Topside Control  

Topside failure is most often obvious. One or more buttons when you press them do not respond BUT the others do and the spa operates fine. If that is your problem OR the actual skin of the topside or integrity of the topside is visually damaged, its time for a new topside. All topsides are fairly easy to install. The cord has some type of disconnect. So with power off you snap out old and snap in new.

The REAL COMPLICATION is different manfacturers and even different generations have the topside operate differently in its basic form. Example: production of the Balboa systems allow you to unplug the topside and power up the spa. It WILL operate without a topside. Its a quick way to see if the topside is the problem. But many/most current productions the topside must be connected for the spa to operate at all. On at least one design, the "brain" of the spa is in the topside. Disconnect the topside and you have nothing. This is in contrast with the older Balboa systems where the topside is simply a slave.

Topside failure is usually obvious from the condition of the topside. If ANY water gets into the workings of the topside it will fail. Some noted if the topside was bone dry the spa was fine but water splashing the spa shut down. Replaced the topside and solved the problem.

Unless the topside showed signs of wear over time and now completely dead the problem is not commonly caused by topside failure.