Pump Not Turning On - Not Seeing Voltage on Load Side of Intermatic Timer

[chris87]

I've been helping my neighbor with his pool, as he has no prior experience with one. It's an above ground with a 120v pump, which I'm not as familiar with. A couple days ago, I noticed his water level seemed low, and the pump looked to be having trouble maintaining prime (filter pressure was bouncing back and forth). I figured he would add water given the circumstances. He texted me yesterday saying that he had gotten home from work, noticed the pump was off, tried to turn it back on, but everything was dead. My initial thought was that the pump lost prime, overheated, and damaged the internals. I tried resetting the breaker, upstream GFCI, etc, but nothing has worked. When the timer is in the on position, I hear nothing from the pump. There is a power switch on the pump itself, which I also tried toggling. The pump is a Pentair OPT-NI-1VD (1 hp).

I went over there a little while ago with my multimeter and am very confused. I think the timer is an Intermatic T103. It has 3 terminals labeled A - Neutral, 1 Line, and 2 Load. There is also a green ground screw. When I test from line to neutral and ground, I get 120 volts. When I have the switch set to the on position and test from load to neutral/ground, I'm getting a value of 6+ volts. I'm assuming that's just stray voltage. I'm using a digital Fluke multimeter. I also unscrewed the back of the pump, and with the timer in the on position tested hot to ground/neutral. I'm also seeing a reading of about 6+ volts. I may be misunderstanding, but with the Intermatic in the on position, shouldn't there be 120v on the load terminal and 120v in the back of the pump? I really thought that this was a burnt out motor, but now I'm very confused.

 

[ajw22]

I think the timer contacts have broken.

Post a pic of the timer showing the wiring.

Consider...

• Flip off the circuit breaker.
• Move the LOAD wire to under the LINE screw.
• Flip the CB back on and see if the pump runs.
• If the pump runs replace the T103 timer.

 

[chris87]

I think the timer contacts have broken.

Post a pic of the timer showing the wiring.

Consider...

• Flip off the circuit breaker.
• Move the LOAD wire to under the LINE screw.
• Flip the CB back on and see if the pump runs.
• If the pump runs replace the T103 timer.

Thank you! Great suggestion. I was actually wondering to myself if it would be okay to bypass the timer/connect to the line side, and you answered my question! I will give this a try as soon as I can and report back.

 

[chris87]

I think the timer contacts have broken.

Post a pic of the timer showing the wiring.

Consider...

• Flip off the circuit breaker.
• Move the LOAD wire to under the LINE screw.
• Flip the CB back on and see if the pump runs.
• If the pump runs replace the T103 timer.

I forgot to post back. That was the problem. When I connect the pump to the line side, it works fine! The timer will need to be replaced. Thanks for your help with this!

 

[Rand K]

I've been helping my neighbor with his pool, as he has no prior experience with one. It's an above ground with a 120v pump, which I'm not as familiar with. A couple days ago, I noticed his water level seemed low, and the pump looked to be having trouble maintaining prime (filter pressure was bouncing back and forth). I figured he would add water given the circumstances. He texted me yesterday saying that he had gotten home from work, noticed the pump was off, tried to turn it back on, but everything was dead. My initial thought was that the pump lost prime, overheated, and damaged the internals. I tried resetting the breaker, upstream GFCI, etc, but nothing has worked. When the timer is in the on position, I hear nothing from the pump. There is a power switch on the pump itself, which I also tried toggling. The pump is a Pentair OPT-NI-1VD (1 hp).

I went over there a little while ago with my multimeter and am very confused. I think the timer is an Intermatic T103. It has 3 terminals labeled A - Neutral, 1 Line, and 2 Load. There is also a green ground screw. When I test from line to neutral and ground, I get 120 volts. When I have the switch set to the on position and test from load to neutral/ground, I'm getting a value of 6+ volts. I'm assuming that's just stray voltage. I'm using a digital Fluke multimeter. I also unscrewed the back of the pump, and with the timer in the on position tested hot to ground/neutral. I'm also seeing a reading of about 6+ volts. I may be misunderstanding, but with the Intermatic in the on position, shouldn't there be 120v on the load terminal and 120v in the back of the pump? I really thought that this was a burnt out motor, but now I'm very confused.

Intermatic t103 timers can control 2 circuits. Maybe there's a breaker that's off/tripped that you're overlooking.