Plumbing, Heating and Pool Repair Guides

How To Troubleshoot & Repair Swimming Pool Pumps

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Every swimming pool pump will break down at some point, and when it does it can have a huge impact on your pool that you may not be realizing. The good news is that most of these swimming pool pump problems can be troubleshooted within a few minutes to prevent further damage that can cause even more repair work on the pump. How To Troubleshoot & Repair Swimming Pool Pumps

This troubleshooting guide will help you repair & troubleshoot many brands and models of pool pumps including such brands as Hayward, Pentair, Sta-rite pool pumps, and many others. The only difference is that some pumps will have different horsepower, name brand, but no matter what brand of pool pump you have they all will have an impeller and so on so this guide should work for you.

There are a few common reason that you pool pump will break down. Things like running the pump with a pool prime can burn out the seal and even over heat the pump fittings to a point where the pump won’t pull a prime at all. Other things include things like leaking plumbing pipes that drip on the pool pump motor for years that eventually rot a hole though the pump casing and then destroy the motor. Those are just two really common happenings at most pools in many backyards and with just a few minutes of time and labor you can avoid all these pump problems before they happen.

Lets now go over how you can troubleshoot your swimming pool pump. You will want to get your swimming pool running again as soon as possible because otherwise your pool chemistry could become off balance and the water will turn green and the you will need to learn how to clear a green pool once you get the pump running. Anyhow let’s get on to the swimming pool pump troubleshooting.

How to troubleshoot your pool pump motor:

Hayward Super Pump and Super Pump II
The swimming pool pump consists of two parts the actual electrical motor and the wet end that contains the seal and the impeller. On the popular Hayward super pump these two parts separated by removing four 9/16 bolts on the pump. So the first thing you want to do to determine what is wrong with the motor is to see if you have power to it. Make sure to check your circuit breaker for the pool as well as any sub panel breakers that maybe outside as well.

If the breaker is on on both panels you will now want to make sure that the time is on as well. Most in-ground pools will have a separate time that maybe off, and if you have an above ground or semi above ground you may have a timer as well. If you know you do not have a timer at all then just skip this part. You will also want to make sure that the pump is plugged in, I know this may sound silly but often, landscapers and other ground workers sometimes disconnect or trip over cords, this does not happen to often but it always can happen. If you have check all the power sources and you still have no power chances are your motor is no good or will need serious repair, your best bet it to replace the motor or bring it to a pump repair shop to see if they can rebuild or repair it, but in most cases its cheaper to buy a new motor. It will also make sense to buy a new motor if yours is several years old. If your pump is however in a newer shape it might be worth it to have it repaired.

How to troubleshoot your pool pump wet end:

Hayward Super Pump housing
The “wet end” of a pool pump is the part that contains the impeller and the seal. The reason its called a wet end of the pump is for the exact reason you maybe thinking. It’s because water goes through this part of the pump and it gets wet, its as simply as that. The parts on the wet end of the pool pump are called, the impeller, seal, pump cover, pump cover gasket, drain plugs and also the volute which is also know as the pump housing. If your motor is good, meaning it turns on and no water is pumping through it , you probably have a problem with wet part of the pump and this can includes problems with the parts we just listed above,

How to make your pool pump run air free:

Hayward Super Pump
The first step to making sure you pump gets a full prime every time it runs is to make sure that all the places that can leak air are sealed tight. The places that you seal up to make sure that no air gets in the pump are the drain plugs, suction union or suction valve, volute gasket even and the pump lid gasket. These are the most common places that air will get into the filter system.

So what you will want to do is make sure that the unions are tight and that the gaskets are not dry rotted, or cracked and also make sure that the drain plugs have a sealant tape on them if they are tapered. Please note that there are two different types of drain plugs. The first kind is tapered and will require sealant tape. The second type of pump drain plug has no taper but uses a rubber washer to make the seal, Often this washer rots away and then the drain plug does not have a complete seal. So make sure to check the pump drain plugs really well.

Also check out this video that will show you the most common places the Hayward Superpump will leak:

http://video.wetheadmedia.com/hayward-pool-pump-troubleshooting

The video might give you a better visual on where things will leak and the most common places the pump will suck or draw air in.

How to replace your pool pump:

Replacing a pool pump can be done with a few tools as pool pumps usually are only connected by two fittings and the electrical cord. You will need a large sized pair of water pump pliers and also a flat head screwdriver.
Pentair IntelliFlo High Performance Pump
Here is how to remove and replace the swimming pool pump:

Step One:

The first thing you will want to do when removing your pool pump is to make sure that the power is off and then you will want to also unplug the pump .

Step Two:

Now that you are completely sure that the power is off and you have disconnect the swimming pool pump power cord you will now want to disconnect the ground wire. The ground wire is attached by the ground clamp that will be attached to the top pf the motor. Take your flat head screwdriver and loosen the screw and remove the ground wire and place it to the side. The ground wire will be a copper wire coming from the ground. This is required on above ground and also in ground pools.

Step Three:

In this step, you will be removing your swimming pool pump completely from the filter and the base. To do so, you will have loosed the discharge union and the suction union of the pump. The suction union is the union on the front of the pump and the discharge union can be found on the top or side of the pump. If you have an above ground pool you will just have to loosen the hose clamps on the plastic hoses and then remove the hose hoses from the pool unless your above ground pool is hard piped then you will have to loosen the unions, as we described above. To loosen the unions turn the union nut with your water pump pliers counter clockwise until hand loose and then spin the union nuts by hand.

Step Four:

Before you remove the pump , make sure that the power is off , ground wire is removed and the unions disconnected. Once that is all done you can lift up your pump and remove it. To re-install the swimming pool pump just reverse these directions and don’t forget to prime your pump before starting.

98 Comments

  1. I have replaced the housing around and the impella of my pool pump. For some reason, hen I turn it on, it will hum for time period of 5 seconds, then the power shuts off at the breaker. The impella won’t turn. But, if I reset the breaker at the box, turn it on and quickly give it a turn, it works great. I can’t get it to work without my initial assistance to get it going.

  2. My pool ended up draining last night and the pump was on. just wondering if my motor will still work? it was making noise

    Please help me

  3. My Sta-Rite (Model PZRA5E) is getting louder to the point my wife says the high pitch is bothering her ears (and my dogs).  What is causing the pump to increase in volume and pitch?  Thanks, Frank

  4. The filter needs to be cleaned “backwashed” or rinsed.

    The pump having to “force” water though the filter is causing the pump top strain and therfore making the bearing heat up and make noise.

    Clean or backwash your filter and you should be OK.

    If you cleaned the filter and you still have the noise, then you might need to repalce the pump motor bearings,

    Let me know if you need any more help,

    Joseph

    • We just installed a new Hayward Superpump. It is wired exactly the same as the previous pump, but when we turn it on it runs for a second or two and then trips the circuit breaker. What can we do?

  5. I am trying to open a pool that has been down a couple of years. It was closed by a pro. I have the cover off. Started filling it with water. Tested it and added shock to it and now I don’t know how to get my pump going. I turned the power on and the pump switch on and nothing!!!!????!!!! Any suggestions???

  6. JUST THE SWITCH i didn’t see a timer??? CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT OR WHERE IT NIGHT BE OR LOOK LIKE?????

  7. Hi,

    Have a look at this picture on the top left in this article:

    http://wetheadmedia.com/best-swimming-pool-timers/

    That is what  Pool timer looks like, Sometimes there will be attached to the same pole that the electrical outlet is hooked to by the filter system OR

    Sometimes they  are located in the garage, mud room, basement etc.

    If you have a “control box” which some pools  do, the time and circuit breakers will be inside of there.

    What does your pump plug into?

    Is it a large 12″ wide by 24″ tall box with a door, or is the pump pluged into an outlet , and if so , what is the outlet mounted to, the timer box could be there as well.

    If this is an Above ground pool let me know, also let me know what type of pump you have,

     

    Joseph

  8. Thanks so much for all of your info. I have a Haywood pump. I have a switch box on a pole with a on/off leaver on it and a (LOOKS LIKE A ) light switch under that. I have someone coming to check the wireing tomorrow. Once I get the power one to it what is the next step???? Somewhere I read backwash for 2 min. How will i get the air out of my pump?

  9. Well the electrician came and no power to my pump,,,,,, so he can’t come back until later this week so any other suggestions about what i can be doing???? Can or will I need to change the sand in my filter???

  10. Hi Lisa,

    How old is the sand in your filter?

    Is the cover still on the swimming pool or is it off?

    Please let me know the above, If the cover is off I would shock the pool for starters until you can get the power going.

    Is this a power flo pump?

  11. I have an above ground pool just installed last August. Pro closed it. I opened but when flicked pump switch, getting lots of sputtering and the trap basket area isn’t totally full of water as it was in the fall. I also had no water in my Sta-Rite Modular Cartridge when I put the clean filters back in….should I have filled it back up with water……the flow rate is very slow coming out of the return valve into the pool…..this really sucks…..can anyone help?

    • Hi Gary,

      This is a common problem after a long winter / off season,

      Hit the pump a few times with a rubber hammer or a hammer when you turn it own and that will usually “jar loose” the surface rust that has jammed the motor armature to the inside of the motor windings,

      This is a common problem. What I usually do is smack the motor a few times with a rubber mallet while it is off, Then I turn on the pump and if its still humming I hit the pump with persuasion until it starts. In some cases the motor switch or capacitor could be bad, but you didn’t tell me name or model of the pump so I am give you a common problem and solution.

      If smacking the pump doesn’t work, let me know and it could be something else.

      But if your motor was outside or in a moist area this COULD be the cause and I have seen this many times, In fact above you will find responses from others that have used this trick and got there pump going again.

      Let me know if you need any more help,

      Joseph

      • HI, I tried what you said about the rubber mallet because our pool pump motor was not pushing any water or doing anything but humming. Since I did that now when I turn on the motor I get nothing.. No hum no anything.. I didn’t hit it hard either..

        Please help!

  12. I have an hayward super pump. I followed your instructions but pump did not start. I also was told to change yhe capacitor and nothing work. But when I tried several times to start it I notice smoke coming from the pump. What could this indicate?

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