Pool Pump tripping breaker (my luck, right before I leave for vacation)

[hgiljr]

Hello everyone. This afternoon I went ahead and cleaned the pool filter since I will be on vacation for 1 week. As I started the pump back up, I was able to prime the pump and then breaker tripped. I went ahead and reset the breaker and it would automatically trip with the timer on off. I was able to reset the breaker without tripping, but once I turn on the pump on low or high it trips. So then I reset the breaker and with the timer on off, I spinned the motor from the back shaft access. To my surprise the breaker tripped with the timer on off.

I did replace the motor bearings and seals back in March of this year and it has been working just fine until today. The pump is a Pentair Superflow high performance pump. I believe 1.5, motor PN 340043. Any idea what could be causing this? Any help greatly appreciated since I leave tomorrow for 1 week and might have some time in the morning to troubleshoot. Thanks in advance.

 

[ajw22]

Sounds like a GFCI trip.

Is your pump running on 120 volts or 240 volts?

Check the wire connections on the pump for any corrosion.

Look around the motor for any signs of water leakage.

What timer do you have?

Post pics of your timer showing the timer wiring.

 

[generessler]

I'm not an electrician but an EE. This is almost certainly dangerous. Until you locate and fix the fault, don't try turning the breaker back on.

 

[hgiljr]

Thanks for response. It’s definitely the pump. I recalled last night that I have a spare pentair one speed pump. I went ahead and connected it today and started up just fine. This will give me peace of mind as I’m away on vaca and at least I can have the pool water being filtered. Will tackle this project when I get back.

 

[hgiljr]

Posting an update. I installed the fixed pump today and it tripped the breaker. Although the one speed spare pump was running fine without tripping, the dual speed tripped it. So I decided to elimate the timer and temporary wire the pump directly to the breaker. Same results. I went back to repair shop and they hooked up the pump to their testing station. Ran just fine. This left only one thing bro test, the GFCI breaker. I couldn’t find one locally so I bought a non gfci breaker. Installed it and the pump worked just fine. So @ajw22 you were right. GFCI from the start was the culprit. I will now replace the GFCI and hopefully all goes back to normal. Thank you all.

 

[ajw22]

Well you don't know if you have a valid GFCI trip or a bad GFCI CB.

You will find out when you replace the CB and if the new breaker trips then you have a ground fault in your wiring.

 

[mknauss]

Thank you all.

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[hgiljr]

Well you don't know if you have a valid GFCI trip or a bad GFCI CB.

You will find out when you replace the CB and if the new breaker trips then you have a ground fault in your wiring.

Why wouldn’t the GFCI trip with the one speed pump? As for a fault in wiring, would this start happening even after 7 years of having the pool built?

 

[ajw22]

Why wouldn’t the GFCI trip with the one speed pump? As for a fault in wiring, would this start happening even after 7 years of having the pool built?

A ground fault can happen at anytime with wiring insulation breaking down from age.

See what happens.