New Jacuzzi - LED lights issue

[amy2421]

Our new Jacuzzi J-470 has LED lights in the center jet, headrests, cupholders and waterfall. Last night the two right-side seats' headrests and cupholders weren't lighting up correctly. In any lighting combo that used the blue lights, they didn't light up so the purple was just red, blue was off, cyan was just green, etc. We tried cycling the lights which didn't help, so we turned them off. When we were finished using the tub, I turned them back on and they worked properly again.

Any thoughts on what might cause this issue?

[BullFrogSpasMN]

sometimes with all the various electronics in a spa they act up like a computer does and basically requires a reset of the breaker.  If you've reset it and it starts doing it again it will most likely require a warranty service call to replace the LED controller which is basically the "brains" of the lights.

[amy2421]

It went away for a few days and now the same problem is back. I guess I need to make a service call.

Should I be concerned about parts being replaced already on a 2+ week old spa?

[av8r]

It went away for a few days and now the same problem is back. I guess I need to make a service call.

Should I be concerned about parts being replaced already on a 2+ week old spa?

I wouldn't be.  Infant mortality on parts is actually a good thing.  Get it over with now rather than when it's out of warranty.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

It went away for a few days and now the same problem is back. I guess I need to make a service call.

Should I be concerned about parts being replaced already on a 2+ week old spa?

I wouldn't be.  Infant mortality on parts is actually a good thing.  Get it over with now rather than when it's out of warranty.

being it's one issue regarding one part (lights, which is a very common fail point since every manufacturer feels the need to cram 30 lights in every hot tub) I wouldn't worry to much unless you start seeing re-occurring issues esp. regarding the lights because I believe they DO NOT fall under the 5 component warranty like your pumps, heater, etc. do

[mrpenguin]

Sad to hear I am not the only one.   This is exactly what happened with me.  It just got worse and the others started to go too.  Depressing that you can spend that much on a tub and something so cheap as an LED can make you that sad.  Here's my original post when mine went: http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/forum/index.php/topic,17960.msg185059.html#msg185059

I had to have all 4 cupholders and the waterfall LED systems swapped out already.   It is not easy, but it is not impossible.  Less than a year later, I now have the replacement waterfall having issues.  I think it goes to poor craftsmanship.  Looking at the cupholders, it seemed a few of mine were cracked in some way.  Probably over-tightened when installing.   This second waterfall light I can see water got into it.   They are only covered for one year, and my dealer was slow to get it fixed to start.   They also want $200 for the waterfall light.   I think I will disassemble it and see if I can fix it myself.   The devices themselves are pretty simple.  Just some LEDs and resistors.

One thing that may work and be easy, and I really hope is the issue for you :
Take off the panels in the front corners.   There are blue boxes with a bunch of SVHS cables (at least in my model)
Make sure they are all pushed in all the way.
You can see a picture of what I am talking about here: http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/forum/index.php/topic,17965.msg185113.html#msg185113

I have accepted that our LEDs will soon all be dead again and Either I need to pay a bunch for them, or just move on.   

[av8r]

LED emitters can be very cheaply made or made to last decades.  Guess which ones are likely used in a hot tub? 

[BullFrogSpasMN]

LED emitters can be very cheaply made or made to last decades.  Guess which ones are likely used in a hot tub?

not all brands have these issues, with a little research and reading of "owner reviews" you can easily see the ones that have the most issues

[av8r]

LED emitters can be very cheaply made or made to last decades.  Guess which ones are likely used in a hot tub?

not all brands have these issues, with a little research and reading of "owner reviews" you can easily see the ones that have the most issues

Right...that's my point.  The cost difference between quality or cheap emitters is so small now it's a dumb place to try to save money.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

   We might have dealt with 2 or 3 light issues a year on Jacuzzi's pretty low failure rate but it happens.

[icenogle]

My J-345 must have went down a differnet assembly line, so far everything works great.  Hope they fix your tub issues.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

LED emitters can be very cheaply made or made to last decades.  Guess which ones are likely used in a hot tub?

not all brands have these issues, with a little research and reading of "owner reviews" you can easily see the ones that have the most issues

Or are they just selling many more spas? A company that makes 25K spas a year and has 50 complaints is better than a company that makes 5k spas a year and has 20 complaints.

[amy2421]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Hopefully this will be our biggest hiccup with our new tub.

I had thought about trying to see if it is a loose connection, but I'm going to book a service call anyhow so the technician can figure it out. That way, if it's a parts issue they can install or order whatever is necessary.

The local dealer offers free warranty repairs for the first 30 days, then there is a $39 trip fee for repairs after that (even "warranty" repairs.) Obviously I'm hoping not to need a lot of service on it, but I wish I'd investigated that more when we had purchased it.

[amy2421]

The Jacuzzi service technician came out this morning and found a connector that had gotten a bit loose. First he checked the connections in the main control panel area and they were all seated properly. Then he removed the panel directly to the right of the control panel (all the blue lights that were out were on the right side of the tub.) He reached behind the SmartSeal insulation and immediately found the connector, pushed it back all the way together, and we had blue lights again! So it was an easy fix. I am glad we didn't have to start replacing lights or control boards or other parts!

[icenogle]

Glad you got that fixed blue and purple are my favorite colors for the lights.