Arctic Spas Ground Fault or Short Circuit

Spa trips the GFCI breaker immediately or shortly after turning on.

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Safety Warning

This repair may involve working with high voltage components or water connections. Always unplug the appliance before removing any panels.

If you are not confident in your ability to perform this repair safely, we strongly recommend contacting a professional technician.

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Possible Causes

Water intrusion into pump motor, Shorted heater element to ground, Damaged wiring harness in equipment bay, Failed ozone generator or UV ballast causing ground fault

How to Fix / Troubleshooting

Safety first: Repeated breaker tripping indicates a potentially dangerous fault. Only qualified persons should perform live electrical testing.

  • Visual inspection: With power off, inspect all components in the equipment bay for signs of water leaks, corrosion, or burned wiring.
  • Isolate components: Disconnect non-essential loads (ozone, UV, auxiliary pumps) one at a time and attempt to reset the breaker to identify the faulty circuit.
  • Test heater to ground: With heater leads disconnected, measure resistance from each heater terminal to ground. Any continuity indicates a ground fault and the heater must be replaced.
  • Check pumps: Inspect pump motors for moisture and test windings to ground. Replace any Arctic Spas pump showing a ground fault.
  • Do not bypass GFCI: Never bypass or upsize the GFCI breaker to stop nuisance trips; find and correct the underlying fault.
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Repair Difficulty

Professional Required 5/5
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