Pool pump problem

April 24, 2006 11:32 AM

Help me troubleshoot the pump for my in-ground pool before I pay an electrician!

The Magnetek pump for my in-ground pool stopped working yesterday. When I flip the switch in the Intermatic timer box thingy, I get nothing. No humming, whirring..and definitely no pumping. (The electromechanical timers are not getting power either). I checked the main circuitbreakers and everything is cool there. All the wires appear to be connected and otherwise look normal. Is there typically another switch/breaker somewhere in a pool pump set up? Any other ideas?

posted by punkfloyd to home & garden (4 answers total)

Is the system on a GFI curcuit? and have you checked the GFI reset if so?
posted by plumberonkarst at 11:37 AM on April 24, 2006

Do you have a volt meter? If you do, disconnect the wiring from the pump, or unplug the pump from the outlet, and see if there is any voltage on the line.
posted by odinsdream at 11:48 AM on April 24, 2006

um, call an electrician! While I generally think it's worth it to go for a do it yourself solution if possible, in-ground pool pumps aren't something I would dare mess with. Consider the pastor who was killed fairly recently when the insulation in the baptism pool failed and an electrical short developed (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4394722.stm). When you're dealing with electrical devices designed to be used underwater, it's not worth risking your life; get a qualified specialist to check it out.
posted by zachlipton at 4:46 PM on April 24, 2006

To elaborate on plumberonkarst's answer - if a GFI outlet trips, it can cut off everything on the same circuit, and the breaker won't trip. Several non-GFI outlets in my house quit working, and it took me quite a while to figure that out and find the one GFI outlet they were connected to.
posted by one at 5:33 PM on April 24, 2006