Pump makes new noise, and stops after seconds

[joshf]

I turned on my pump the other day and a few sparks shot out so I turned it off. It had been raining recently and was wet in the area. That has never been an issue before, but wanted to mention it.

Left it alone for a couple days and tried it again today. First I opened the strainer and verified I could turn the impaler. When I turn on the pump, it makes a strange humming sound - it _does_ look like it is doing something to the water in the strainer, the square nut in the back does spin. But then it shut off after about 5 seconds.

I turned off the switch and opened the strainer. Tried filling it with hose water to see if it would overflow - maybe something is blocked - it usually doesn't fill - I'm guessing because the water just flows into the pool. It wasn't filling, so I opened the air release valve on top of filter. The strainer on pump filled with water right away, then it got really cloudy - I'm guessing its the DE that I had recently put in after cleaning my filter. I'm not sure if thats a "problem", or expected behavior.

Any ideas of things to check for the pump? I checked the power at the pump timer switch - verified 120V on each of the lines.

Removed the back plastic cover and took this photo:



Its a Waterways CHAMP-115

 

[1poolman1]

I turned on my pump the other day and a few sparks shot out so I turned it off. It had been raining recently and was wet in the area. That has never been an issue before, but wanted to mention it.

Left it alone for a couple days and tried it again today. First I opened the strainer and verified I could turn the impaler. When I turn on the pump, it makes a strange humming sound - it _does_ look like it is doing something to the water in the strainer, the square nut in the back does spin. But then it shut off after about 5 seconds.

I turned off the switch and opened the strainer. Tried filling it with hose water to see if it would overflow - maybe something is blocked - it usually doesn't fill - I'm guessing because the water just flows into the pool. It wasn't filling, so I opened the air release valve on top of filter. The strainer on pump filled with water right away, then it got really cloudy - I'm guessing its the DE that I had recently put in after cleaning my filter. I'm not sure if thats a "problem", or expected behavior.

Any ideas of things to check for the pump? I checked the power at the pump timer switch - verified 120V on each of the lines.

Removed the back plastic cover and took this photo:
View attachment 563762


Its a Waterways CHAMP-115

That motor looks like it has been under water. That alone is reason to replace it. A Nidec Neptune NPTQ165 would be a good replacement.
Sparks are never a good thing with a pool motor. Voltage120 on each line does not necessarily mean 240 between both lines. That's what need so be checked. How did you determine that voltage? Checking each line to ground won't tell you anything other than some voltage is present.
Be sure that both sides of your breaker are in the "on" position. Turn them both off then on.

 

[JamesW]

Check the capacitor.

 

[joshf]

Check the capacitor.

I've seen other mentions of capacitors on pool pumps, but don't see something that is obviously a capacitor. Do you see something in that photo? Do I have to disassemble further?

 

[joshf]

That motor looks like it has been under water.

Rained on for 10 years, definitely. Spray from filter relief value, yes. Totally submerged, unlikely.

Sparks are never a good thing with a pool motor. Voltage120 on each line does not necessarily mean 240 between both lines.

Ok I put the multimeter on both lines (terminals 1 & 3) and read 240V.

However, this time when I turned the switch on, I heard a muted pop, and the pump didn't come on at all, and the breaker was tripped. Reset the breaker and tried again and got the same sound and tripped breaker. Sounds like a short somewhere?

 

[JamesW]

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Pump Capacitors - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[joshf]

I tested the capacitor today and it was a little low - it is rated for 30uF +- 6%, which means 28.2 on the low end. It measured at 27.98. The capacitor is dated 2015.

But my symptoms now are that as soon as I turn the power on, it trips the breaker. Would a bad capacitor cause that?
I actually removed the capacitor completely and tested and got the same behavior - tripped the breaker immediately.

I tested the wires going from timer to the motor - verified continuity on the same wires, and no continuity between the wires - making sure they were shorted somewhere in the conduit.

I removed the wires from the motor - cut one of them down as the uninsulated end was too long. Clean them a bit by scraping with a screwdriver, then reconnected them. Same symptoms - instant breaker trip.

I removed my SWCG from the load side that also connects to the motor - to eliminate that as a cause of the problem, and also try to protect it from possible surges during my testing.

I think I tried everything in the Century motor troubleshooting guide linked from one of the suggestions above, other than "bring to an AO Smith service center". Does it seem like I'm at that point? Or time to replace as 1poolman1 suggested (thanks for the variable speed recommendation).