No water, control box clicking

[Jcollins]

Im in need of help!
Cold water pressure was next to nothing and now I've lost all water. We've replaced the pressure tank (bladder was ruptured), pressure switch, and pump control box. When we turn on the power, the pump control box clicks loudly and repeatedly...nonstop and still no water.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Valveman]

Typical failure mode of the old pressure tank only type water system. The pump cycles on and off every minute or so as designed, until the bladder in the tank breaks from going up and down over and over. Then the broken bladder makes the pump cycle faster and faster over time until it is kicking on and off every few seconds. The overload in the motor starts tripping, so the owner notices a problem and finally figures out the tank is bad. So after replacing the tank the control box just clicks and buzzes. If you are really lucky replacing the control box might get it back to working, at least for a while. But the "regular" cycling before the tank broke, added to the rapid cycling after the tank broke has put a lot of wear on the pump/motor. Even if a new control box gets it back to running again, be prepared to replace the pump very soon.

You could have replaced the tank with a PK1A constant pressure kit. It only needs a 4.5 gallon size tank, as the CSV1A in the kit is a Cycle Stop Valve than keeps the pump from cycling to death. You can still use a CSV1A with the tank you have now, and it will eliminate cycling and make the pump last much longer. The CSV cannot do anything about the damage to the pump that has already been done, and cannot make a bad pump come back to life. But if the old pump will still run, the CSV will keep it from being damaged any further. And if a new pump is in order, the CSV will keep cycling from destroying it like it did the last pump.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

Cold water pressure was next to nothing and now I've lost all water. We've replaced the pressure tank (bladder was ruptured), pressure switch, and pump control box. When we turn on the power, the pump control box clicks loudly and repeatedly...nonstop and still no water.

I presume the pressure switch is not clicking.

I think next would be to measure the resistances of the wires to the pump while disconnected from the control box.

 

[Jcollins]

New tank, new switch, new control box, new pump......power on....clicking....exploding brand new capacitor. Still never any water. What causes new capacitor to explode?

 

[Jcollins]

I got the 1hp control box to go with the new 1 hp pump. I'm losing my mind

 

[Valveman]

Make sure you have 240 volts to the control box and not just 115.

 

[Jcollins]

Make sure you have 240 volts to the control box and not just 115.

Can you clearly explain how to test it? My brain is fried at the moment from watching YouTube videos and trying to explain to my Spanish speaking fiancé....

 

[Valveman]

Put a volt meter probe on L1 and L2 in the control box. If you don't have 240 volts there check the breaker and wires.

 

[Jcollins]

Thanks. He's going to check it now.

 

[Jcollins]

It has 240 at the control box.

 

[ThirdGenPump]

Are you sure you wired the control box correctly? As in exactly the same as it was wired before?

 

[Jcollins]

Are you sure you wired the control box correctly? As in exactly the same as it was wired before?

He said yes.

 

[Valveman]

The only thing you haven't replaced is the wire? Might have been the only problem from the beginning?

 

[Reach4]

I am not a pro. If you want water tomorrow, I would find one who services well pumps and controls. Troubleshot, fixed same day normally. This is usually your smart move.

If you want to do this yourself, I think the next step would be to disconnect the wires connected to the control box from the pump, and measure resistances between the wires. The meter need to be able to measure low resistance. The power must be off to measure resistance and lift wires from terminals.

It would also be helpful to know what pump is in use, how long the wiring to the well is, how far down the well the pump is, what size wires are run.

If the wires are red, yellow, black, and (ground wire is either green or bare), start by measuring the resistance red-yellow, yellow-black, red-black, and yellow-(ground wire). It is possible there is no ground wire.

If the wire colors are different, measure what you can and identify