LA Spa HELP & ADVICE needed!

[Mildypug]

Hi all,

Firstly I am very new to this forum as I've been hunting the web for a suitable place to post my issues and concerns, I hope this is it.

I have a LA Spa Esteem, with moulded speakers and the LED's approx ages 10 years old.

In the last year or two we have let the tub/maintenance slip. (Now learning the hard way)

I have completely refreshed all the water and flushed the systems through but having some problems as below:

It doesn't heat:
Could be a control problem
Could be a heater problem

Power in some of the pumps seems a little low but all seem to work

Can't understand some of the control panel text:
Flashing dots
Random 3 digit numbers

It seems as if its starts the automatic cleaning cycle but doesn't stop

I'm not sure what sort of feedback I'm hoping for here but any help and guidance would be more than appreciated. I am trying to narrow down the issues to find the source of the problems and so far it seems to be a control panel issue but this is my diagnosis rather than a experts.

It can be expensive getting a UK LA Spa expert to come and assess but it maybe needed.

Thanks in advance,
James

[goneaway]

Hi James.
I'm not familair with any make or model, however, from what I've learnt, there needs to be flow for the heaters to work.
So these things have flow switches.
Assuming you have a good flow, then i'd check the following.

If your'e competent with a multi-meter, i'd start by removing the power.
Find the heater element, remove 1 wire and check for continuity across the terminals.
(remove 1 wire, just to stop you getting a reading through the pcb)
As it's basically a giant resistor, i would expect to see some measurements from it.
I'm presuming it's a 2kw heater, so provided my old school formulas still work, you should see about 25 ohms resistance through it.
After this i'd maybe look at the flow switch. It may look something like this http://www.poolandspacentre.co.uk/balboa-pressure-switch.html?gclid=COeOqLGKtLgCFafLtAodmS4A4A

With the pumps running, i'd expect either a closed circuit, and the opposite with no pumps running.

I dare say someone will be along shortly to advise better.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

If it's a Gecko pack, and you have  3 flashing dots???   Its a flow error.  That needs to be corrected before moving on too the next problem.   Could be a clogged filter, air lock or a bad circ pump or if no circ pump a main pump.   Could just be a bad pressure switch also..  If you can afford it just call a tech may be easier in the long run..

[Mildypug]

Thanks both.

I take on board what you've said.

Yes I get 3 flashing dots as well as other 2 and 3 digits showing. Is there any legend somewhere in the LA Spa history of codes which can translate the numbers and dots I'm getting to be ale to identify some of the problems?

I am looking to get a Spa maintence company in but very pricey in the UK.

James

[Sam]

How old are your filters?  When were they last soaked in filter cleaner.  That's a likely culprit.  Test this by removing the filters from the equation.  If the spa works without the filters in, then you have your answer.  Make sure that there is nothing in the water that could get sucked into the plumbing since there will be no filters in.

FYI, dirty filters are the most frequent cause of flow errors, at least from my experience.