Pump suddenly stopped working--troubleshooting ideas?

[JohnGn]

My Waterway SMF-110 pump suddenly stopped working. I have it on a timer, and it was running last night. Looked out at the pool just now (late afternoon) and it looked just a bit cloudy, so I went out to investigate and the pump was not running and will not turn on.

I have made sure that the breakers weren't tripped, and in fact the timer has two indicator lights--one to confirm the timer is getting power and one to confirm the timer is providing power to the pump. Both LEDs are working--but no pump.

EDIT: I just checked the impeller and it spins freely.

Does anyone have any troubleshooting tips for me? I'm reasonably handy but have never dealt with pumps before.

Thanks.

 

[HermanTX]

You may want to change out the capacitor. It is normally in a separate housing mounted to top of motor. At least this is how mine is. Summer heat can sometimes cause the capacitor to go out first.

 

[JohnGn]

Changed the capacitor, still no pump operation. I also tested the motor to see if it was binding up, but the shaft spun freely and it doesn't seem like there would be any issue with the unit firing up.

Any other suggestions before I bite the bullet and just get a whole new pump? Any suggestions on pumps in general? My current one is a 1hp, and I have two return jets that put out very good flow. I have a bottom drain and one skimmer, so I don't think I need a whole lot more HP to do what I need to do.

Thanks for any advice and guidance.

 

[HermanTX]

The only other item to verify is a loose electrical connection at the pump motor. i read in another post that was an issue. Maybe something to check before you purchase another motor and you will need to remove these wires any way if you do need to change the motor. It appears your 1hp is doing its job. No need to go bigger, it only adds cost and no benefit in longer warranty.

 

[JohnGn]

Update: I spent a long time yesterday doing all sorts of testing and troubleshooting and discovered to my utter amazement that the root cause of my issue was a failed brand new pump timer. Once I took the timer out of the line and just hooked everything up to a normal switch, the pump fired right up. So, I have a new capacitor in my functioning pump that may not have needed to be replaced (no worries, I now have a spare when it does!) and I have processed an Amazon return-and-replace for the failed pump. It is a mechanical GE pump timer, by the way. It was very surprising that something so new and seemingly innocuous would be the cause of my issue, but there you go. Hope this helps someone else out--check everything in the electrical pathway before assuming it's your pump that failed! (Yeah, I should have done that first, but with a 6yr old pump and a brand new timer, my first assumption is a failed pump...)

 

[peirek]

Glad you found the issue. A multimeter is an inexpensive but very valuable tool in your tool box.