[SOLVED] Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

[ian81]

Hello all, first time posting on this site, second year as a pool owner. I have browsed the forums as a guest and solved a few problems. I must say that everyone here is great with all the helping and knowledge!

However, I have a problem with my pump. Today I noticed that my jets were not on, but the pump was warm as if it had been going a few hours ago, but it was now off at 5pm.
I removed both the 'on' and 'off' timer needles, and the breaker box in the basement had no tripped switches.
Both Type-T fuses on on the main switch box in the pump house are fine.
Timer wheel still keeps track of time and I have an outlet attached to the main on/off box (not the same as the timer box) that powers anything hooked up to it.
I should state that we kicked up a ton of waves in the pool yesterday, but before hand, I turned the pump off at the main source (so the skimmer wouldn't suck up air) ,and the timer had lost track of proper time. Later on when I remembered, I set the time and everything seemed fine.

I could not find anything already posted about this, but I am sure there is.
Anybody ever have this problem? Should I be looking more into maybe replacing the timer, or is it pump related?
I am not really a DIY person so if it were to be pump related, that would be a major bummer.

Any help, leads, or suggestions would be much appreciated!
I also have a few other problems, and will be posting some pictures of my setup as well as an introduction here tomorrow

 

[jblizzle]

Re: Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

Welcome to TFP !

Are you able to confirm power is still getting to the pump motor?

Will the motor not start up at all any more or will it run and then turn itself off due to overheating ?

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

 

[ian81]

Re: Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

Welcome to TFP !

Are you able to confirm power is still getting to the pump motor?

Will the motor not start up at all any more or will it run and then turn itself off due to overheating ?

Hey, thanks for the quick response!
The motor does not even flinch when the switches are on, and
The pump is plugged into a box that has an outlet on it, and that outlet has power if it helps?

It's 2:30am here at the moment so I can't really get out there but I get to spend my day off work tomorrow playing with the pool

 

[jblizzle]

Re: Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

No humming or anything?

One thing to check would be if the centrifugal switch (I think that is what it is called) is stuck inside the back cover. There was just another thread today talking about it with pictures.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

 

[ian81]

Re: Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

This switch... we're talking on the pump or on the timer box?
I don't think the pump has one but I could be wrong. I can't seem to find that thread either. My pump I think is a sta-rite dura-glas centrifugal pump (it's what owners manual I have here, but its dated from 1987 so there may be a newer pump in there)

 

[Bama Rambler]

Re: Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

The centrifugal siwtch is under the cover on the back of the pump. Don't worry about that until you've determined whether the pump has power or not.

Since you said "needles" I assume you mean trippers and if that's the case you have a mechanical timer and it should have a on/off switch so you can override the timer.
Have you tried that?
Since the pump is plugged in, you could either plug the pump into another receptacle to see if it works or you could plug a lamp into the pump receptacle to make sure it has power.

If the pump is plugged into a gfci, it may be tripped. Have you tried resetting it?

 

[ian81]

Re: Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

The centrifugal siwtch is under the cover on the back of the pump. Don't worry about that until you've determined whether the pump has power or not.

Since you said "needles" I assume you mean trippers and if that's the case you have a mechanical timer and it should have a on/off switch so you can override the timer.
Have you tried that?
Since the pump is plugged in, you could either plug the pump into another receptacle to see if it works or you could plug a lamp into the pump receptacle to make sure it has power.

If the pump is plugged into a gfci, it may be tripped. Have you tried resetting it?

Yeah by needles I meant the trippers. And I have removed both of them, and the on/off switch under the timer does nothing, but the gears are moving and the clock is going.
The pump does not plug in like your every day appliance, it is a thick grey cord that looks like it needs to be unscrewed by a professional - atleast, there is no other "outlet" to try.
The box that the pump is plugged into has a standard outlet attached to it, and the lamp works in the plug as stated before!

Also according to the diagram and owners manual of my pump, there is no reset switch

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

Re: Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

The pump does not plug in like your every day appliance, it is a thick grey cord that looks like it needs to be unscrewed by a professional - atleast, there is no other "outlet" to try.
The box that the pump is plugged into has a standard outlet attached to it, and the lamp works in the plug as stated before!

Also according to the diagram and owners manual of my pump, there is no reset switch

Does turning the timer switch manually to off shut off anything plugged into the outlet? If not then the outlet may be in parallel which does not tell you if the timer is passing power to the pump.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Re: Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

UWV stated the next thing I would have brought up. The convenience receptacle is most likely not on the timer.

You need to make sure pump is getting power from the timer. That's the next step. If you're not comfortable checking it maybe you have a friend or neighbor that can test it for you.

 

[ian81]

Re: Pool pump won't turn on - inground pool

Woo hoo! got the pump running!
Although the fuses (BUSS Type T - Amp8) did not look blown through the glass window on them, they actually were!
I thought they were fine, due to the fact that the outlet on the box was still working (and they did not look blown)

Thanks for the help and suggestions everyone! Next time before I waste peoples times I'll check the easiest / cheapest things first..