Pump Wont Start? Try this

If your submersible pump is not starting, you might find the following blog post useful to figure out the cause behind it by using the troubleshooting guidelines below.

Warning: Electricity can be very unsafe and more if you don’t have much experience with it. So before testing out any electrical component, shut off the power supply breakers and stay cautious. Only continue doing the tests if you’re sure that you can safely do them. Otherwise, consult an expert. 

1.    Check tripped breakers/blown fuses: See if there are any tripped breakers or any fuse has blown out

2.    Check voltage readings: From the suggested motor rating, the voltage should be only 10% higher or lower. See the power supplied to the system is adequate or not. For voltage reading, check any component through which power passes like a control box or pressure switch.

The company needs to be contacted if the power supply is very high or low at your power panel. 

3.    Examine pressure switch: See if there are any signs of wear and tear on your pressure switch. Check if some area has blackened, there is any component that has burned, melted, or deformed. Pressure switches are essential for the proper working of a system, but they are not that expensive. So in case, there is any fault instead of repairing them it’s better to get a new one.

4.    Examine the control panel: Visually inspect your control panels to see if there is any wear and tear. Check if any component has melted or burnt or any wiring connection is loose. If there is a problem within your control panel, you might have already identified it when you were checking the voltage in the previous step.

5.    Observe the splice connections: Check if power is not reaching the pump due to any corrosion in the splice connection or any other reason. Splice connections are generally located at two places:

·       In between UF or THHN and submersible cable located near the top of the well which enters the home

·       In between submersible cable and pump motor

The latter obviously can’t be checked since it is deep within the well, and you have to take the pump out of the well to check it.

6.    Check motor and pump: It might be likely that you should now change your pump and motor if the above steps didn’t work out for you. The splice connection at the pump motor can be checked by taking out the pump. To see if it’s the motor that faulty or the pump or, in some cases, both, various techniques can be used. For finding the reason behind the problem, you or your technician might find it useful to consult the AIM (Application - Installation - Maintenance) Manual by Franklin electric.

We hope the above blog post helped you identify and locate the problem and how to resolve it. If you need any other advice or have some queries feel free to contact us by calling at ‪(760) 440-8520‬.