"Aaron Eel (Ehrin)" wrote in message
...
On Aug 22, 2:15 am, mm wrote:
On Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:14:56 -0700 (PDT), "Aaron Eel (Ehrin)"





wrote:
I have a 1-1/2hp submersible pump that is acting very strange. It is
less than two years old and the well is about 90 feet deep. It has
been running really good for all this time with excellent pressure.
Just this morning the problem started. The shower was running and it
just stopped. I waited about 2 minutes and I heard the pump kick on,
and the water returned (with comparable pressure). Then after a minute
it stopped again. I have used well water for at least half of the last
30 years so I'm no stranger to pump problems. I went out to the well
and checked the points in the pressure switch. The psi read about 45
(mine is set to 40/60). I turned on a garden hose but it just emptied
the tank and the pump didn't come on. I immediately checked the
points. They were only about 6 months old and they still looked good.
No bugs or corrosion. But they were totally closed. They were not
welded shut however. I was able to seperate them easily with the edge
of the plastic switch cap. But as soon as I would release them, they
would jump closed again.

Because when you emptied the tank with the garden hose you lowered th
epressure to the point where it's supposed to turn on?? So of course
the points would be closed.



The reading with the power on, points closed and pump off was 45psi.
The kick-on psi is 40. The hose was turned on and the holding tank was
emptied. 0 psi. nothing for a minute or so. Points still hot
(electrically) but closed. Then the pump motor kicks on until about
45psi is again realized. Then it shuts off. Points STILL closed. I
guess it would repeat this over and over but I didn’t want to mess up
my new points






This whole time the pump had power but did
not come on at all. Then it finally came on after another minute. It
ran the pressure up to about 45psi and suddenly stopped. It sort of
fizzled out instead of the normal kick it puts down when it stops. And
the points still remained closed!
I went ahead and installed a new pressure switch just to be sure. The
same thing happened. I checked to see if the lines were all hot and
they were. The pressure in the holding tank was at 38psi. Just where
it should be. The only thing left now is the control box (which was
installed new with the pump) or the pump itself. I have some water now
to get me by, but I only turn the power on at the breaker and only if
we really need it. And only for that time. Any ideas?

Is it overheating, or oversomethinging, and then resetting itself a
few minutes later?





Thanks.......-



Question: What is the cylindrical 'thing' in the control box (the
electrical box between the switch and the pump motor)? It looks like
some kind of capacitor or something. Could it be some sort of fuse
that has gone bad?

When fuses go bad, they tend to stay bad. That is a capacitor. When the
pressure switch is closed, it's sending power to the control box, which
contains motor parts that are usually enclosed on the motor, but in the case
of well pumps, they keep these parts separate and accessible, so they're
easily replaced if the burn out. You need to identify the parts in the motor
control box, and test them first. If all is OK there, pull the pump and
check for broken wires as gfretwell describes. If a wire is broken, it
probably won't be visible, as copper breaks inside of the insulation, often
without being obvious.