Where is the pump relay and how does the air line connect?

On current Ella tubs the relay is not mounted on the pump. It sits inside the blue control box behind the magnetic access panel next to the door, and each deck push button has its own slim air tube that pushes onto a nipple on that box, with separate nipples for the water pump, the air blower and the LED light. Pressing a button sends a puff of air down the tube, the relay inside the box clicks, and that pump starts. If the relay clicks but a pump stays silent, the fault is on the power side rather than the air side, and Why Did My Foot Jets Stop Working? walks through that pattern.

What the Relay Does and Why the Buttons Are Air Operated

Ella's push buttons are pneumatic. The schematics label the control an Air Switch, meaning that pressing the button sends a puff of air down a hose to a switch rather than closing an electrical contact at the button. That keeps the deck button itself free of wiring. Every published diagram draws the same chain: the push control operates the Relay Switch, and the Relay Switch starts the pump. On the LayDown microbubble drawing the water pump is tagged 110V, and the relay is the part that connects that power when the air signal arrives. The first video on this page shows the relay switch up close, and the technician explains that it is what activates the electric to the pump when air comes out of the tube and pushes it.

Each pump circuit has its own relay and its own push control. On the Front Entry hydro and microbubble package, for example, the hydro pump and the microbubble pump are two separate circuits, each with its own relay and button, wired to two dedicated lines, as What the Front Entry Hydro + Microbubble Schematic Shows: Why This Package Needs Two Dedicated Lines explains. On a two seat tub, each side has its own foot hydro pump, relay and dial, so a dead foot well is diagnosed on that side's button, hose and relay.

Where to Find the Relay on Your Tub

• Current tubs. Open the magnetic access panel next to the door. The relay is inside the control box there, not on the pump body. The second video on this page walks through a master control box: it has connectors for the heater pads, the air pump and the water pump, a power inlet, and a row of air tube ports for the push buttons, one for the water pump push switch, one for the air blower push switch and one for the LED light push switch. The same box has a connector for the digital control keypad, which works like the push buttons in digital form, a port for the LED chromatherapy light, a config switch, and a green light that comes on when power is flowing.
• Two sizes of box. The video shows one box with a standard three prong 15 amp plug and a second with a 20 amp plug whose blades sit one vertical and one horizontal, which fits a 20 amp receptacle. Which one your tub has depends on the package.
• Older tubs with the legacy air blower. On these, the push control air hose connects to the switch on the air pump itself rather than to a control box. Leave that hose attached at the deck button end, because it is much harder to reconnect there.

Microbubble tubs add a pressure tank between the pump and the jet, but the relay sits in the same place in the chain, as What the LayDown Microbubble Schematic Shows: Air Switch, Relay, Water Pump, Pressure Tank and One Jet lays out.

How the Air Line Connects, and How to Reseat It

1. Open the magnetic access panel and find the slim air tube that runs from the deck button you are troubleshooting.
2. Follow it to the control box and identify the nipple it belongs on: water pump, air blower or LED light. On a tub with independent foot massage there is a second water pump button and tube.
3. Push the tube firmly onto the nipple at the box, and check the other end at the button the same way.
4. If the pump still does not respond, disconnect the air tube at the relay fitting and let it relieve itself for a moment so any trapped air escapes. The first video calls this air lock: compressed air trapped in the tube stops the signal from reaching the relay.
5. Push the tube firmly back on, then press the button. You should hear a clear click inside the box.

The order never changes: button, air hose, relay, pump, dial. A click at the relay proves the air side is working.

Click but No Pump, or No Click at All

• No click. The signal is not reaching the relay. Reseat both ends of the tube and relieve the air lock as above.
• Click but no pump. The air side is fine and the power side is not. Confirm the water is at least 1 inch above the highest jets, since the pump must never run dry, and confirm the pump cord is plugged into the control box. Reset every GFCI serving the tub; a two seat full package runs on three dedicated 20A, 120V GFCI lines, and a tripped breaker on one line silences only the equipment on that line.
• Pump runs but one side or one jet is weak. Turn the intensity dial up and confirm its air hose is attached. On a two seat tub, test with that side's own foot button, not the digital controller, because the foot pumps are separate, as Why Does Only One Side of My Two Seat Tub Massage? explains.

If the relay clicks and the pump still will not run, call (800) 480-6850 or open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your model and serial number, a photo of the pump and relay behind the access panel, and a short video of what happens when you press each button. The team confirms from your photos whether the relay or the pump needs attention, and parts ship under the warranty for a local licensed electrician or plumber to fit.

Related Guides

• Why Does a Deck Push Button Do Nothing on My Walk-In Tub?
• Blue Control Box Has No Power Light, or the Air Pump Runs Constantly: Diagnosis, Replacement and Returning the Old Box
• Air Pump Whines or Stopped Working: Tests Before Replacement and How a New Pump Ships

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