Motor hums, but will start if I give it a helping turn turn... need help please.

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K

Ken24

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Jul 31, 2015
6
Alberta/Canada
I have a Waterway Executive 56 4hp 2 speed motor. I recently replaced the bearings, and wet end, due to a leaking shaft seal and an extremely noisy motor.. I couldn't just replace the seal unfortunately seeing as for some reason the cover was glued together, and couldn't get to the impeller etc... but that's another story....

So finally got to replacing the front bearing today, as the rear one was perfect.. front was very seized. My issue started when I went to test it to see if the bearing did the trick for the noise. It worked great, and very quiet. I was very happy. Then I screwed on the impeller, and the motor will not start. It just hums, and then shuts off after about 5 or 10 seconds, and then starts the process again, unless I give it a helping hand with a manual turn, or hit the jet button again to get it to high speed. It will then work on low if I hit the jet button again to get it back to the first speed.
I take the impeller off, and it works perfect again.. starts on low all by itself, no issues. It's a brand new wet end. It spins freely by hand, so it's not a stuck impeller... just doesn't have enough power to start on low. I have one capacitor on the top which I assume does double duty. It seemed to have the 50 uf it was supposed to when it was measured with a volt meter, but could this still be the culprit? Could it be reading good, but still be fried? It sounds like it is full of liquid when it is shook. Is that normal? It says it has corrosive fluid inside on the label, but I've never seen one sound like it was full of water before. I hope... it's an easy fix. Just no place in the small town I live in sells them, and I'd have to order online or drive to the city to find one if I needed. But if this sounds familiar to someone else, or
isn't the problem, I won't replace it if I don't have to... hopefully someone has fixed this, or knows how.

Thanks..
 
I just got done replacing the seal in a waterway executive 56, we had the same problem where it would power on, hum, blow the fuse in the control board and that was the end of it. The impeller was almost impossible to turn by hand, but the motor shaft with no pump spun freely, so we replaced the seal (and impeller since it got destroyed in the process of disassembly) and got it back together and it has worked fine since. How hard is it to spin if you reach in the pump intake and turn it, while it is all together? The motor was a lot harder to turn once we had it back together, I think this is normal due to the friction between the two part seal, since it is spring loaded. But with that said, I could still turn the impeller with my pinky without too much effort. Any harder than that and I'd be looking for what's jamming.

Another thought, did you put index marks on the ends of the cases when you removed them for the bearings? If they went back missaligned maybe this could upset the timing and cause starting difficult?

Good luck and let us know how you get on!
Josh
 
Thanks. It was a brand new wet end. Seals and all. I marked all the ends with a paint pen to match up the parts.... Now I am worried that in the taking apart, I may have over looked the bearing spacer washer at the back of the motor... I know the thrust washer was put back in, but in watching some repair videos, I noticed they also had a flat spacer or washer that went at the very back, between the thrust washer, and the end cap..... I wonder if that is missing, and maybe stopping some of the free turning once it's put all together... :confused: I don't remember seeing it. Unless it is so thin it just looks like part of the back housing. I'll have to take it apart on my day off on Monday, and have another look.... and make sure it didn't fall out somewhere in the rebuild. I was very careful with all the parts, and screws etc... but you never know.
Found a store ( Princess Auto) about 45 minutes away that carries capacitors for $19. I talked to an electrician at work today, and he said he had never heard of a capacitor that sounded like it was full of water when you shook it, and that something sounds ruptured inside. He said I could bring it to work tomorrow and he'd have a look at it out of curiosity, and give it a check for me.
I thought this was going to be a simple bearing replacement, but it is really trying my patience... lol.... oh well. I am hoping to avoid buying a new motor. I am really glad I found this forum. I am guessing capacitor.....
 
Well... here's the result. Took it all apart one more time. Cleaned of the seal, tightened the impeller, replaced bushing and thrust washer in the back, and put on a new capacitor. Started her up, and watched the shaft at the back opening. The motor turned about an eight of an inch, and then rocked a bit, and then motor stopped, and started humming again until I gave it a helping twist with a screwdriver...... Swore a bit..... not as loudly as last time when my wife came outside and told me to be a little less loud....

Removed the through bolts, Took the end cap off of the back of the motor.... Cleaned and Bent the little start switch a little bit forward hoping for some contact.... turned the breaker back on............................................................................................................ SUCCESS !!!!!!!!!! Started like a champ !!!!!!!!!!! So happy !!!!!!
 
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