Is my pump dead?

[abfab]

I had the pump running on high today with the heater going and all was fine. A few hours later I went to go swimming again and noticed that the water had cooled off and nothing was coming out of the returns. I checked the pump and sure enough it was not running. The main is fine as I am getting power to my swg. When I turn the main off/on nothing happens. The motor portion felt hot but since its not something I normally touch I don't know if that's normal or not. I don't know how old the pump is but we've been here four years. There is no timer, just a high/low switch. The pump doesn't work with either setting.

Could a dry pump cause this? After having a pool liner leak repaired two weeks I noticed a lot of air in the pump. It turned out to be an air leak near the skimmer valve which I had fixed last week. In the meantime however, I found the pump having difficulty maintaining prime. A few times the flow of water stopped and I had hot air coming out when I opened the lid.

Assuming that it's not an electrical issue, which I will have checked tomorrow, would I need to replace the motor or the whole pump?

 

[Rossterman]

If it has a metal piece on top, it probably have a bad starting capacitor which can easily be replaced for ~ $10. If the circuit breaker isn't tripping, your windings are probably OK. Deenergize the circuit, remove the screw holding on the cover over the top, and you can remove capacitor to read size and model number so,you can order exact replacement. I keep a couple on the shelf for my pumps in case I need one. If not comfortable around electricity, you might want to get someone to do it for you. See pic below of cover with gold label on it for reference.

 

[abfab]

My pump doesn't have that. It looks like this except that its black not gold. Would it have a capacitor inside?

http://www.discounterspoolandspa.com/Hayward-1HP-Super-Pump-2-Speed-SP2607X102S-P61.aspx

 

[abfab]

Update: I tried again this morning and it worked! However there was water pouring out of the union of the pipe above it so I had to shut it off. My guess is that this leak caused the motor to overheat. I did have a little dripping from there that I hadn't had time to fix. Will be doing it today!

 

[bigdaddy72]

Mine did the exact same thing yesterday. Our water had gotten too low and the skimmer sucked air. The pump heated up til I got home and noticed it. I shut it down and tried to restart the prime after adding water and it was sucking air around the union. I used a ton of teflon tape to get the union "snug" and retried it and it did pull a prime. I now plan on reinstalling new unions today as I don't trust them once the threads are distorted. I also ordered new seals for the pump as well as a additional precaution.

 

[abfab]

I was able to tightened the connection to stop the leak. Within a few minutes of starting it the motor is hot when I touch it. I'm going to let it run to see if it overheats again. Does this mean my motor is dying? It doesn't make any noises.