2 Intermatic timers stopped working at the same time

[tsar]

Fun stuff this morning, went to the pool and found both the timers (for the booster pump/filter pump), are for some reason not working anymore. I could figure out how to replace and put a new one there. But does anyone have any ideas why this would happen, or potential ways to "debug" this before I go for a replacement.

1. There is no clicking sound from either of the boxes...
2. They might have been forgotten and left in an open state during a recent rain

 

[JamesW]

Check the breaker.

 

[tsar]

That was my first thought… Breaker is fine, and the switch is working too, i.e manually turning the switch on and off turns the engine on and off.

 

[flynwill]

Do you have a meter or voltage tester? If so check the clock motor power on the timers (left most two lugs on most of these). They might have a common power source separate from the pumps.

 

[nwardoh]

is it 220? Did you manually flip the breaker off and back on or just look at it? One leg can be popped and you really can't tell. Are they the mechanical timers or digital? Is there a gfci in the circuit and was it checked?

 

[tsar]

@flynwill - I have a voltage tester. The only two nuts which were not live (i.e. did not have any power were 2 and 4. They did have wires attached, any ideas?

@nwardoh - It's mechanical not digital. I flipped all the breakers in the pool breaker box to be sure, no luck!

 

[JamesW]

Pictures of wiring?

 

[nwardoh]

@flynwill - I have a voltage tester. The only two nuts which were not live (i.e. did not have any power were 2 and 4. They did have wires attached, any ideas?

@nwardoh - It's mechanical not digital. I flipped all the breakers in the pool breaker box to

Did 2 and 4 have juice when you manually flip the switch?

 

[1poolman1]

@flynwill - I have a voltage tester. The only two nuts which were not live (i.e. did not have any power were 2 and 4. They did have wires attached, any ideas?

@nwardoh - It's mechanical not digital. I flipped all the breakers in the pool breaker box to be sure, no luck!

View attachment 439382

Two and four are the load side of the switch and will only have power if the lever is flipped to "on." Is your "voltage tester" a true meter or a stick that indicates there is some voltage. It can't tell you if you have the proper voltage. To be sure of what is going on you need a VOM. You can get one as inexpensively as $20.00 at Home Depot.

 

[flynwill]

Indeed if you have one of the "no contact" tester it can very difficult to see if there actually is the proper voltage.

If the covers were indeed open in a rainstorm that could have indeed the cause of the failure.

 

[tsar]

> stick that indicates there is some voltage.
It's a stick, no voltage indicator for sure. I'll get a meter.

Here is the picture of the wiring. I'll get a Voltage Meter from Home Depot and check.

 

[Lake Placid]

Uhhhhh so the bare conductors just hanging out in the bottom of the timer? Were they terminated somewhere? At a minimum put a wire nut on them to prevent an accidental short/electrocution.

 

[tsar]

@Lake Placid - yeah this was pretty much how it was when I opened the cover, didn't change anything. putting a wire nut on it makes sense though..

 

[flynwill]

Those are the "heater" spare pair of contact. Yes I would put a wirenut on them just to make sure they don't come into contact with any of the live terminals.

It looks pretty clean and dry inside. But if the pumps run when you manually switch on, then you've got good voltage. The only other thing I would check is sometime the dial will stick in the "pull to set" state and not re-engage with the drive from the clock motor. Otherwise replacement clock motors are available, but I would probably just spend the additional $40 and replace the whole timer.

Or if you want an upgrade you might look at the PE153 which can control both your booster pump and your filter pump with one device with built in inter-lock so the booster can' t run if the filter is not running. The downside is that it only has one SPST contact per circuit so it can only interrupt one hot leg of your 240V pumps, which is a small safety issue.

 

[tsar]

>The only other thing I would check is sometime the dial will stick in the "pull to set" state and not re-engage with the drive from the clock motor.
I pulled and turned the dial, but that doesn't help. Also I know my other timers (lighting etc.) had a mechanical sound which this one doesn't seem to have.

I'm curious, are there programmable "smart timers" which one could use? Also which timers would folks generally suggest.

 

[JamesW]

Look through the little holes to see if the timer gears are turning.

 

[JamesW]

The little window says visual timer check and you can see the gears moving.

 

[nwardoh]

I'm curious, are there programmable "smart timers" which one could use? Also which timers would folks generally suggest.

There are wifi/smart timers all over amazon. I am using the Suraielec one and it is working fine. The particular one I have is a smart switch so all the timer aspects of it are configured in the app and stored in your phone. I like it.