Intermatic Pool Timer Running in Reverse

[Lclark589]

Hi Everyone - The other night we had a power outage for a couple of hours, in the morning I went out to reset my pool timer. Later in the day I double checked and was surprised to find that the timer was rotating backwards (tracking time in the wrong direction). I have reset the breaker multiple times and it doesn't seem to be resolving. Prior to the power outage it was working fine and I have not disassembled or adjusted any of the internals. I cannot fathom how a power outage might have caused this. Any ideas how to resolve or will I need to replace the motor?

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum.
That is interesting.
Let's ask a couple electrical experts -- @Mdragger88 @ajw22

 

[Mdragger88]

Interesting indeed- I found similar instances here

Intermatic Timer Rotating Backwards

My pool timer is moving backwards. This has been occurring since the opening of my pool this summer. Last year, the timer worked fine. It took me a while to notice that that was the reason my pool pump would not automatically turn off and on. It would just get stuck by the on/off switch. Last...

www.troublefreepool.com

Hopefully @ajw22 can elaborate on the issue further when he arrives

 

[ajw22]

If you are handy remove the timer mechanism and examine the gears. Something in the gears has slipped.

Maybe you can get the gears back in position. Otherwise just replace it with a new mechanism.

 

[Lclark589]

Thank you everyone for your input. I took the approach mentioned in the other post (copied below) and after a couple attempts with trial/error it now seems I have the gears going in the correct direction and the clock is properly keeping time. Still not sure how this happened on its own...but adjusting the 1'' gear seemed to eventually do the trick.

"Direction is controlled by a gear inside the timer cap. When you open the Intermatic door (T100 series - mine is the 220v T104) look thru the circle near the top (use a flashlight) to see the little black gear in the back turning clockwise. If it's going CCW it's running backwards. Turn off power (breaker), unsnap the mechanism (release is at the inside top) and pull the guts forward to access the timer (careful of wiring). The timer cap (with the printing on it) can be carefully pried off with a sharp blade or pocket knife. Inside the 1" gear on the right can be lifted out. The position of the metal lever bar on the bottom side of this gear forces the magnet wheel next to it to go in the proper direction. The lever bar will turn until it contacts one of 2 plastic posts. Whichever one it was against, reposition it so the bar turns toward the other plastic post. Mine was running backwards because I took it apart to inspect it (worn gear) and when I modified it to work on the unworn part of the gear, I (mistakenly) installed the 1" gear in the wrong position, then had to figure out why it was running backwards. This position can't change by itself, so I assume your has ALWAYS run backwards. Running backward WILL cause the timer to bind up when it contacts the adjustable timer tabs. Check clearances of power wires before turning power back on to make sure nothing is shorting. "

 

[Mdragger88]

Glad you got it sorted!