Why does my chromatherapy light flicker or skip some colors?

A chromatherapy light that seems to skip colors or sit on one color is most often locked on that color by the way the button was pressed, not faulty. The LED cycles through eight colors: one press starts the cycle, each further single press stops it and holds a solid color, and a press held for about two seconds turns it off, so a two second hold followed by a single press restarts the full cycle. A genuine flicker cannot be pinned down from the color behavior alone, and the checks below narrow it before you call. The parts behind the access panel are described in Why Won't My Chromatherapy Light Turn On?; this page covers the two symptoms that article does not.

How the Color Cycle Is Supposed to Behave

The chromatherapy LED is a multi-colored light inside the tub that cycles through eight soothing colors. Three button behaviors control everything it does, and they work the same whether your deck has push buttons or the digital touchpad:

1. Press once and the light starts cycling through the full color range.
2. Press once more at any point and the cycle stops on the color showing at that moment, which then holds as a solid color. Each further single press selects another specific color.
3. Press and hold for about two seconds and the light turns off.

The video on this page shows the routine on both control types: a single press for the full range of colors, a repeated single press to select a specific color, and a two second hold to turn the light off. Where the light button sits on each panel style is shown in Push Button Controls vs the Digital Touchpad: Operating Every Deck Control.

Why the Light Appears to Skip Colors

Because a single press both starts the cycle and stops it, what you see depends on how many presses the light has received and how long each one lasted. That produces three things owners describe as skipping:

• It stops on one color and stays there. The light is locked on that color after a second press. It has not skipped the rest of the range; it is holding. Press and hold for two seconds to turn it off, then press once to restart the full cycle.
• It jumps from color to color instead of cycling. Each single press steps to another solid color, so a series of taps walks through the colors one at a time rather than letting the cycle run. Hold for two seconds, then press once and leave the button alone.
• It goes dark and comes back on a different color. A press held long enough to count as the off command turns the light off, and the next press starts the cycle again from the beginning, so the color that appears is not the one you expected. Keep presses short unless you mean to turn the light off.

On tubs with push controls the light button is pneumatic. Pressing it sends a puff of air down a thin red tube to the chromatherapy control box, where a relay clicks and switches the light on, changes the color, or turns it off. A gentle press is all it needs. Reset the light with a two second hold and then a single press before deciding anything is wrong, because that one habit explains most reports of skipped colors.

What a Flicker Does and Does Not Tell You

The LED connects to its own chromatherapy control box behind the access panel. That box is powered through its own transformer, and the light is rated 0.5A, completely separate from the pump circuits. If a Capri or Lounger spec sheet lists the LED at .04AMP, that figure is a misprint of the ozone generator rating; the LED is 0.5A. Two things follow from that separation:

• Jets that run normally tell you nothing about the light circuit. A tub whose air and hydro massage work perfectly can still have a light problem, and a light problem does not point to a pump problem.
• A flicker is not something that can be pinned down from the color behavior alone. The team needs to see it to confirm which part is involved, which is why a short video of the light is worth more than a description.

There is one exception. If the light cuts out or flickers at the same moment the jets do, look for a shared cause such as a tripped GFCI or a cord pulled loose behind the access panel. Confirm the breaker and the tub's GFCI outlet are live before anything else.

What to Check Before You Call

1. Reset the light. Press and hold for about two seconds to confirm it turns off, then press once and watch whether the full cycle runs on its own.
2. Confirm the breaker and the GFCI outlet are live. Running jets prove the pump circuit only, so keep going.
3. Behind the access panel, find the chromatherapy control box. Check that the red air tube is firmly on its nipple at the box and tight at the push button with the locking nut. A loose tube means the button's air signal never reaches the relay.
4. Check that the three prong power connector on the back of the box is fully plugged in, then listen for the click inside the box when the button is pressed. A click with no light points to the LED module or its three pin connection; no click points to the box or the air signal.
5. If the push button stays down, that is an air lock. Disconnect the red tube at the control box, let the button pop back up, then reconnect it.
6. On a digital touchpad, the pad and its cable to the master control box take the place of the red tube and are the next things the team will ask about.

These are the checks the team will ask about, and doing them first means the call starts from what has already been ruled out.

Opening a Ticket

If the cycle still misbehaves after a reset, or the light flickers with the tube seated and the connector plugged in, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850. Have ready your model, your serial number, whether you have push controls or the digital touchpad, and a short video of what the light does when you press the button. The LED, its control box and the transformer are parts, so a confirmed fault is handled by shipping the part under the warranty, and a local licensed electrician does any work behind the panel.

For reference, the chromatherapy light is included with the dual and triple therapy packages and is available as an extra with hydro-only tubs; it is not offered on the Front Entry or on the LayDown tubs. The full explainer is What Is Chromatherapy (LED Light) on a Walk-In Tub?, and the two control panel clips sit alongside every other therapy video in Every Therapy and Control Video in One Place.

Watch: Relax with LED Light Chromatherapy in Your Walk-In Tub | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Light Chromatherapy: Using the LED Colors and Fixing a Light That Will Not Turn On
• LED Chromatherapy Light Will Not Come On: Checks by Control Type Before You Contact Support

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