Jazuzzi Problem and Service Fee???

[johnnythunders]

Hey alllll
I have a Jacuzzi J-355 and wanted to use it but was unable too....
On the LCD display it had 4 Minus lines across it.
I shut the braker outside and waited afew mins and turned it on.......
It was at 64-65 degrees a few days ago.....
And then it said Cool - Flo

I call jacuzzi and they asked if I just filled my Spa up and I said no,And then Jacuzzi said do I have a Clean Filter on,And I said yes its brand new....
Lady at Jacuzzi said its the FLOW Switch..........

Called my local Jacuaai dealer and its taking them a few days to get here,Called fri and they said it will be Tuesday before someone comes out,dammmmm I was hoping that I would be in their during the snow storm lol...

Today is Monday and the Jacuzzi is at 75 degress and the FLOW is still on and i am just wondering that my local dealer says its a $90 Charge but the Parts are covered........Hummm the spa if 1 year 6 months old and wondering if all repairmen charge the $90 service fee???JohnnyT

[Guzz]

If you are some distance from the dealer he may be charging you a travel charge. Most premium spa warranties include parts & labor, there would'nt normally be a service fee IMO.

[chaunceyboyblu]

hey i just filled up my j 385 yesterday and it was 9 deg outside. i think i had it pretty dry before leaving it. anyway after filling it it said the same thing. flo then cool .... i folloiwed the instructions to prime, remove filter closest to waterfalls and insert hose with a lot of pressure and put a towel around the edges of the hose. it fixed it right away.

[johnnythunders]

Funny thing,,,,I just shut off the Spa for like the 3rd time within  4 days for about 10 mins....Took both filters off and took the Nature2 out of the filter and turned the spa on and it works now.........
Its was 76 degress and now its 92 degress.....No More Flo Light Blinking on and off
Strange that it starts to work after about 5 days of not warming up......Glad its working and saving $90 for service fee........JT

[Brewman]

Keep an eye on it for a few days, just to be sure.
Never know if you have an intermittent problem on your hands or if you're out of the woods.

I have that same issue when I refill the Optima- FLO message till I force some water into the plumbing like chaunceyboyblu says.  Sometimes loosening the diverter valve retaining cover to let air escape helps, too.  While the pump is shut off.  Don't ask me how I know that.

[tony]

While the pump is shut off.  Don't ask me how I know that.

HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love it, lol.

[johnnythunders]

I know that there can be a airlock when refilling a spa,I always put the hose into one side where the filter is.
But the spa was running with no problems for a month and then bingo i had a problem lol.....
Its at 102 now and its a fine nite to go into the spa...I will keep a watch.Thanks JohnnyT

[dpgtech]

Johnny, a very common cause for for that flo message if you have not recently refilled is a clogged filter. if you pulled the filters and turned power on with the filters out and the flo went away, it is likely the circ pump filter was clogged.   unfortunately your dealer and jacuzzi should have asked you to take your filter out and see if the flow goes away.  first thing i ask when someone has a flow message, saves me and the consumer time and hassle if it takes care of the problem.  I always ask the customer to take out the filter even if they say they are new or i just cleaned them.  I had to learn the hard way by many wasted  trips to a customers house to find out the filter was clogged. not saying that was the reason your's stopped but generally if you have flo and pull the filter out and the flo goes away, it's the filter. and as to the service charge this is more than likely straight from your dealer, as Jacuzzi's warranty cover's part's and labor.  we do not charge a travel charge but every dealer is different.  shame on him for not disclosing whether he charges for travel at time of the sale.  

[oldersparepairguy]

I do some work for a few dealers, and some manufacturers allow dealers to charge warranty customers a "nominal" travel charge. This fee varies, and is usually set by the dealer. $90 sounds a little high, but I do not know how far the dealer is traveling to get to you. Most dealers waive this fee on very new spas (say, less than 12 months), again, this is up to the individual dealer. As for "cool" in the display of Sundance or Jacuzzi ( They both have the same electronic controllers inside now) this just means the water temp is significantly lower thanthe set temp. This is normal if you just filled the spa with 50 degree water, or if the spa was shutdown for several days for some other reason. It will go away when the temp goes up. "flo" is another story. This indicates a problem with the water that is supposed to be flowing through the heater. Common problem here in the winter is ice in a circ pump during a winter start up. Sometime you get the flo due to air in system after a drain and fill, but this is usually temporary. My fingers are getting tired.........

[tony]

Funny thing,,,,I just shut off the Spa for like the 3rd time within  4 days for about 10 mins....Took both filters off and took the Nature2 out of the filter and turned the spa on and it works now.........
Its was 76 degress and now its 92 degress.....No More Flo Light Blinking on and off
Strange that it starts to work after about 5 days of not warming up......Glad its working and saving $90 for service fee........JT

You mention taking out the N2 cartridge from the filter.  Maybe that could have caused a flow problem.  I am not a fan of putting mineral cartidges inside the filter.  I lay them on top outside of the plumbing.  Not sure if this is possible with the filter configuration on the Jacuzzi.

[Wisoki]

Y'all are forgetting that initially JT said he had 4 minus signs on his display. This is "watch dog" mode. and it typically means a bad temp sensor, or a bad flow sensor. You can reset your system by shutting the spa off for a few minutes, but ultimatly, until the problem is corrected properly, this will be a recuring issue.

Johnny, a very common cause for for that flo message if you have not recently refilled is a clogged filter. if you pulled the filters and turned power on with the filters out and the flo went away, it is likely the circ pump filter was clogged.   unfortunately your dealer and jacuzzi should have asked you to take your filter out and see if the flow goes away.  first thing i ask when someone has a flow message, saves me and the consumer time and hassle if it takes care of the problem.  I always ask the customer to take out the filter even if they say they are new or i just cleaned them.  I had to learn the hard way by many wasted  trips to a customers house to find out the filter was clogged. not saying that was the reason your's stopped but generally if you have flo and pull the filter out and the flo goes away, it's the filter. and as to the service charge this is more than likely straight from your dealer, as Jacuzzi's warranty cover's part's and labor.  we do not charge a travel charge but every dealer is different.  shame on him for not disclosing whether he charges for travel at time of the sale.  

[orlandoguy]

I recently bought replacement filters off ebay for half the price of the factory Jacuzzi filters, and exactly the right fit.  The only difference is the filters don't open in the center, which would be a problem if I used the N2 system in the traditional manner.

[J._McD]

I recently bought replacement filters off ebay for half the price of the factory Jacuzzi filters, and exactly the right fit.  The only difference is the filters don't open in the center, which would be a problem if I used the N2 system in the traditional manner.

In our earlier years in this business, we found a filter manufacturer that made filters at a lower price than we were paying and bought some only to have customer complaints early on.  That was the price we paid for our education ant that was back in the 80's.  It not any different today, you can always get something cheaper, that dosen't mean it is the same or that it is just as good either.

3oz., 6oz., remay material or different material, there are differences.  I find the best results with Unicel filters but there are several filter supliers that sell filters.  They are not all the same, and neither are the prices.  

The thing about the internet, you do not know what your are getting.  Ask it is a Unicel Filter.

[dpgtech]

we also use unicel with great results, they make a filter for just about any spa out there and are quality filters for less than a factory replacement.  as mentioned above for Jacuzzi unicel does not make the filter with the removable top if you are interested the unicel Jacuzzi filter is called the 6CH-960

[johnnythunders]

wowwww all these knowlegible people on here lol....
Well I always try to fill my spa around Dec so its not cold outside.
And yes I didnot use the Jacuzzi Filter but think it was a Unicel filter.....
It was warm all winter so i really didnot use the spa that much,but cleaned it everyweek with a teespoon..
Last Thursday I went to clean it and had the Minus lines on the LCD display...
Shut it off from powerbox outside for a few mins and the Minus line went away butttt the Cool and flo was on,Temp was at 64-65....
Fri rolled around and still at 64-65
Sunday same thing
Monday temp was 74 and the FLO was still on,took the filters off and looked cleaned but a tad of dirt and took the hose and sprayed the filter.
Also took the Nature2 out and and turned the spa back on and the FLO was not on anymore but the COOL stayed on a hour and went off and the spa went to 102 within a few hours....
As of now I am not having any problems......
Could it be the Filter?Waters been in spa for 2 months.
Or maybe some freaky happen?with the Minus lines.....
Glad it works before the Tech came out.....Thanks JohnnyT