New pump not pulling water

Jander316

Member
Feb 25, 2025
5
South Alabama
I'll start by saying there is no clogged filter or lines. Old Hayward two-speed motor had a leak and was not working properly. Ordered a new one and it came with wires already attached. Black on high speed, white on low speed, red on common. No green wire on the motor, I simply connected the green wire from the line to the ground screw on new motor. Connected the other wires from the line to the motor, connecting each color to the corresponding color. Pump came on and ran beautifully. Until it switched to low speed. A spark came out of the white wire connection and tripped the breakers. Reconnected the wires and now pool barely comes on. You can hear it come on at very low speed/power. Sometimes it pulls water at a very low speed, sometimes it doesn't pull any at all. If I flip all of the breakers on the motor gets loud and trips breakers again. All without moving water. Thoughts? My initial thought is that the spark ending up damaging the pump. What could've caused it? I mean, I know it was caused when it switched to low speed but what would've made that happen? Improper wiring? I moved the white white to common and the red to low speed and still have the same issue. I don't think it's a capacitor issue because the pool still pulls some water, though it does it randomly. I have everything turned off for now. I'm probably going to call in a pro but thought I'd seek some advice here first.
 
Welcome to TFP.

What model pump and motor are we discussing?

Do you have a multimeter and know how to check voltages?

Show us a picture of the motor data plate.

Also pictures of the wire connections.
 
316,

Sounds to me like you wired the pump so that it is getting power to both the high speed and low speed inputs at the same time. If so, the pump is toast... :cry:

You really can't go by colors, you need to use the wiring diagrams..

What switches between your High speed and your Low speed???

As pointed out above, we need to see some pics..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Welcome to TFP.

What model pump and motor are we discussing?

Do you have a multimeter and know how to check voltages?

Show us a picture of the motor data plate.

Also pictures of the wire connections.
It is a Hayward Power End 1.5HP MAXSTAR 2 Speed | SPX3210X15Z2PE. I don't have a multimeter. I've attached photo of the plate and of how the pump came wired. Again, I followed the colors.
I did talk to the supplier and told them exactly what I described here. The rep said that based on that the pool is faulty and needs replaced by Hayward and provided me with the contact info for Hayward. Will be contacting them.
 

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316,

Sounds to me like you wired the pump so that it is getting power to both the high speed and low speed inputs at the same time. If so, the pump is toast... :cry:

You really can't go by colors, you need to use the wiring diagrams..

What switches between your High speed and your Low speed???

As pointed out above, we need to see some pics..

Thanks,

Jim R.
I wired the pump 100% exactly how the old pump was wired. Same model pump. 🤷‍♂️
 

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When there's 3 wires black red and white it would make more sense that the red and black are the hot legs and the white be the common. It depends if you kept the switch side with the red being the common or there it's a hot leg, Could be your problem.
 
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