Hayward Pump stopped working

[cubbybeave08]

yesterday we had rain all day long...from Thursday night and all day Friday. Today when I went out to check the pump...it was not running. I checked the GFCI and pushed the reset...nothing...Then I pulled the bottom of the face plate back and water ran out of the electrical box. Could this have shorted out the GFCI and caused it to completely shut down the outlet? If so what do I do to fix it?

Much thanks...
beave

 

[mas985]

Yes water might have damaged the GFCI. If you can't reset it, then it probably needs to be replaced. However, before replacing it, drill a hole in the bottom of the electrical box so water can drain out in the future. You might want to replace any seal around the box as well since it seems to be leaking.

Also, if you are using an outlet type GFCI, you might want to replace it with a circuit breaker type since they are less likely to fail.

 

[cubbybeave08]

Yes water might have damaged the GFCI. If you can't reset it, then it probably needs to be replaced. However, before replacing it, drill a hole in the bottom of the electrical box so water can drain out in the future. You might want to replace any seal around the box as well since it seems to be leaking.

Also, if you are using an outlet type GFCI, you might want to replace it with a circuit breaker type since they are less likely to fail.

Thanks for the suggestion on the hole drilling...I will do that. my buddy and I took it apart. the face plate had two broken screws which would account for the seal not being watertight. I think when they put them in last year they did so with an electric driver...THis I think torked the screws and sheered them. When I unscrewed them they came right out at about a 1/4 inch...They were 1 inch screws. So I will just go and get the GFCI replaced and rewire it myself. It already is a circuit breaker type...When I push the reset button in it does not stay in. This breaks the circuit correct? Thus no power to the pump? right?

 

[mas985]

The breakers have a test button which will trip the circuit and then you need to manually reset it (open then close the breaker). The breaker should not have been damaged unless it got wet too although they do sometimes fail.

 

[cubbybeave08]

The breakers have a test button which will trip the circuit and then you need to manually reset it (open then close the breaker). The breaker should not have been damaged unless it got wet too although they do sometimes fail.

Mas...it was the GFCI, I replaced it...and the pump worked again. THe reset buttuon would not reset. It felt like something was not catching when I pushed it in. Poolmoms hubby and I both played with it even took it apart. It is only a year old and there was quite a bit of water inside the box. I am going to seal it up with a bead of silicon calk as well. I also wonder if because of the extremly cold winter we had if something didn't get brittle inside and break. But anyway...$13.95 beats the heck out of $250 to $400 for a new pump. Again...It is good to have a place to come to to get the answers. Thanks everyone.