No flow through pump, no pressure in filter

[Kirbynp]

We have been having some bad rain storms over the past few days and I noticed that skimmer basket in the pool was full of leaves. I went to turn off the pump and noticed that the filter was operating a little below its normal pressure. I turned off the pump, cleaned out the skimmer basket, and turned the pump back on, zero pressure in the filter, nothing coming out of the outlets. So far i've looked at/tried the following:

1. Opened the pump skimmer basket and cleared it (nothing was in there)
2. Checked to see if anything was clogging the impeller (nothing again)
3. Manually filled the pump skimmer basket back up with water

Each time I turn the pump back on, the filter doesn't seem to have any water flowing through it, when I turn it off again, the water level in the pump skimmer drops by about 2 inches (about halfway down inlet pipe, but still above the impeller inlet. I am not sure what could have gone wrong by just turning it off and removing the leaves from the skimmer basket, I assumed it wasn't priming but i'm not sure how else to fix that other than what I had already tried.

 

[Texas Splash]

I can't help but wonder if you have a clog in that skimmer suction line. Do you only have that one suction line? No main drain to pull water from? If that's it, then try pushing water backwards from the pump basket back to the poolside skimmer. Do that by inserting a garden hose into the pump inlet hole, wrap a rag around the hose, and push the water backwards as hard as you can to the skimmer. You might have some leaves or something stuck at a 90 degree elbow or something.

 

[Richard320]

....when I turn it off again, the water level in the pump skimmer drops by about 2 inches (about halfway down inlet pipe, but still above the impeller inlet.

This sounds to me like it was starting to prime. If the water was above the bottom of the inlet but then dropped when the pump went off. How long were you running it?

Second idea: are there a lot of pine needles in the mix? They can slip through the baskets and clog the impeller. The pump will sound normal, but it won't move any water. If so, see How To Clean Out a Pool Pump Impeller - INYOPools.com