the main board where the pump plugs in - when the "Clean"/"Jets" buttons are engaged, I'm getting 121v reading with the Ground and White posts and .02v with Ground and Black posts.   

FYI - ALL other functions work fine with the controls - Lights, temperature setting, display for when "Jets" button is engaged, and the "Clean" light when "Clean" cycle is engaged.

[Chas]

I would double check that - you should have close to Zero between Ground and Neutral, and 110 (approx) between black and white. The words for the colors are printed next to the contact point you want to plug into, or test in this case, and it is easy to get them mixed up.

If you have nothing (or very close to nothing) between black and white - even when the jets or clean cycle are engaged, then yes, I think your mother board may be bad. Specifically it might be a bad relay on the mother board. I don't know what part of the world you are in, or if you can shut the spa down at this time of the year, but if you send the IQ to me I would be glad to test it on the bench, and send you a video of the fun. (I'm in Southern Cal).

It is very rare to lose a mother board, even when the HRB goes bad, but it can happen.

[destep]

Hey Chas - wanted to post a follow-up and thank you for the offer to test the board for me.

After revisiting the voltage levels when the pump switch was engaged vs. disengaged, it was pretty apparent something had gone wrong with the main IQ2020 board.  I pulled the trigger and ordered a new one, which took about a week to arrive.  When I ordered it, I asked specifically if I needed new thermostat sensors due to the board redesign - they said 'No' - I should have trusted my instincts and ordered them anyway...that took ANOTHER week to come in.   

Anyway.... after hooking it all up, everything is back to working perfectly!  Since the new IQ2020 came with the heater relay, I now have a spare heater relay.  Totally fine with having an extra one stored away in the garage should something happen again.   

Thanks for offering up your knowledge and expertise!  It was GREAT help for my troubleshooting process!

Take care!
-David

[Flyonthewall]

glad its all working for you.  in future reference, for others facing this question, the main board and heater board are now available seperately.  the iq 2020 will no longer be available.  the sum of the 2 boards should be about 40-50 less than the whole iq 2020 sold for.