I have a Jacuzzi circa 1998 model Z140 spa. The 50 amp gfi breaker is continually trippinhg. The electronic control box is a Balboa instruments MODEL, DU-H276-DCAH. A relay on the circuit board chatters and emits a white substance when the breaker is turned on. I have repaired several knicks in the wiring b ut still the breaker continues to trip. Any ideas?

Hi,

There are some things to check.
Make sure the vents on your cabinet are not obstructed.
Make sure your filter cycle is not too long
Make sure you are not running high speed for more then 30 mins.

Have you looked through the Balboa error message site. I have attached a link follow your error through and you may find your answer. Diagnostic Messages

#1. DO NOT GET INTO TUB FULL OF WATER WITH A GROUND FAULT.
2. There is a short. You need to get multimeter and start checking each part for current running to ground wire.
3) Power is ON. Connect power without GFCI.
4) Tape tester leads to wood sticks to keep hands away from power.
5) Do not touch anything directly or you will become the ground rod.
6) Ground wire must be present, and bonded back to main panel box.
7) Do not sit or touch directly on cement or bare ground. Do not touch or lean into anything made of metal.
8) Body and parts must be on sheet of plywood, or similar non-conductive dry surface.
9) Test each part with spa, but also test electric line coming from main box.
10) GFCI will also trip with any fault detected on line. So the wire coming to spa may have the fault.
11) Add a new dedicated line from main box to spa.

http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-wire-GFCI.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/See-inside-main-breaker-box.html

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gene_9f0ef4df2f9897e7

This is most likely a heater issue. The technician needs todisconnect both heater leads to see if the breaker will hold. This will help you determine where theelectrical problem is occurring and why it is tripping.
You can find answers to common spa orbath problems online at http://www.balboadirect.com/support.aspx Hope that helps!

Understand that this information isbeing provided as-is and without warranty or guarantee. As with allelectrical components and devices, all work should be performed by a licensedspa or pool technician. Serious injury or death can occur if a component isimproperly repaired or installed. This islikely an issue with the GFCI breaker not being able to handle the load or aproblem with the high speed of the pump.

You can find answers to common spa orbath problems online at http://www.balboadirect.com/support.aspx Hope that helps!

Check or substitute motor capacitor

Where are you from?

If you live in the UK give me a call/email as I have worked on lots of Catalina Spas over the years.
http://hottub.synthasite.com

Regards,
Ian.

Breaker, even GFI's are designed to trip at 135% to 600% over there load rate, so not to scare you but it depends more on the wire used from the main panel to the dryer/hot tube then the breaker. A GFI's claim to fame is the speed at which it will trip if voltage is detected on the ground side of the breaker. So to answer a question with a question, Can you overload a GFI without tripping it, Yes you can, just be careful the life of your hot tube motor and heater could be in danger if you overload the circuit.

load neutral connects to the neutral binding screw on the GFI, do NOT connect the load neutral to the neutral bar.