Pump not turning on

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possiblefalcon

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Hi, I have a 1hp 230V underground pump that will not turn on. It was working fine when I bought the house, but I forgot to have the electric switched over to my name, so the power company turned the power off and I have not been able to get it to work since the electric was turned back on. I've tried switching the breaker switch off and on, cleaning the pressure switch contacts of any carbon build up or debris, replacing the control box which included the capacitor and relay, and searched for burned wires.

Also, something worth mentioning is that there is no voltage going through the wires directly from the box or the pressure switch any time I switch on the breaker switch for the well. It's either very little to none.

I do not know how old the pump is. The tank is only 6yrs old.

I would appreciate any and all advice as to what the issue could be.

Thanks,
Joe

Note: the control box pictured is the old one
 

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If there no power coming from the panel I would suspect a faulty breaker.
 
Is there voltage at the control box? The two outside terminals of the pressure switch should have full voltage between them if wired normally. If no voltage at the pressure switch and voltage at the control box, I would suspect faulty wire to the pressure switch. If no voltage at the control box and voltage out of breaker the I would suspect faulty wires between breaker and control box.
 
GReynolds929 said:
Is there voltage at the control box? The two outside terminals of the pressure switch should have full voltage between them if wired normally. If no voltage at the pressure switch and voltage at the control box, I would suspect faulty wire to the pressure switch. If no voltage at the control box and voltage out of breaker the I would suspect faulty wires between breaker and control box.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response. Just to clarify, I am not detecting any voltage in the wires directly from the breaker relay to the pressure switch when measuring from the breaker box. When I tested the breaker relay, it had the required voltage level of 246V.

I'm just confused at this point why I'm not getting any draw to the wires connected to the pressure switch...
 
Are you referring to the pump control box as the breaker box? If so and there is proper voltage out of the pump control box, the the wire between the box and pressure switch has likely failed. You could run a temporary jumper from the box to the switch and see if that solves the problem.
 
It would help if you would draw a schematic of your wiring showing where you have voltage and where you do not. The issue appears to be with wiring someplace, but it is hard to figure out with just words.
 
We are probably not supposed to give electrical advice. So in fact, I say don't do anything and keep calling electricians until you find one that has an apprentice willing to trace your problem. That said, here is how I do my own electrical work in terms of finding your problem. But I use multiple "sniffers" to double check power is off when touching things. I also have a main shut off that kills all power (but I still double check).

Uh oh. I see you are in Florida and I know why you are asking for electrical advice. I had the same problem last year. (Needed simple electrical problem figured out but in Florida, you can't get electricians to do small jobs because they are all doing on demand generator installs for all the wealthy new home buyers going crazy here). You just have to keep testing and going backwards until you find where you are not getting voltage but should be. You already stated it's not the pump as there is no voltage to it? So it's either the wiring before the pump, the switch is next I guess? Maybe more wiring from there, and then to a breaker. Honestly, I'd start with the breaker and since in case itwent bad. Pop in a new breaker, the easiest fix should be tried first. Unless it's a 200 dollar GFI breaker but I doubt you have that. I'm the only crazy guy who insists on having those it seems. (for all of my pump or water related items). The switch is more likely to fail too than even the breaker. I there an easy way to directly wire the two hots to the pump without the switch and see if it turns on when the breaker is on? Then you know the pump works but you got a bad switch.

How old is your home? Most newer homes in Florida have the crappy Square D brand of breakers and panels. I find those to be of poor quality compared to the older GE electrical boxes and breakers. But....to be fair...when I buy new GE breakers, I noticed they are now made in Dominican Republic and wonder if they are any better than Square D. But if you got a Square D breaker, change it out first to maybe save you time and then trace all the wires and switches to the pump. Worst case scenario you need a new pump is maybe the worst. They seem to be running 400 dollars just for a good motor now. I installed a sub panel to feed a 230 volt 1.5 hp commercial grade irrigation pump so I'm pretty much able to do all home wiring now but the project took me 3 months. I'm a broke ass school teacher with an older beach side home so I have to fix and repair things just about every week.
 
Last edited:
possiblefalcon said:
Thanks for the response. I just tested the breaker relay and they're both operating at 123v (Total: 246V). So I'm thinking they're working properly?
Click to expand...
Then maybe the switch is bad? I would try to power the motor directly without a switch in between to rule out the switch. You may have to get 12 gauge wires to "jump" passed the switch. Then you can know what's bad before buying anything. Also, check for lose wires. Is the ground lose or any of the other wires? An electrician or apprentice could figure out the problem in 4 minutes. So I'm frustrated with you and for you as I understand you can't get electricians to do small jobs. They all do 12,000 dollar generator installs here. (they complete the job in 2 days and then just do another generator install, then another, then another). I honestly don't know how anyone who is not very, very DIY is going to own a home in Florida because every electrician with a license is only doing on demand generator jobs.
 
Let's start at the beginning... your pressure switch. If you check voltage by touching the 2 outside wires.. do you have voltage ? If yes, check the 2 inside wires, but you might have to manually trip the switch if it isn't allready tripped. If you have power there , then it's on to your co tool box.
But if no power to the pressure switch , it has to come from the breaker box, so there is a problem there, you may need a new breaker. Did you check the voltage at the breaker, it should read approx 220 between the connections when on.
I know you said you've done this, but one more try. But if there is good voltage at the breaker and none in the switch, your wire from breaker to switch went bad somehow.
You could get a piece of 12-2 wire and try replacing that connection and retest.. before snaking it though your conduit.
 
Again, a schematic of the wiring showing where voltage is and isn't would really help with basic trouble shooting. That should be done before changing out any electrical components. From the description, it really seems like a wiring issue. Make sure the wiring under the screws is clean.
 
Ludington said:
Let's start at the beginning... your pressure switch. If you check voltage by touching the 2 outside wires.. do you have voltage ? If yes, check the 2 inside wires, but you might have to manually trip the switch if it isn't allready tripped. If you have power there , then it's on to your co tool box.
But if no power to the pressure switch , it has to come from the breaker box, so there is a problem there, you may need a new breaker. Did you check the voltage at the breaker, it should read approx 220 between the connections when on.
I know you said you've done this, but one more try. But if there is good voltage at the breaker and none in the switch, your wire from breaker to switch went bad somehow.
You could get a piece of 12-2 wire and try replacing that connection and retest.. before snaking it though your conduit.
Click to expand...
This. (He has my idea but is way better at explaining the steps). Thank you! With some spare 12-2 wire you can maybe directly test the motor. I think the home owner said he did get power at the breaker though? So maybe start from the wires after pump connection to switch and then to the breaker.
 
Sorry, I should have done a better job explaining. But to clarify, there is no voltage in any of the wires from the breaker switch to the pump.

My only guess is that the breaker switch is bad or the wire might be burnt. I am going to be at the house on Saturday, and will test the capacitance of the breaker switch to see if it is bad
 
possiblefalcon said:
Sorry, I should have done a better job explaining. But to clarify, there is no voltage in any of the wires from the breaker switch to the pump.

My only guess is that the breaker switch is bad or the wire might be burnt. I am going to be at the house on Saturday, and will test the capacitance of the breaker switch to see if it is bad
Click to expand...

Do you mean there is no power detected coming directly out of the breaker? (not the pump switch further down the line and close to the pump)?

It must mean you have a bad breaker, they are like 7 dollars so just try a new breaker. (you should be able to read voltage at the breaker). But I guess maybe there is a short in the wiring now is the only other possibility. Here's the good news, you have old wire there that can be pulled to replace with new wire if you have to I suppose? You may want to find an electrician that has an apprentice who is willing to do this job. What part of Florida are you in? (If you try calling electrical companies in Florida, many are not taking new customers at all and just doing on demand generator jobs, but if you find an old school electrician who has an apprentice, they will let the apprentice do the small jobs lately). Because maybe there is something wrong in your sub panel like neutral and ground is not separated or you have a short in the walls. You don't want to burn you house down to save 250 bucks.
 
RickFlorida said:
Do you mean there is no power detected coming directly out of the breaker? (not the pump switch further down the line and close to the pump)?

It must mean you have a bad breaker, they are like 7 dollars so just try a new breaker. (you should be able to read voltage at the breaker). But I guess maybe there is a short in the wiring now is the only other possibility. Here's the good news, you have old wire there that can be pulled to replace with new wire if you have to I suppose? You may want to find an electrician that has an apprentice who is willing to do this job. What part of Florida are you in? (If you try calling electrical companies in Florida, many are not taking new customers at all and just doing on demand generator jobs, but if you find an old school electrician who has an apprentice, they will let the apprentice do the small jobs lately). Because maybe there is something wrong in your sub panel like neutral and ground is not separated or you have a short in the walls. You don't want to burn you house down to save 250 bucks.
Click to expand...
Correct, there is no power coming directly from the breaker. I'll try replacing it and will go from there.
 
As I said, a schematic of the wiring showing where voltage is and isn't would really help with basic trouble shooting. If you have no voltage at one or both of the double pole breaker terminals, the source of your power, then the other end of the wire connected to the breaker will obviously not have any power.
You indicated, "I've tried switching the breaker switch off and on, cleaning the pressure switch contacts of any carbon build up or debris, replacing the control box which included the capacitor and relay, and searched for burned wires." That is all well and good to do, but with no power going to your system, that could not have been your problem. However, the picture of your old control box shows a little problem.
1726061546324.png

So, you may indeed have something else going on. Or this problem could have caused your breaker to fail.
 
MicEd69 said:
As I said, a schematic of the wiring showing where voltage is and isn't would really help with basic trouble shooting. If you have no voltage at one or both of the double pole breaker terminals, the source of your power, then the other end of the wire connected to the breaker will obviously not have any power.
You indicated, "I've tried switching the breaker switch off and on, cleaning the pressure switch contacts of any carbon build up or debris, replacing the control box which included the capacitor and relay, and searched for burned wires." That is all well and good to do, but with no power going to your system, that could not have been your problem. However, the picture of your old control box shows a little problem.
View attachment 46452

So, you may indeed have something else going on. Or this problem could have caused your breaker to fail.
Click to expand...
Nice catch ! But I think he said he replaced it.. maybe he replaced that too.
But your exactly right no power at breaker -> = no power anywhere else.
Now I'm wondering if when he snaps the breaker on, it immediatly faults out.
 
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