Water Pump Wiring Troubleshooting & Repair How to install or detect & fix well pump control box & wiring
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InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website. Well pump wiring diagnosis & repair: This article describes troubleshooting a submersible well pump that was causing tripped circuit breakers and that pumped water only at a slow, reduced rate and pressure. Ultimately using some simple electrical tests the homeowner traced the water pump problems to a nicked well pump wiring circuit wire. We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need. Electrical Wiring Damage Causing Water Pump Malfunctions: breaker or fuse trip/blow, poor or weak pump performance How to install & wire a pump control box. [Click to enlarge any image] Watch out: electrical wiring is dangerous: you could be shocked or killed. If you are not trained and familiar with proper, safe electrical wiring practices don't try it; This sounds to me as if the motor is overheating or is damaged and is drawing high current (amps). There are at least two common electrical tests: 1. A test of the pump wiring itself for deteriorated or damaged insulation (low resistance), breaks (infinite resistance), and dead shorts to ground (zero or close to zero resistance) 2. A test of the pump motor windings for evidence of wear or shorts (abnormally low resistance) Tests of the pump wiring are made by individually connecting between each wire (at the well head) and ground. If the well casing is
metal then connect the ground lead of the VOM/DMM (be sure it's a good clean connection) to the well casing or metal piping). If the well casing is plastic then you have to connect your ground lead to the circuit ground. I give some examples below. It's difficult to make an exhaustive check of the wires for leaks or weak shorts to ground without pulling the wiring out of the well since at the wire ends there will be a connection through the pump motor - giving some resistance but not a quantity that we know without help from the pump manufacturer. Watch out: if you do not know how to perform electrical wiring and circuit tests safely you could be shocked or killed or could start a building fire. Work with power off and disconnected from the pump circuit. See DMMs VOMs SAFE USE OF With power OFF and wires to the pump DISCONNECTED at the house end so that there is no power to the pump or controls, AND provided you know how to use a DMM or VOM safely - as you could be killed if you make a mistake in wiring - you or your electrician might use the DMM or VOM in Ohms mode to measure the circuit resistance. You need to know the normal resistance for your specific well pump brand and model. \Illustration: a waterproof electrical wiring splice kit sold at Home Depot stores, electrical suppliers, plumbing suppliers. You need to know the approximate total length of the wire as there is a correction factor to include for wire length.
You can also check resistance between each lead and ground - and to the well casing as sometimes that will show up a short not between wires but between one wire and ground. Goulds Pumps, an ITT company, offers an excellent submersible well pump diagnostic and service manual.
See pages 24 and 25 therein for notes on how to make a resistance check of the pump wires. The illustration I show above is excerpted from Gould's pump manual It may run all day or it might trip in 5 mins. How do I check the wires to see if there's a short between house and well or if the short is in the well itself? The wire from the house is buried really deep. 4/12/2014 Reader Comments on diagnosing weird well pump behavior:Joe said: My home well is doing some weird stuff. First of all, I have 25 amp breakers going to my 1.5 HP pump that is 160 feet down. in the last few days, it has tripped the breakers 5 times I ohm ed out the motor and it is open (infinite resistance) to ground both legs and 3.2 ohms between the 2 leads going to the motor. [Click to enlarge any image] The symptoms that I am seeing is that it it taking my well about 7 to 10 minutes to fill up ( I have a 120 gallon galvanized tank with no bladder). When the water pressure in the tank gets to about 30 psi, the water in the house starts discharging air and water combined. I have changed the starter cap. because the pump sounds as if it is working extra hard at start up, but smooth out as the pressure increases. changing the caps did not help. I was thinking that the caps may be bad and it was pulling too much current at start up and tripping the breakers. I'm not sure if the system is water logged or not. Any ideas? Reply: Tripping breakers on the pump circuitJoe, Tripping breakers on the pump circuit often mean that the pump is drawing high current [or that there is an actual short circuit]. If we don't have a short in the circuit then unfortunately that makes us suspect a failing pump motor. Keep in mind that motor tests are tricky because once parts start spinning an internal winding can move, changing the electrical properties of the device. ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE For readers who are qualified and know how to use electrical test instruments, for safety and completeness also see
I'm speaking beyond my competence but from what I've been studying just recently, there are useful relationships between motor current draw and other conditions besides a failing motor. Illustration at above-left: orange extension cord wiring used to hook up the pump pressure control switch is an improper and unsafe electrical installation. E.g.
So we could argue that a pump running against a waterlogged pressure tank might see higher than normal pressure but I doubt it. A water logged pressure tank will quickly if not immediately reach cut-out pressure and turn off the pump (unless the pressure control switch is itself faulty and not sensing that the tank is up to pressure). Anyway it's easy enough to check for a waterlogged tank, as we discuss in this article series. I think I'd pull the pump and check for binding bearings, damaged impeller that's binding, and if those looked good I might take it to an electric motor repair shop for more expert testing. Also see SINGLE PHASE PUMP SERVICE MANUAL [PDF] (2005) Goulds, ITT, Website: www.goulds.com available from the company or free as a download at InspectApedia for examples of resistance tests of well pump motors and wiring. Well Pump Wiring Size vs Distance & VoltageCheck also that your well pump wiring has been properly sized for the distance from building to well pump (e.g. for a submersible pump in the well). This table is a general guideline for well pump wiring sizing.
Notes to the table above:
Reader follow-up: successful well pump diagnosis traced to damaged wiringImage at left, not from Joe's home, illustrates un-protected 240V wiring entering the well casing at the casing top of a water well located in a building basement. I spent all day with it, watching it, listening to it. Here is what I found: I was showing 238V at the cut off box at the control box. when the pump kicked on, I was loosing one leg and this was tripping the double pole breaker . I tested this theory (I actually seen the leg go off with the meter) by taking my generator and hooking the 230V side up to the pump. I have a 7000 watt generator, so there was no issue running the pump. It took about 5 minutes to fill the 120 gallon tank. It took forever [for the water tank pressure] to get past 25 psi, but once it hit 30 psi it took about 2 minutes for it to reach the cut off pressure of 68 psi (my pump and tank are quite a ways from my house and I adjusted the pressure). I had my wife and kids take showers, run the washing machine, and even used the sprinkler in the yard for a couple of hours and watched the pressure gauge and everything worked as normal. With that being said, my power wire from the breaker box to the well is buried underground. I dug it up today and found a burned spot in the insulation. I cut the insulation back and found that the leg I was loosing when the pump came on was damaged. I guess there was a nick in the wire when I buried it and didn't notice it. When the pump was not running, there was no current being pulled even though the voltage was still there. When current started passing through the wire, there was enough missing insulation to trip the breaker - like a ground fault on a 480V system. I am an industrial electrician and I'm very familiar with 480V-2300V systems. I wasn't sure in my original post if I was seeing an issue with the air pressure in the tank or something along those lines. Final fix: repaired bad wire going to the pump control box.
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Notes: to the tables aboveSome of the well pump troubleshooting suggestions in this list can be found at the Betta-Flo Jet Pump Installation Manual from the National Pump Co. Page top illustration courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates (found at page bottom, Click to Show or Hide) . Submersible Pump Wiring Diagrams & ConnectionsHi, I am replacing my submersible well pump this new one is listed as (single phase 230v) with four(4) wires two (2) are hot leads one (1) is a ground the last one (1) connects the capacitor motor. Now is where my confusion begins I only have three (3) wires at the well head and that continues through out the remainder of my system being the breaker shut off and the pressure switch. would I connect the capacitor to the common? Since I will already need to connect the two (2) hot leads together. [Click to enlarge any image] I have provided a picture of the inside cover of control box diagram. Greg, I'll be glad to research this further as from your question and image I'm not confident I can give a correct answer right-off. What are the brand and model of the new pump? What are the brand and model of the old pump? Do we have a wiring diagram from the original submersible? Or the old control box? Meanwhile, I have marked the identity of the wires in your wiring diagram. Typical 4-wire submersible pump control box wiring diagramThese4-wire well pump wiring connections are typical for a single-phase submersible pump.
You will see that
Power flows as follows: Watch out: I cannot advise you to connect your pump to this control before we know more, as a short circuit could kill you. ? You have not told me if your pump is a 120V or a 240V motor, ditto for the control. ? You have not told me if there is one start/run capacitor or separate individual run and start capacitors Typical 2-wire 240V Well Pump Wiring ConnectionsA 2-wire 240V well pump may have the following wires present and connected as given at the control box:
Typical 3-wire 240V Well Pump Wiring ConnectionsA 3-wire pump control box may actually have 6 physical wires present as follows: Inputs:
Outputs
Above: Example wiring details using the Franklin Electric Pumptec-Plus pump controller - citation and manual links provided below. [Click to enlarge any image] Watch out: your pump wiring
requirements may differ: consult the IO manual for your pump and pump controller. Well Pump Wiring Guides, Manuals ReferencesIllustration: Franklin Electric provides this Pumptec Control Box # 5800020610 that includes a pump protection circuit that prevents the pump from running dry: particularly suitable for low-yield wells. The control will stop the pump in low water conditions.
Causes Of & Cures For Broken Submersible Well pump WiringThis discussion has moved to WATER PUMP WIRING DAMAGE Reader Q&A - also see the FAQs series linked-to below@Rob, Common causes of intermittent pump stopping when power remains are
I have new 3wire 1/2 hp pump new pressure tank new pressure switch new wiring to well head . Checked continuity on wires from well head to motor. Well runs and cycles fine intermittently looses pressure to 0 and stops for 2-3 minutes then starts again . There is power when not running??? Starts again after 2 1/2 mins consistently Pressure switch points are closed when this happens @Anonymous, In the Index to Related Articles you will find an article titled "Pump will not start". It contains some good diagnostic steps to help you out. the pump switch will not cycle on. I replaced the switch and I had a service tech come out and found one leg of the well pump wiring at 15 amps and the other at 3 amps changed controller and switch with no change. The switch will not turn itself on and must be manually turned on. Is the motor on the
submersible pump bad. they are coming tomorrow to change it but seem unsure of the issure @Dan, Take a look at ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE and keep in mind that if you're not trained in safe electrical work and testing you could be shocked or killed - just sayin' Or you could take the pump out and ask for its motor to be tested by a local electrical motor repair company who provides that service - compare the estimate of that testing with simply replacing the pump. Watch out: When a motor is blowing a breaker, and provided it was wired and given the proper amperage to start with, I would never simply try a higher-amp circuit. Doing so invites an electrical fire or injury. - stay safe Daniel @Inspectapedia Com Moderator, I see. I appreciate your insight on this. My understanding is we're at 'the motor needs to be replaced'? Is it worth trying giving it a higher amp circuit? If the well is toast, I think the shortest path to getting water to this house is connect to municipal water rather than repair the well, but if there's something I can do with just the electrical end of this to get it going, that'd be ideal. Is that a fair assessment? Is there anything else to give a try before declaring this thing shot? @Dan, That sounds like you might have a low resistance and developing short in the motor run winding or main winding. Keep in mind that when the motor starts to spin conditions in the windings can change and a break can open up or short circuit can close. As a point of comparison, a dead short will show zero or close to zero resistance. Another test point is measuring the current strong when the motor is attempting to start. For example if a Motors bearing has seized the motor will draw High Coronavirus @Inspectapedia Com Moderator, I did test the winding resistances and compared to the chart. The sticker on the motor says 'Model 2801054915' HP 1/2, volts 230 The chart in the box for 1/2 hp 230 volts says "Main BLK-YEL - 4.2-5.2 Ohms" My ohm meter says 1.3 ohms for this. It also says "Start RED-YEL - 15.5-19.6 Ohms" my meter says 13.3 for this, so both are low, that first one could be a lot too low. It also says the current motor running loaded amps is 5.9 (not sure that's useful) What do you make of those numbers? @Dan, Do you think we've simply got a dead short - in the pump motor or pump wiring? Have you tried disconnecting from power (first turn power off) and then checking the resistance between the leads to the pump? Alright, let me lay it out: 3 years ago the water was shut off with a water valve. Well pump was replaced in 1996. The well pump motor circuit was left on, but presumably no pumping was required, as no water was being used. I'm now trying to troubleshoot the system. It's a two phase motor. When I first looked at it, one of the two 120 volt circuits had its breaker tripped, the other didn't. at the regulator, you could see 120 V. If I pushed in the other breaker, the first would immediately trip. If I open up the box containing the wiring for the pump and the starting capacitor, I could get both breakers pushed in. If I then close the wiring box, I get a spark and the breaker blows. Suspecting a short, I tested the winding resistances on the motor, and get non zero values across. Not exactly what's on the chart inside the box, but not far off. Looking at the starting capacitor, it looks like there's a hole in it on the bottom where fluid leaked out, so I replaced it with a smaller one with the same microfarads (59-71). this doesn't change anything. In fact, even with the capacitor not in the system, the breaker flips as soon as the circuit is connected (I suspect if I understood the circuit better this would not be a meaningful statement, but I'll say it here anyway because I'm fuzzy on it). At the regulator, I see 120 volts to ground on all the leads with both breakers connected. With one breaker pressed, one of the leads says 29 to ground rather than 0, which I found confusing. shouldn't it have said 0? I'm a little bit lost on how to proceed, I have a couple ideas: 1. the breaker trips immediately when connected. perhaps I need to somehow connect the capacitor to the circuit before the motor starts for it to charge, so the initial current draw doesn't flip the breaker? Is there some procedure I've missed for replacing the capacitor that does this? or does a 59-71 uF capacitor not have a real charging time? Perhaps having the capacitor blown also can break the blue circuit assembly thing for the capacitor in the circuit box and I need to replace that? 2. I know this idea is probably stupid. the breakers used are 2 independent 20 amp breakers. I could use a different circuit to test using a combined 40 or combined 60 amp breaker instead. maybe it needs a little more current, but is not actually shorted? Appreciate any insight you guys might have. Thanks, Dan
@Guy Priano, Thank you for a helpful long-electrical-wire run question. I don't think the problem is bleed-over; the problem is running a too-small wire size over a very long run that causes an excessive voltage drop. Please find your question repeated along with a detailed reply and our suggestions for wire sizes and an alternative, now found at SE CABLE & WIRE SIZES FOR LONG RUNS and let me know what you think. Be sure to read those notes as we've written in considerable detail to give a careful answer and explanation in reply to your question. I don't think the problem is bleed over. Nor is the use of conduit likely to be necessary over a half mile run of electrical wire. I think the root problem is that you've run a considerably undersized wire, and therefore have so much resistance that the voltage delivered at the far end is completely inadequate and the wiring is at risk of overheating and being unsafe. We've given you the wire sizes that would be required for that run length. When I replace the
wire it will be in conduit. Maybe I need three separate wires that are direct burial so there is no bleed over? Just need to know what kind and size of wire that will perform without problems. @Aaron, It sounds like an electrician is needed to trace the circuit to find the break or open connection. Watch out: a broken, live electrucal wire can be a serious shock or even electrocution hazard. My water stoped after a bad rain storm I changed the pressure switch and got new control box. I am getting power in and out pressure switch but the control box is far away down by the road. When I check the power coming to control box L1 the white wire reads 0 and the black wire reads 120. I need 230 does this mean I have a break in the wire from pressure switch to control box or have I don’t something wrong? Any help greatly appreciated been going on a week without water !! @Anonymous, Turn off the well circuit immediately to avoid dangerous or fatal electric shock. Your electrician or pump installer will perhaps test the pump circuit and may find shorted wires. When I touch well casing I feel electric current but pump will not run @Eddie, sounds like it's time to pull the pump; In doing-so, also check the well piping and wiring as they rise out of the well casing - for signs of abrasion or wear that might tell us that the pump was torquing and twisting the pipes and wires. @inspectapedia.com.moderator, Yes current variation happens in conjunction with “growling” as I indicated in my previous statement. @Eddie, Thanks keep us posted; also double check to see if the current variation occurs at the same time as the growling noise; @inspectapedia.com.moderator, Sorry for late follow up, Been busier than usual. Finally picked up "amp clamp". When well pump running as normal (full flow out of fill pipe to tank) I read 6.5 amps. When flow reduces to 1/2 normal flow (noticeable "growl" with ear to pump up pipe) amps drop 1 full amp to read 5.5 amps. That particular situation happens NOT very frequently and intermittently (without any pattern). Flow of water never stops completely. When tank is full and float switch breaks power, everything is normal / quiet, except for pump control relay clicking (I assume on and off, but no momentary show of amps comes up. Still waiting on new
sensitivity device to see if that is affecting control. @Eddie, That's why the amps test is useful, to get an idea of the condition of the motor before pulling a pump. It's also possible that the noise you're hearing is from a failing impeller assembly. @inspectapedia.com.moderator, Thank you. Yes I agree clamp-on would be best and until this point have not had need for that specialty meter, but should get one. One more bit of info though: this well problem is from well pump originally installed by original owner, who is long gone and I have now become care taker of it. My other well is my install and I have kept record of everything. So this other well pump with problem is unknown make, model, depth, and I can only assume 1/2 hp as indicated by control box (who knows if that is even correct one for pump). I see so much of install that, yes, it has worked, but not the way I would have installed it. So not knowing it's particulars, amp reading may or may not help unless it is so far off chart for any average 1/2 hp pump. While waiting for new sensitivity device to arrive I listened to pump operation with ear pressed to up pipe, and occasionally and intermittently a growl can be heard that sounds like maybe a the thrust bearing is failing and causing impeller to shift enough to rub but not bind pump enough to trip off. So it really still appears to be a intermittent momentary stop in supply power to pump. One other thing, this could probably be original pump, putting it at 25 yrs approx age. If so, replacement would be warranted. I just wanted to be sure problem is not above ground. And thank you for your individualized assistance. Easier than someone else filling in and maybe not going back over everything I've provided to this point. @Eddie, I'm same mod, in this case, but a few days older. We do have more than one editor. And moderators may discuss and compare notes in forming an answer. Typically you would use a clamp-on ammeter on the individual leads to the pump. @inspectapedia.com.moderator, I guess I should have phrased it differently regarding amp measurement . I know how to safely test amp with multimeter (in series). What I wanted to know was if it mattered where since pump control panel is closed to run. I guess I do it at sub panel next to pump control and connect in series at float switch wire that
connects breaker to pump control. May I ask are you the same person who I started all this with, or do the moderators change? @Eddie, AMPS MEASUREMENT METHODS https://inspectapedia.com/electric/Amps_Measurement.php Watch out: fatal electrical shock hazards are present. Do not open an electrical meter enclosure nor electrical panel if you have not had proper safety training and/or if you do not have proper safety equipment. @inspectapedia.com.moderator, Voltage at L1 /L2 is 230v. Which terminals at pump control box do I use for checking running amps, I assume it would be the run wire(s)? Using my VOM, please advise the correct method. Also I'll be ordering new protection device like the module currently installed. As noted in my last comment I don't believe it is functioning correctly. And lastly (unless amp test shows problem) I may replace pump switch leads that run from tank to control box on chance somewhere in the conduit
underground it has been compromised. @Eddie, It probably would be useful to confirm the actual voltage being supplied and to check the current draw of the pump for any abnormal amperage level that would indicate a pump problem. Take care: if you're not familiar with electrical tests, you could be shocked or killed. @inspectapedia.com.moderator, Sorry for slow response; I'm working many projects on large acreage. I have suspected the protection device and glad your thinking is along mine. Here's the little troubleshooting I mustered up: first I removed the device and plugged pump control panel back in momentarily, turn on breaker and relay resumed clicking on and of just as when protection device is in. I reinstalled the device and played with both it's "restart delay/calibration adjustment adjuster" and played with "sensitivity adjuster". No affect at all , except if I left it in reset position, then clicking intervals slowed way down. The protection device is PumpSaver Plus by SymCom. Model 231-Insider-P. (1/3 - 1HP, 230 vac). There is no low water level. No constriction ( unless caused by low voltage or voltage drop somewhere slowing the pump momentarily and intermittently) that I can not find when looked for. Yes your assumption of 5000 gal tank is correct. It is only a gravity supply to a Goulds booster pump on a separate circuit controlled by Square D pressure switch to supply pressure to bladder tank.
And right now this is not an emergency situation as I visually monitor storage level and turn on breaker to fill tank when needed so relay does not sit there clicking . It is low use so I have only had to do this once a day, as I have another well system for all daily needs. Thank you . @Eddie, Just some vague guesses: consider how the pump protection device works. Usually it's monitoring current draw or Amps as an indicator that a pump may be running dry (and thus subject to damage). So we could have low voltage, or a failing sensor in the pump protection device itself, or even a constriction in the piping system (you've checked for this). I am assuming your 5000g tank is not pressurized and that no pressure control switch and loss of air in the tank is causing trouble. Start by identifying the exact pump protection advice installed: brand and model, then tell us that information; let's both read how that device works and what might cause it to short cycle. I have a submersible well pump that fills a 5000 gal. storage tank. Pump motor is controlled by a pump motor control with protection device inside, and a Pumpmaster float switch. My problem, that is now present from original installation, seems to be control of the power to the pump. When float switch activates pump motor, it fills normally for about 10 minutes and then clicks off and immediately back on, and keeps pumping as if nothing happened. A few minutes later it repeats . After multiple episodes the pump appears to struggle but keeps running and just flowing 1/2 the amount of water for about 20 seconds and then resumes normal flow. This series of actions continue until float switch opens (tank full). However the relay in the control box continues to click on and immediately off repeatedly with no activation of pump ( as pump switch is open). There is no shortage of water. No sediment/debris visible in bottom of tank (clean) to indicate clogging. Float switch is not bobbing in tank. Correct voltage is present and all connections checked and good. Pump motor insulation and windings all test good. Motor control capacitor and relay test good. Swapped out motor control and float switch with same known good components - no change in problem. Any ideas? Thank you. @Tshuma, Lightning strike Causes of burning of a cable of a submissible pump @Harriet Blain, Sorry I don't see an orange wire, but I do see two red and a yellow and a black. Two wires are power in to the switch and two are power out to the pump. The terminals are labeled at least inside the switch cover showing which two connections are LINE (incoming power) and the other two will be LOAD (to the pump). Watch out: At least one of your wires, the yellow one, is burned and overheated. The problem could be a bad switch (have it replaced) or the pump itself could be bad. Watch out: there is live voltage at those terminals. Touching them with power -on you could be shocked or killed. What is the orange wire to a pressure tank switch for? Woke up this morning to no wate @Dave, I would start by checking that the pump works properly by running it directly, temporarily bypassing the Pumptec pump saver. https://inspectapedia.com/water/Water-Pump-Control-Switch-Manuals.php WATER PUMP PRESSURE SWITCH MANUALS gives us Franklin Electric, PUMPTEC-PLUS PUMP CONTROL & PROTECTION SYSTEM INSTALLATION GUIDE [PDF] (2013) Franklin Electric, op. ci at https://inspectapedia.com/water/Pumptec-Plus-Manual-Franklin.pdf that has some nice wiring illustrations. Also for other readers we provide: https://inspectapedia.com/water/Water-Pump-Repair-Manuals.php WATER PUMP & TANK I&O & REPAIR MANUALS I just installed a new 1 hp submersible pump with a Franklin control box it turns out I have a low flow well one half to one gal. Per minute so I bought a pumptec pump saver. I need to know how to wire my pumptec to my control box and my float switch.the way I have it wired now there is still one twenty going to the pump in all three wires even though the pumptec turned off the pump there is no water coming out of the well. Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you in advance. @Don, In a typical 240 volt electrical circuit you will find half that amount when measuring between each of the individual wires and neutral or ground. Trying to test the wires going power to the pump and I'm only getting 130 from one wire and it's a 230 pump at the pressure switch of this deep well submersible pump I am getting two 1:30 readings from two separate screws what should the reading be at the pump I believe it should be 1:30 * 2 @Joe, Sometimes some simple electrical tests using a v o n or DMM can tell you whether it is a short to ground or a hot neutral short or an open wire. But ultimately you'll need to follow the wiring to find the damage. Hi my connection between well pump and irrigation panel is failing , there is power but does not relay from well to box, any ideas? Thank you @Anonymous, Check for any hair rake in the piping which you can tell by the pump changing noise or sound as it runs and check for a damaged or
clogged impeller in the pump Pump is primed but will not pump water @Cliff, I think that a submersible well pump could be damaged or put out of commission by electrical shorts or low voltage or other problems in the electrical supply. Is it possible that a submissive pump die of poor wiring @Sam Smith, To answer with confidence I would need to know more about how and where you made your tests and also whether or not you have one simple pressure control switch or a switch that is in turn operating a 240 volt relay control showing at the top of this page. In general you would not expect to see voltage on the wires to the pump unless the pressure control switch was in the closed position. At that point if you're not seeing voltage at the pressure control switch on the pump wires and then I suspect the problem is the switch or relay. I'm showing 240 on the 2 wires of the relay coming
from the power box. However, I'm not showing any voltage on the wires coming from the pump. I know I need to go towards the pump to see if there is another junction box and if so if it's showing 240 there. However, if the wires are ok is it likely that the water pump has gone bad? @Tom, with two wires and 220 volts I would expect you would get 220 volts between the two wires coming from your electric panel. Are we on the same page here? This is a big world water pump 220
volts 2 wire With the closed circuit on the pressure switch the voltage reads 250 volts on one leg and 0 voltage on the other leg I checked the voltage on the line and load on the pressure switch one side is 250 and the other side is 0 Edwin Unfortunately, sending 220VAC to a motor wired for 120VAC may damage the motor if in fact you fed it 220 volts; if you just fed one leg and thus 120V to the pump it may be ok, but you want to use the proper pressure control switch too. I hooked up new pump and forgot to change the switch from 220 to 110, will this hurt the pump capacity? Please find recently-posted question(s) or comments along with our reply now at the Reader Q&A section near the bottom of the article above on this page. You may need to clear or refresh your browser cache to see the updated page. We welcome your further photos, comments, questions. That sounds odd indeed, Jarry; I'd expect around 120VAC on each leg of a 240V circuit when tested from leg to ground, and around 240VAC when tested leg-to-leg. You could have a damaged wire enroute to the pump or a pump motor winding that's shorting. Sorry to say you may need to pull the pump to check wiring and pump motor Do keep me posted; what you find will help others. ok the deep well pump i installed 2 years ago quit,,, its a 220 v 3 hp about 100 foot deep,,,, well i had replaced the gauge and pressure switch when i put it in,,, its a 2 wire pump........ ok so i thought i tested circuits,, it sits like many below ground and the manual shut off was a fused box ...... so after i tested them and no breakers were tripped ,,,, i checked voltage and the voltage with wires on supply to fuse box disconnected show 120 on each,,, then i connected them and coming from the new breaker box they show 120 each side,,,, and good solid ground,,,, but when i connect them to the pressure
switch and pump and turn them on the one leg on the pressure switch goes to 168 and the other is like 78 v so the pump isnt working, i did unhook wires from the pressure switch and the continuity tester shows one leg and ground making continuity the other is ope.n. this pump being a 2 wire only has the pressure switch no control box my email is Are you certain that the problem is that the pump isn't running as opposed to a running pump but a leak or piping
problem? So I bypassed my pressure switch and starter box to test the 11 year old pump at my parents place. It had proper voltage and didn't kick on. So I replaced the pump with a brand new one. When I powered the system up nothing happened so I started trouble shooting the system as I always have. Everything tested just fine but still nothing. So I once again ran a jumper wire from the supply at the emergency shut off straight to the pump and still it did nothing. I know for a
fact it's getting proper voltage to the pump at all times no matter what. I'm returning the new pump tomorrow. Am I wrong thinking that the new pump is bad too? What's not working, Amit: Water tank Water pump Water meter? I'll be glad to help but I need a clue about what we're discussing. water tank pump meter... is not working... Gil Please tell me the "unit" brand and model The unit was beeping. Now green light is flashing. What does it mean June If your pump is tripping the circuit breaker the usual causes are a failing pump motor or possibly damaged electrical wiring. our sumersable pump starts but a few minutes it trips Stephen The most common cause of repeated breaker tripping for your pump would be a failing pump motor; that may be due to a bad bearing, running the pump dry, or less common, low voltage or damaged wiring. What are the causes of continue tripping off of over load switch on residential submersible pump When my well pump comes on my line voltage goes down. I notice this as dimmed lights will dim even more. What would fix this symptom?? Do I need to run a larger wire size? My pump is probably 150' from the holding tank. Probably not, Jose. I may have been hasty (trying to answer too many questions too fast - apologies). The symptom you describe occurs usually when there is low flow rate of water into the well combined with a pump protection switch or device (designed to shut off the pump to prevent it from running "dry" and thus being damaged). A diagnostic step is to stop using water for as long as you can - several hours or more - to let the well recover (if it can). IF then you find that the pump delivers water normally, the problem is probably poor or low flow rate. Let me know and we can take it from there. Thanks for the response Dan. Could the problem be a leaky foot valve if the pump doesn’t lose prime? The pump is able to immediately pump water every time it turns on but it only stays on for a few seconds. This happens even if I’m holding the pressure control “fill” lever. Jose The no. 1 most-common cause of loss of water after a power loss, provided the well or electrical system didn't itself take a direct lighting strike, is that the well had a pre-existing leaky foot valve. During the power outage the pump lost prime as water drained back into the well. Try re-priming the pump, but ultimately you'll need to replace the leaky foot valve or other check valve in the system. BTW, I forgot to add that when the pump shuts off after running for a few seconds it won’t run again until about 20-30 seconds later, even if manually holding the pressure switch “fill” lever We had a storm a few days ago and lighting (sounded fairly close) that cut our power off until the utility company fixed things a few hours later. We continued using water while power was out but had no water pressure when power came back. I replaced the old pressure switch with a new one that has the little lever to manually switch on the pump to refill the tank when pressure drops too low. The pump only runs for a few seconds and then shuts off. I have to manually hold lever (over and over) until I finally get enough pressure in the tank where the switch takes over, but even then the pump only runs in 2-5 second increments until it reaches max pressure (60 PSI). Pump is about 5 years old without problems prior to this. What could be causing this issue?? Really The pump may be a 220V motor unit - do you know? How do I
wire a old well pump . It doesn't have a ground wire ? There no place for one . The burned wiring tells us that there was (probably) a short circuit in the wiring and/or a seized pump motor. Watch out: It is of course unsafe. I worry as well that no fuse blew nor circuit breaker tripped. Do not just insulate and turn power back on. Leave the circuit off to avoid a fire and shock hazard - sorry I know that's not exactly convenient. Your repair tech or electrician will do some tests to find out if the problem is a seized pump motor or shorted wires - that's when we will know what repair is needed. You will need at least a new pressure control switch (notice the overheated, burned contacts not just the wires), and perhaps some new wire and most trouble, perhaps a new pump). Do keep me posted. Wire on well pump charred. [Photo above] Water shut off and when restarted saw a spark. Can I just insulate? How do I fix this please? Dave Two common causes of a circuit breaker tripping when the pump turns on are - a short circuit anywhere in the well pump wiring - those issues are discussed above on this page - a seized or frozen pump motor - details are at ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE inspectapedia.com/electric/Electric_Motor_Diagnosis.php but Your electrician can do some simple tests, measuring resistance, to get a clue about what's happening. If the pump is a submersible unit, in the well, it may have to be pulled in any case, as the problem is either the wiring or the pump or its control switch. Hi, i need help, anytime I put on my water pump, the cucuit breaker Trips, what could be the problem? Stuart I can but make a feeble guess as you don't give the name of equipment, model no. etc. that would permit consulting the installation and operation manual for your well pump (or other equipment unspecified) But typically a power fault means low voltage or loss of voltage or, less likely, reversed polarity. Knowing the context is diagnostic: is this a new indication on equipment previously installed and working properly or has the indicator always been on since installation? What would cause a main power fault indicator on my main system board? Question: what caused my well pump pressure control switch to burn up like this?Wire on well pump charred. Water shut off and when restarted saw a spark. Can I just insulate? How do I fix this please? (See picture. It’s the burnt wire on the right) Wire fried on well pump. Water stopped working. Then wire sparked when turned back on. How can I fix it please?(far right wire see image) - Valerie Moderator reply: burned wiring probably means shorted wires or damaged / failed water pumpEric The burned wiring tells us that there was (probably) a short circuit in the wiring and/or a seized pump motor. It is of course unsafe. I worry as well that no fuse blew nor circuit breaker tripped. Do not just insulate and turn power back on. Leave the circuit off to avoid a fire and shock hazard - sorry I know that's not exactly convenient. Your repair tech or electrician will do some tests to find out if the problem is a seized pump motor or shorted wires - that's when we will know what repair is needed. You will need at least a new pressure control switch (notice the overheated, burned contacts not just the wires), and perhaps some new wire and most trouble, perhaps a new pump). If the pump motor is seized (or overheated and failed) that in turn can be caused by a variety of problems such as well running dry or pump running constantly. Do keep me posted. Reader follow-up: my pump was cycling on and off alotThank you so much for your quick response Daniel. My water pump cycles a lot. Do you think the two are related. Over used/overworked system? Just curious. Hope to have a specialist come out today. Will definitely keep you posted. Thanks again. Moderator reply: pump short cycling can cause well pump damage and / or pressure switch burn-upYes - if you search InspectApedia.com with the on page search box you will find our articles on WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING - home Often the cause is a water-logged pressure tank. But prolonged rapid on-off cycling might indeed burn up a pressure control switch. If that was the cause you will be so lucky because the fix is pretty easy and all above ground. Replace the switch and any burned wiring and correct the air charge in your pressure tank. Search InspectApedia.com for WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD and also see WATER TANK AIR HOW MUCH TO ADD Your pressure control switch is damaged and should be replaced. More details are at WATER PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES - home and WATER PUMP SWITCH INSTALLATION MANUALS Watch out: don't try electrical wiring yourself if you're not trained as you could be shocked or killed. Bobby That certainly sounds like a low-voltage problem. Often when a pump motor itself is failing it can draw high current and dim lights, but as you have a new pump I suspect the problem is in the wiring or panel or electrical service itself. An electrician would 1. check supply voltage right at the electrical panel 2. check every wiring connection for looseness, overheating, arcing, corrosion, etc. 3. check circuit fusing and wire sizes and lengths There's low voltages going
to my pump when the points are open when I close the points it gets higher voltage I have a light in well house so I can see when pump is running its dim with points open gets bright whe there closed what should I be looking for short or miss wiring I've change the pump all doing the same Tonya Most-likely yes there is a central underlying issue - either a very low flow rate well or simply a loss of well prime. The problem we are having after a period of a
couple of months of no use of the property we arrive with no water. The 1st time the delay box was replaced,2 nd time the pump was replaced now the same issue. During last stay at property during heavy usage the water would recover slowly. Is there a main issue that could be causing these other issues to fail? Aaron I cannot bet your life or the fire-safety of your building by making a guess at exactly what wiring you're trying to connect - I've got just no information about what your pump and control wires are. Typically in electrical wiring Black = hot and White = neutral, particularly on 120VAC circuits. However if your pump is a 240V pump someone could have run a two wire circuit to it and both wires could be hot. So sorry but I can't give an answer to what wires go where on an unknown switch for an unknown pump. It's just too dangerous. Please keep in mind that if you are not trained and familiar with proper and safe electrical wiring, making a mistake can kill someone or burn down the building. Where do the black and white wire go on a well pump that has a regulator switch Anon: Please see your question and my detail reply at https://inspectapedia.com/water/Well-Pump-Wiring-Damage.php Why would the wires in my well keep breaking I bought some new property that has a deep well pump which is 375' to 400', it is a old homestead when the previous owners left they cut all the wires in well casing and at concrete slab,why is beyond me. It's 3 wire, is there any way I can test pump before I sink money in a control box,new wire and pressure tank or do I just need to pull pump and replace? Darryl I'd like to help but am a bit scared of you getting electrocuted (killed) on Christmas Eve. If the pump uses 220 and only one line has power (120 or 110V) then the other line is open, and dangerous. If you can't find the break in the wiring it'd be safest to leave power off until you have an electrician on site. I'm not sure what the water valve switch is. The water pump ought to be completely independent from the septic lift pump. I have a 220 volt submersible pump for domestic water. It stopped working. Only 110 volt at the switch. Checking breaker, I have 220. However I noticed a wire labelled water valve switch inline with one leg of pump supply. It would appear this is open. What is this water valve
switch. Note , I have above ground septic bed with lift pump. Merry xmas. Help My well problems began with total loss of water throughout my home. We could regain functionality by manually resetting the switch. This lasted for about two days, and then we had to do it again. The third time it happened, we were unable to manually reset the switch. We are a family of four that scrapes by on my income..... so, if manually resetting the switch gave us a temporary solution while trying to figure out a long term solution, that was our goal. So, we called a plumber out for an estimate. He immediately noticed we had a blown fuse in our service box. He used a piece of wire to jump the blown fuse and we still had spark at the switch, but in his words, not enough voltage to actually turn the pump on because the wire was too small. So he surmised that the tank was bad and that was making the switch over work and that's why the fuse popped. He did no electrical testing before coming to this conclusion.... .the price he quoted was nearly $800.....we contacted some family members and scraped together enough to cover the repair. The tech came out the next day and upon looking over the situation determined that the tank was not the issue.... that it was probably something to do with the absence of a check valve, or the switch itself..... again, with zero electrical testing.....he told me that he couldn't simply add a check valve to the existing system or simply replace the switch because the plumbing was in disrepair and he'd probably break some things off when trying to do those things...... since we had already secured the funds to cover the repair I decided that replacing the tank as well as all components involved was a good idea since everything would be new and would ease my mind that it was all set. Plus, since the old tank was still holding air pressure I could maybe sell it for $100 or something. So the tech went about replacing the tank and all components. When finished, he tested it.... he told me all of the following only after he had finished..... he was only getting half of the 240 volts necessary at the switch with both fuses in place....so he took both fuses out and hard wired the fuse box. After doing so, he turned the breaker back on and something popped in the fuse box leaving a scorch mark inside of the fuse box and at that point he determined that the pump wasn't running..... so, essentially we paid them $800 for a repair that didn't fix the problem and now are saying that our pump is bad, that they will need to pull and replace it and that will cost me an additional $1000.... my questions are numerous....is hardwiring and bypassing fuses standard practice? Could the electrical spike that popped inside the box and scorched it have also fried my pump? They are telling me that the event that happened in the fuse box would definitely not have burned up my pump.... but they have been wrong and or shifty in general the whole time....are they trying to get me to pay them more to fix a problem that they created? And was that problem created by them due to incompetence and unsafe practices? I really don't know what to do and I would love some insight from a different source than the one who has misdiagnosed, potentially damaged my property, and denied wrongdoing at every turn. Thank you ... Continue reading at WATER PUMP WIRING DAMAGE or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX. Or see WELL PUMP WIRING REPAIR FAQs - questions & answers posted originally at this article Or see these Recommended Articles
Suggested citation for this web pageWATER PUMP WIRING REPAIR at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice. Or see this INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER SUPPLY, PUMPS TANKS WELLSOr use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia ... Ask a Question or Search InspectApediaTry the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly. Search the InspectApedia website Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. Apologies for the delay. Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca Technical Reviewers & ReferencesClick to Show or Hide Citations & References Does a 3 wire well pump need a control box?Three-wire pumps utilize a separate control box outside the pump that houses the important starting components, which is usually mounted on a nearby wall above the ground.
Can you run a well pump without a control box?The short answer is yes. Most pumps will work without a control box. But here's the rub – if you want your pump to run better, for more hours in the day, if you want to use a float switch, and if you want to protect your pump from voltage and current spikes, then a control box is an excellent addition to your system.
How do I reset my Franklin Electric control box?The unit must be manually reset by removing power for 10 seconds. (If you have a Pumptec remote control, this will be indicated by overload in the Pumptec Fault History.)
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Franklin electric well pump control box wiring diagram
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