Well pump won't run

[Dan-Nola]

I have a 4 year old deep well pump 1hp (sta-rite brand)- recently just stopped running. Has brand new everything in the control box, and inside the top. Last thing installed was the capaciter -start/run- type... Still will not run-

I know the main motor itself isn't bad, because if one of the 3 wires going to the capaciter touched the body of the well, the well will kick on--- Any ideas would be of help.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

Do you have a decent multi-meter and the know-how to use it?
If not, you might as well call an expert in to diagnose it.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dan-Nola]

you might as well call an expert in to diagnose it

It's for an indigent neighbor who wouldn't be able to afford an expert.. I myself have changed out enough well parts to get by, and save the lady some money- The last time she called on an expert, he ended up getting her to install a complete new well system - the old one she let another neighbor have, and it turned out the only thing wrong with it was the control box was bad--- so yea.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

That's all good, but if you cannot measure resistance, current, and voltage- you would be just throwing parts at it and hoping to get lucky.

 

[Valveman]

I know the main motor itself isn't bad, because if one of the 3 wires going to the capaciter touched the body of the well, the well will kick on--- Any ideas would be of help.

This scares me! Something is not right and even sounds dangerous. It is probably the box again. I wouldn't do anything to the pump until I tried a new control box and made sure it was wired correctly

 

[LLigetfa]

I've never known a pump capacitor to have 3 poles so I'm guessing the OP is calling the whole pump control box a "capaciter". Anyway, of the 3 (4 with protection ground) wires, the only wire that should not result in sparks and a tripped breaker if ground to a metal well casing would be the neutral. If it is the neutral, then likely the neutral wire is bad between the wellhead and the breaker panel.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

Unless the well casing is connected to the equipment ground or one of the other wires is shorted to the casing, shorting any of the current carrying wires to the casing will NOT cause a breaker to trip.

 

[LLigetfa]

That could depend on the ground resistance and how much current is already carried by the breaker.

My electrical inspector insisted that I bond my well casing to the house protection ground.