Troubleshooting Hot Tub Jets Not Working

Troubleshooting Hot Tub Jets Not Working

Since hot tub jets are the cornerstone of what makes a hot tub a refuge for relaxation, therapy, and overall enjoyment – not to mention often being the source of spa heat – it is important to quickly identify the cause of your jets not working.

In many cases, the solution is something that you can identify on your own without requiring a spa technician. In other cases, the service of a qualified spa technician is something you may want to acquire.

Either way, we recommend you try some of the following tips to identify and resolve the potential issue for your hot tub jets not to be working so that you can get back to enjoying the tranquility of your spa as soon as possible.

Check for an Airlock

An airlock occurs when there is air trapped in your pump(s) or plumbing that prevents the jets from properly engaging. This is a fairly common issue for the jets not to be working, especially after a hot tub has been drained and refilled. There are several ways to resolve this on your own. We have several tech-tips which address this for Dimension One Spas, but for all makes and models, there are a few things you can try to resolve an airlock in the spa.

1. First, make sure all of the water diverter valves are fully open to ensure proper flow and pressure, and check to ensure that the filter is not clogged. This can cause both an airlock issue and improper flow through the plumbing, which can affect jet pressure.
2. If the spa is still airlocked, you can try to power cycle the spa by turning the spa GFCI breaker off (for at least 30 seconds) and then turning it back on. Sometimes the surge of amperage to the pumps at the initial power-up is enough to force trapped air from the pump/plumbing.
3. Next, you can try to push trapped air out through the filter housing area. Insert a garden hose into the filter housing area (with the filter removed) and turn the water on high. The pressure from the water working through the plumbing and into the pumps may be enough to clear out any trapped air.
4. For Dimension One Spas and other spas with circulation pumps, please follow our Step-by-step tech tips here: 
5. If you are comfortable with accessing your spa pumps through your equipment compartment, you can also try to release trapped air directly from the pump. Often, you can do this by simply loosening the pump union and listening for trapped air release, and then tightening the union back up once you no longer hear this. Note that you will want to have the spa off while you try this, and that some water will also be released.

Listen for the spa pump relay to engage when you press the “jet” button.

1. 1. If you hear a “clicking” sound when you press the jet button on your control panel, then the control is communicating correctly with the circuit board and “instructing” the pump to engage.
      1. If the pump is not turning on, then the issue could be with either the pump or the Circuit Board. It’s also possible that there could be a power/voltage issue with your incoming power from the spa GFCI breaker to the hot tub.
   2. If the pump is making a humming or grinding noise but not engaging, this most likely indicates a pump issue.
   3. If you do not hear a “clicking” sound of a relay on the circuit board, then it’s possible that the control panel could be defective and not sending the signal for the pump to engage.
   4. If the pump is not making any noise but you can hear the relay on the circuit board “click”, this generally indicates a defective circuit board fuse, a circuit board relay problem, or a power issue. It is recommended that you seek out a Spa Technician to determine the cause, but for reference, the below image shows an example of a pump fuses (red) and pump circuit board relays (blue).

For more troubleshooting and tech tips, please feel free to reach out to our experienced technician team at techhelp@easyspaparts.com