2-speed Hayward Tristar - won't start on high

[Melt In The Sun]

Hi TFP,
My motor is acting strange. It will not start on high speed - it will hum/buzz for about 1 second, then stop and wait a minute, buzz, stop.....etc. It will start just fine on low, and once running it will happily switch between high and low. For the time being, I have it set such that it starts on low and later switches to high for cleaning, so I don't think it's a crisis yet.

I've read enough stories on here to suspect that it is related to a switch or capacitor, but would appreciate any help in starting that troubleshooting process. Thanks!

 

[mas985]

Sounds like it might have something to do with the centrifugal switch. That controls how the motor starts. Check the contacts for corrosion.

 

[Melt In The Sun]

OK, I popped open the back over the weekend. I cleaned the contacts at the end of the copper strips (I think these are the right ones?), but that didn't make a difference; it still makes an angry buzzing sound when I try to start it on high.

The motor does have two capacitors, one under the backplate and one hump on top. Is there anything else I can check before I just take the motor into a shop?

 

[mas985]

I would check the start capacitor next using a multimeter.