Hot Tub Breaker Keeps Tripping: What to Check
A breaker or GFCI that trips is the spa protecting you from a fault. Resetting it again and again can hide a dangerous problem. Do the checks below once, then call us.
Electrical safety: the spa's electrical equipment can cause serious injury or death. Before you touch anything near the equipment, turn the spa off at its breaker or disconnect. Do not open the equipment cover, control box or panel. Wiring, breakers, GFCIs, heaters and control boxes must be repaired by a licensed electrician or qualified technician.
If you feel tingling or a shock: get out of the water, stay out, and keep others out. Do not touch the spa or its equipment. For smoke or fire, call 911 first, then call us.
Safe checks you can do
- Turn the spa off at its control panel, then turn it off at its breaker in the main panel.
- Turn the breaker back on. Press the GFCI reset once, and only once. Watch the spa.
- Note when it trips: right away, when the pump or heater starts, or after a while. This helps us find the fault faster.
- From outside the equipment area, look for standing water, a damaged cover or debris. Do not open the equipment cover.
Stop and call us if
- It trips again after a reset, right away or within minutes of starting.
- You smell burning, hear buzzing or clicking, or see scorch marks on the panel or breaker.
- The breaker or panel feels warm, or water is near the panel or the equipment.
What usually causes it
- A pump or heater drawing too much current, or leaking current to ground.
- Moisture in a connection, a damaged cable, or a worn GFCI.
- Testing and replacing these parts is work for a licensed technician. Call us.