Pump Trips Breaker

[Winger 03]

Hello:

Woke up this AM to the pump not running; I went to investigate and saw the breaker was tripped. We have an intermatic timer that I use as an on/off switch so I shut down the power, reset the breaker and turned the timer switch back on. The pump ran for a few seconds, did not sound too great, and then shut off. Multiple attempts to reset the breaker and restart the pump have been unsuccessful.

It has been a rainy summer for us (pump is exposed) and we have been fine. We did get a lot of rain last night but nothing particularly unusual.

So the details......
Pentair Whisper Flow 2 speed pump
about 7 years old
I run on low 24 hrs per day April to October
TFP water since the beginning

When I emptied the skimmer basket at around 8pm last night, everything was fine. When I let the dogs out at about 11pm, I did not see the lights on the chlorinator illuminated but I wrote that off as I could not see them through the rain. So as best as I can tell, the pump went off during that time which was when we had the storms. I guess there is a chance the pump was hit by lightning, but that seems unlikely as other items in the subpanel we have out there are working (pool light etc).

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot? I have everything turned off and I'll try resetting later in the day.

Many thanks!

Jim

 

[mas985]

The pump ran for a few seconds, did not sound too great, and then shut off.

That is usually an indication of bad bearings. Perhaps rusted. Another possibility is something is stuck in the impeller. Either way remove the motor from the wet end to inspect. See if you can spin the impeller shaft by hand and if there is a lot of resistance.

 

[Winger 03]

So an update.....

I tried resetting and restarting and everything seems fine. Pump sounds a bit off, but not nearly as much as before.

Secondary problem........
I wanted to inspect inside the electrical connections and when removing the plate, 2 of the 3 screws broke off. Quick fix was to replace with the single screw and tape plastic over the rest (it is going to rain again). Anyone have an easy fix to extract the broken screws?