What am i missing?....

[Slowride]

Ok, folks. what am i missing? just got thru vacuuming the pool, turned the pump off, changed to backwash, turned it on and all I'm getting out of the motor is a loud hummmmm. It's a year old Century 1 1/2 hp motor that up until 10 minutes ago worked like a charm. Thoughts?

UPDATE: I took the back cover off and exposed the shaft. took a pair of channel locks and started rotating the shaft with the motor on and it started spinning normally. Never had that happen.

Opinions would be appreciated.....

 

[JohnT]

Could be a bad starting capacitor or inertial switch.

Be careful around the back of the motor with power on. There will be line voltage on exposed contacts on many motors.

 

[Slowride]

Could be a bad starting capacitor or inertial switch.

Be careful around the back of the motor with power on. There will be line voltage on exposed contacts on many motors.

Sorry, should have been more clear. I took off the plastic end cap that exposes about 1 inch of shaft.

Is the diagnosis and repair of those two possibilities a normal DIY?

 

[marianol]

Yes, changing a starting Capacitor is not hard, very DIY if you know how to work with tools

First check thai the impeller and motor shaft is turning freely. Turn off the motor (cut breaker just in case), grab the shaft with your fingers and should turn freely and easily.
This rules out that the motor is stuck.

If the motor is not stuck, you have a good chance that the cap is dead, they are cheap so you can go ahead take it out, test it or flat out replace it. Before you even test your capacitor, check it's appearance. If it's bulged, cracked or otherwise looks damaged, you can assume that it has failed. You should also check for loose, crimped or broken wires or rusty terminals on the capacitor.

/!\ CAUTION: Capacitors STORE energy so before even touching it make sure you discharge the cap. With a insulated handle screwdriver. Place the screwdriver's metal end across the two terminals that protrude from the capacitor and watch out for the spark...

Here is a good guide.. How To Replace a Pool Pump Capacitor - INYOPools.com

 

[Slowride]

Yes, changing a starting Capacitor is not hard, very DIY if you know how to work with tools

First check thai the impeller and motor shaft is turning freely. Turn off the motor (cut breaker just in case), grab the shaft with your fingers and should turn freely and easily.
This rules out that the motor is stuck.

If the motor is not stuck, you have a good chance that the cap is dead, they are cheap so you can go ahead take it out, test it or flat out replace it. Before you even test your capacitor, check it's appearance. If it's bulged, cracked or otherwise looks damaged, you can assume that it has failed. You should also check for loose, crimped or broken wires or rusty terminals on the capacitor.

/!\ CAUTION: Capacitors STORE energy so before even touching it make sure you discharge the cap. With a insulated handle screwdriver. Place the screwdriver's metal end across the two terminals that protrude from the capacitor and watch out for the spark...

Here is a good guide.. How To Replace a Pool Pump Capacitor - INYOPools.com

If either of these items is damaged, would the pump be disabled 100% of the time. As it stands now, it can turn it on/off with no problems. Or would it still be hit or miss when turned on?

 

[marianol]

If the caps are damaged YMMV. It may be it never runs or just that it will not run or start with under certain conditions (i.e. high humidity)

From your post I understand that the motor does not start unless you give it a push.. Is that the case or just randomly it does not start?

Where you able to check if the impeller and motor shaft is turning freely?

 

[Slowride]

If the caps are damaged YMMV. It may be it never runs or just that it will not run or start with under certain conditions (i.e. high humidity)

From your post I understand that the motor does not start unless you give it a push.. Is that the case or just randomly it does not start?

Where you able to check if the impeller and motor shaft is turning freely?

UPDATE:

The shaft was very hard to turn, to give it a "push". I pulled the motor and the shaft began to turn freely. So, i thought i had cleared the obstruction, although i really didnt find anything.

Reinstalled and started with no problem, shaft turned freely. I let it run for a few and cut if off and back on and BAM, stuck again. The shaft is hot to the touch and it seems to jam when it heats up.

Thoughts?

 

[madwil]

Almost guaranteed start cap is bad. The start cap gives the electricity a phase shift needed to start. Once running most motors will run on their own. With power on and no phase shift the electricity fights starting. Which is why it was hard to turn. Turn off power and should turn for freely. When you forced it to turn you gave it the boost to start up and it willbthen run indefinitely. But will continue having problems starting. Slight chance the internal switch that shuts off cap is bad but not near as likely as just a bad cap. Th heat is from the electricity going thru th motor without turning. The running motor cools itself. Should be fine as long as you don't continue to overheat it

 

[kevreh]

Dumb question, are you sure you just don't need to prime the pump?

 

[madwil]

Needing to prime wouldn't affect the motor turning. You would turn without flow. This case I understood motor not turning at all which is a motor problem and not pump side issue as long as it turns freely without power on