My pump will work great for about 30 min and then it stops and is extremely hot to the touch. It will stay off for a bit and then goes right back to work. It will do this the entire time its on. I have taken the impeller off and looked for debris and there is nothing in there and the wires are all connected. Any advice?
Pump stops working
- Thread starter woskie70
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,785
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Hello and welcome to TFP! 
No doubt heat is the culprit. Something's not right. Please help folks answer your question by providing the following info:
- Make/model of pump
- Est date of install/age of pump
- How long has it been running hot and cutting-off?
- How is water flow when the pump is running (always primed)?
- What is you current electrical set-up (110/220V)?
- Can you upload a pic of your pump and perhaps the wiring at the back of the pump?
Others may have additional questions/comments. This might help get you started though.
No doubt heat is the culprit. Something's not right. Please help folks answer your question by providing the following info:- Make/model of pump
- Est date of install/age of pump
- How long has it been running hot and cutting-off?
- How is water flow when the pump is running (always primed)?
- What is you current electrical set-up (110/220V)?
- Can you upload a pic of your pump and perhaps the wiring at the back of the pump?
Others may have additional questions/comments. This might help get you started though.
Sounds like it could be the run capacitor to me.... It's easy to change and should be about $15 from Amazon or Grainger.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,785
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
for any motor experts out there who may want to reply.Are you able to turn the shaft? Does it turn easily? Smoothly? Might be the bearings. Was the shaft seal replaced when the motor was replaced? Excess heat is the death of motors.
When I take it apart I can spin the impeller and it is smooth and easy. I bought the house last year and the pump was replaced right before I moved in.
- May 3, 2007
- 16,875
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
This is more indicative of bad bearings. The motor is a capacitor start so if the capacitor was bad, it would just not start.
have you ever seen it working normally?
your motor's thermal protection trips and that turns off the motor- it tries to save itself. After cooling off the protection resets and the cycle repeats. The cause is overheat of the motor. It often happens from capacitor going bad provided pump runs normal otherwise: shaft spins freely, no additional noise, water passes through as usual, etc.
I have to take that back- in your case capacitor is only used during start process (start capacitor) and if internal switch operates as intended it should be disconnected as soon as shaft reaches certain speed so it cannot be responsible for motor overheat: http://www.inyopools.com/HowToPage/how-to-replace-ao-smith-motor-parts-overview.aspx Purely theoretically the overheat can be caused by:
- mechanical issue (bearings, rust, etc) preventing shaft from spinning freely
- that switch got stuck and doesn't disconnect capacitor when the motor gains speed
- May 3, 2007
- 16,875
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
You can if you have the tools and the know how. There are many videos on youtube that can show you how.
I took the motor off the pump and found out the ground wire is connected to the number 1 wire post with a hot wire. And the second hot wire is dead coming from my timer. I have 3 hot wires coming from my electrical panel to the timer but only one goes hot to the pump motor. I'm guessing i need a new timer and to hook the wires up correctly
borjis
LifeTime Supporter
The motor was replaced a year ago and it looks all corroded like that already?
Might be good to figure out a way to protect it from the elements for longevity.
Might be good to figure out a way to protect it from the elements for longevity.
My neighbors tree hangs over the filter and pump and this year a bird built a nest right above it
How are you testing, with a multi-meter or a non contact tester?
A non contact tester (the kind that lights up when held to the wire) is not reliable for testing, it will not tell you voltage and can show phantom voltage on wires with no power. You must use a multi-meter so you can properly test voltage. Your pump may be wired for 240v, you absolutely cannot tell whether you have 240v or just 2 hot wires without actually measuring the voltage. A 240 volt motor trying to operate on 120 will run, usually at less than full speed, sometimes it's hard to tell. It will get hot and trip the thermal protection. Looks like your motor can be wired to use either voltage, but requires changes depending on what voltage is provided.
In a 240v setup it is possible for your timer to interrupt only one hot wire, It is acceptable to start and stop a 240v motor that way. This means power is going to the motor even when the timer is off, so you must be very careful when testing this setup. Testing each lead separately will not work, you must test across the leads to confirm you have power from both phases and actually have 240v.
A 240v motor only needs two hot wires providing 240v to operate, it does not need a neutral but the timer or other controls may operate at 120v which could require the neutral. For safety a 240v motor should always be bonded with the green ground wire, but will still run without having that connected.
A non contact tester (the kind that lights up when held to the wire) is not reliable for testing, it will not tell you voltage and can show phantom voltage on wires with no power. You must use a multi-meter so you can properly test voltage. Your pump may be wired for 240v, you absolutely cannot tell whether you have 240v or just 2 hot wires without actually measuring the voltage. A 240 volt motor trying to operate on 120 will run, usually at less than full speed, sometimes it's hard to tell. It will get hot and trip the thermal protection. Looks like your motor can be wired to use either voltage, but requires changes depending on what voltage is provided.
In a 240v setup it is possible for your timer to interrupt only one hot wire, It is acceptable to start and stop a 240v motor that way. This means power is going to the motor even when the timer is off, so you must be very careful when testing this setup. Testing each lead separately will not work, you must test across the leads to confirm you have power from both phases and actually have 240v.
A 240v motor only needs two hot wires providing 240v to operate, it does not need a neutral but the timer or other controls may operate at 120v which could require the neutral. For safety a 240v motor should always be bonded with the green ground wire, but will still run without having that connected.
- Jun 20, 2012
- 439
So I tested with a multi-meter and got 115 from one wire and .1 from the second wired going from my timer to my pump. I also checked the air vents and they are clear.