Well Pump Wiring: Red, Black, Green?

[Robert Smith]

I'm trying to isolate an issue with my well and can't figure out what the wires are that go into my pump. All the reading I find says wires will be black-black-green, or black-red-yellow-green. Mine are red-black-green. I know all the greens are grounds, but trying to figure out what the red and black wires are. My goal is to bypass the controller and test a direct connection to the pump. The previous owners had a switch installed next to the controller so I can switch it on briefly to see if the pump runs. Would like to isolate the issue before calling in the cavalry (if I need to).

 

[Reach4]

Red and black are hots. The SQE pump is a 2-wire pump, and the hot wires are interchangeable.

See if you have about 240 volts between the two adjacent terminals with the red and white wires.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Robert Smith]

Red and black are hots. The SQE pump is a 2-wire pump, and the hot wires are interchangeable.

See if you have about 240 volts between the two adjacent terminals with the red and white wires.

I get around 259V on the red and white terminals so I guess power's getting to the box.

 

[Jadnashua]

+/- 5% is considered 'normal'. So, 259, while it should work, is a bit out of normal range. Your meter may not be well calibrated, so who really knows exactly what you have. Three phase stuff is a bit more critical than one-phase stuff like in a typical home.

 

[Robert Smith]

+/- 5% is considered 'normal'. So, 259, while it should work, is a bit out of normal range. Your meter may not be well calibrated, so who really knows exactly what you have. Three phase stuff is a bit more critical than one-phase stuff like in a typical home.

I'm using a cheap multimeter so you're likely correct about my high reading.

 

[Robert Smith]

Sorry to be dense (and trust me, I looked) but if I connect the (source-pump) red-red, white-black, green-green and flip the switch just to briefly test the pump, will I be doing it right? Just trying to isolate this issue.

 

[Jadnashua]

Bypassing the board might not be a great idea...I would need to know more about the board and the pump. Here, you need someone more familiar with the pieces involved to understand what the ramifications of bypassing it might be. May be fine, I don't know. I wouldn't risk it without knowing more.

 

[Reach4]

If it were mine, I would take the 4 wires out of the terminals strip before joining. I would leave the green wires attached for the test. I am not a pro.

 

[Tughillrzr]

what’s the issue?
need more pieces of the puzzle to help.
Pump not working? You can have pump bench tested

Break in wire? You can test power wires to pump

 

[Reach4]

what’s the issue?
need more pieces of the puzzle to help.
Pump not working? You can have pump bench tested

Break in wire? You can test power wires to pump

Described in https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/grundfos-cu301-no-contact-to-pump-situation.94173/

 

[Robert Smith]

Sorry, was running two parallel threads at the same time. My well stopped supplying water but the Grundfos C301 was still lit up with a No Connection error light. I wanted to bypass the controller and try to test the pump directly to see if it would run so I could isolate controller out of the equation.

 

[Valveman]

A "No Connection" fault from a CU301 and SQE is very normal unfortunately. The newest version, which I think is still Generation 7 will let the pump cycle on and off like it has a 15 PSI pressure switch bandwidth for I think 2000 times before it even shows a loss of connection. Using the same wires that take 240V down to the motor to send a radio signal from the motor to the controller is the problem.

Yes we have replaced thousands of CU301 controllers with a Cycle Stop Valve and a simple pressure switch. You can disconnect the CU301 and just wire the two hot wires directly to a 240V breaker to test the pump. If the pump still works all you need is a PK1A control kit to replace the CU301 with something that is dependable and long lasting.

We even have an instruction sheet on how to change out the CU301 to a Cycle Stop Valve control.
https://cyclestopvalves.com/pages/vfd-repair-kit