Intermatic T104 timer not triggering - gear slipping

[TexasDogs]

So when I had my VS pump installed, they put my Polaris booster pump on a mechanical T104 timer (was previously a digital timer that controlled both the main single speed pump and the booster pump). It has never consistently worked. It keeps time until it gets to the on/off trigger and then it sits there (I can still see the gears turning in the window). Sometimes it eventually triggers, sometimes it doesn't. Sure makes it useless as a timer. When it gets hung up, I'm able to just put a little twist on the dial (without pulling out) and it'll flip the switch, but I can't figure out why it won't work on its own.

I ordered a replacement timer motor, but thought I'd ask for any other advice, because it seems to not be the problem (since I still see the gears spinning). Is there some way to decrease the amount of force it takes to flip the switch?

 

[1poolman1]

So when I had my VS pump installed, they put my Polaris booster pump on a mechanical T104 timer (was previously a digital timer that controlled both the main single speed pump and the booster pump). It has never consistently worked. It keeps time until it gets to the on/off trigger and then it sits there (I can still see the gears turning in the window). Sometimes it eventually triggers, sometimes it doesn't. Sure makes it useless as a timer. When it gets hung up, I'm able to just put a little twist on the dial (without pulling out) and it'll flip the switch, but I can't figure out why it won't work on its own.

I ordered a replacement timer motor, but thought I'd ask for any other advice, because it seems to not be the problem (since I still see the gears spinning). Is there some way to decrease the amount of force it takes to flip the switch?

You could spray the back of the mechanism, the black plastic that actually makes and breaks the connection, with WD40 with the power off. Work the lever back and forth a few times. Let the solvent dry about a minute before letting it actually power the pump. Works about 50% of the time.
If it has been doing this a while, the large gear that the motor turns on the back of the dial may be worn out and that would require a new mechanism, T104M.