How to adjust the Sunglow LED on a Sundance spa?

[squale]

I have a 2004 or 2005 Sundance Altamar and it has the Sunglow LED light system in it.  If I press the light button once, the light will come on and change colors randomly every 12 seconds.  If I press the button again, the light will start blinking different colors like every second.. this is very annoying, feels like you are in a dance club.  If I press the button a third time, the light will again do some fast paced random changing of colors, again feeling like I'm in a disco.  Then press it a fourth time and the light will turn off.

I'm wondering why if I press it a second or third time the light will not just decrease in brightness, but instead it does this crazy fast paced random light changing.  In the owners manual it says, on the first press the light comes on full brightness, the second press, it dims, the third press it dims more, the fourth press it shuts off.  Now in the owners manual it mentions putting a light cover lens over the light because the tub come standard with just a white light bulb.  Then the Sunglow LED lighting system is an optional upgrade.  So I think the spa might be a 2004 because I believe in 2005 the Sunglow LED came STANDARD on all Altamar models.  But anyhow, I just find the behavior of the Sunglow LED to be very annoying after the first press.  Is there a way to change these MODES of the lighting for each press of the light button?

Thanks

[tony]

I have a 2004 or 2005 Sundance Altamar and it has the Sunglow LED light system in it.  If I press the light button once, the light will come on and change colors randomly every 12 seconds.  If I press the button again, the light will start blinking different colors like every second.. this is very annoying, feels like you are in a dance club.  If I press the button a third time, the light will again do some fast paced random changing of colors, again feeling like I'm in a disco.  Then press it a fourth time and the light will turn off.

I'm wondering why if I press it a second or third time the light will not just decrease in brightness, but instead it does this crazy fast paced random light changing.  In the owners manual it says, on the first press the light comes on full brightness, the second press, it dims, the third press it dims more, the fourth press it shuts off.  Now in the owners manual it mentions putting a light cover lens over the light because the tub come standard with just a white light bulb.  Then the Sunglow LED lighting system is an optional upgrade.  So I think the spa might be a 2004 because I believe in 2005 the Sunglow LED came STANDARD on all Altamar models.  But anyhow, I just find the behavior of the Sunglow LED to be very annoying after the first press.  Is there a way to change these MODES of the lighting for each press of the light button?

Thanks

The owners manual is giving instructions on adjusting with the standard white bulb, not the Sunglow LED.  Sunglow adjusts with multiple presses of the light button.  The results you are getting from the LED light are not those of the SunGlow system which may indicate you have an aftermarket LED light.  Aftermarket LED light systems do not work well with the Sundance buttons because the Sundance buttons are dimming buttons.  You can purchase a SunGlow light to replace the standard incandescent light in previous year models and it will work correctly.

[squale]

well how do I know what light I have?  are you sure it shouldn't work like it is doing, after two presses it goes into disco mode?  because I have read online that others users get the same sort of action out of theirs.

did the 2005 Sundance Altamar come standard with the Sunglow LED light?

[tony]

well how do I know what light I have?  are you sure it shouldn't work like it is doing, after two presses it goes into disco mode?  because I have read online that others users get the same sort of action out of theirs.

did the 2005 Sundance Altamar come standard with the Sunglow LED light?

OK.  Just checked the Sundance site at the manuals.  2005 Altamars have the LED light standard.  2004 Altamars have the incandescent light.

2005 Altamar light...Six constant color variations.  Press light button once to turn on in random mode, then repeatedly press the button to turn light off or to select one of six constant colors as follows:

random-off-red-off-green-off-blue-off-orange-off-teal-off-violet-off.

You must press the light button within five seconds to prevent it from going back to random.   When in random mode, the lights last eight to twenty seconds in one color before switching to another.  There is no disco mode with the Sunglow.  It is either a nice flow from color to color or a constant color.  You may very well have a 2004 Altamar with an aftermarket LED light or a light that is not working correctly if a 2005.

If the owners manual you are reading from is the original and it describes the light as dimming, then you have a 2004.  The 2005 manual describes only the LED light.

[Brewman]

I'm betting it's an aftermarket LED.  The only way you'll know for sure it to look at the light- it might have some printing on it.  I've heard too that aftermarket LED's don't integrate very well with Sundances.
 I have the factory Sunglow, and it works exactly like Tony describes.  No disco mode (thank god- living thru that crap in the 70's was enough for one lifetime).

If you want to you can buy the Sunglow LED setup from a dealer.  It won't be particularly inexpensive, though.  

[squale]

well what I don't understand is that in the 2005 owners manual that you are describing, it doesn't say anything about when you press the light button a second or third time.  See on my tub, if you press the light button once, the light comes on in random mode and you get the FULL light symbol on the lcd panel.  Then if you press the light button again, you get the HALF light symbol on the lcd panel and the light starts changing colors very fast, like every second.  Then if you press the light button a third time, you get the LOW light symbol on the lcd panel and the light just starts randomly changing colors very very fast.  Then a fourth press of the button and the light system disappears and the light turns off.

Now on this tub, on the top of the Sentry panel board inside the tub, its says the manufacturer date of the tub is 5/2004.  Does this mean it's a 2004 or 2005 model?  I ask because I know often things are made far in advance to be sold as the next years model.  Just not sure with this thing, and I can't read the serial number to call Sundance and ask them.  the original owner I bought it from swears it's a 2005 model but I don't think they are right, I really think it's a 2004.  Are there any other ways to tell the difference between these 2 model years?

Thanks

[tony]

Its a 2004 and an early 2004.  2004 800 series spas from Sundance did not have the SunGlow.  I don't believe the SunGlow was even offered then.  I also believe you have an aftermarket LED light and aftermarkets don't work.  Only the SunGlow will work as it is supposed to.  I have researched this myself in the past because I was interested at one time to install an LED light.  I found aftermarket LEDs, though much less expensive, would not operate the same as the Sundance model.  They would exhibit the same problems you are encountering.  The problem lies with the Sundance dimming lights.  The aftermarkets work with simple on/off buttons but have huge problems with dimming buttons.  I opted not to get an LED system because I don't really like the random thing and to get to the color blue that I use most often, I would have to press a lot of buttons and there would be no dimming.  However, I now see that Sundance offers a simple blue LED light and will probably change to that when my bulb burns out.

BTW, I quoted almost word for word from the 2005 Sundance manual.  If you are referring to the paper manual you have, it is a 2004 manual and describes the dimming action of the light button.  The 2005 manual describes no dimming and only pushing buttons to get to different colors along with a graphic.  If you go to the Sundance web site, all the manuals are available for download in pdf format.

[squale]

is dimming available on the 2005 model?
or is it only to change colors?

[tony]

is dimming available on the 2005 model?
or is it only to change colors?

No dimming on 2005...just change colors.

[ssbraun]

My 2005 Maxxus has dimming on both the underwater and waterfall LED's...
SB

[tony]

My 2005 Maxxus has dimming on both the underwater and waterfall LED's...
SB

The 2005 Maxxus is an 880 series spa while the Altamar is an 850 series.  The Maxxus has the Aqua Terrace with lights and dimming features.  The Altamar does not.

[ssbraun]

Oh.

[LanHarjochee]

I think most LEDs have a lifetime of roughly 100,000 hours - in other words, you can run them for that amount of time before they would burn out.

Note that 100,000 hours is 4166 days, which is 11 years.

So these LEDs will last a lot longer than your cosplaying.