I have a 10,000 gal in-ground pool. I replaced both the main motor and the motor to the booster pump (along with new impaler) about 4 months ago. Everything worked fine up until a few days ago. Neither pump will kick on.
There is power to the timers. I thought maybe it’s just a bad connection with the wires. I jiggled the elbow where the wires feed into the motor. The pump kicked on. It ran the rest of the day. The next day it neither pump kicked on at 8am via timers. Although they both kicked on later in the day and ran the rest of the day. Since then, they won’t kick on. I pulled the back cover and wires off the main motor and put them back on. Still won’t start.
My guess is, it’s a wiring issue. Maybe the wires, which are really difficult to feed through the elbow going into the motor, cracked as I was feeding them through?
Side note; I started cleaning the pool tiles with Acid Blue a day or so before the issue started. I diluted it as per instructions. I know that stuff is super corrosive since I used it to soak my filters earlier this year. Accidentally dropped a pair of channel locks on the diluted solution and now my channel locks are toast…looks like they’re rusted real bad.
Is there a chance the diluted acid blue solution ran through the pumps and ruined the moving parts inside, causing it to seize? I doubt that’s it, but I’m no expert.
Appreciate your thoughts and advice.
Lance
Edit:
Breakers aren’t being tripped. And I replaced both motors with exact same model as the old ones.
Hi Lance, I doubt that the acid solution damaged the pump unless it sat in the pump while it was off, and, if the pump was off when you applied the solution, it probably would not get sucked into it. It would be too diluted to cause any damage if the pump was on.
You say that there is power to the timers; how about after the timers? Are the clock motors working and spinning correctly (assuming you have an analog-style clock) and keeping the correct time? Does everything work when you turn them on manually from the timer? Replacing the timer motor and/or the switches is a fairly easy task and they can wear out over time.
If there is power after the timers then it sounds like there is a wiring issue from the timers to the motors. Since you already checked the wiring at the motor (and if the wiring is good at the timer switch) I would highly recommend pulling the wiring and replacing it. Pool equipment can be a relatively heavy consumer of current and the power distribution centers and the connections can get oxidized over time which can lead to some funky electrical problems. There could be water sitting in your electrical conduit which may have caused some issues (though I would think that a breaker should have tripped if that were the case).
I’m sure you know this, but the electrical safety of your pool equipment is extremely important. Hire a professional if you are not comfortable doing the work yourself and be sure everything is grounded and bonded for the safety of everyone who uses the pool.
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Thanks Rich for taking the time to reply.
Turns out, it was just a bad wiring terminal. Thing got so hot it turned the screw black. Could barely get it out. But once I swapped out the screw and the contact, everything works great.