Pump overheating

[Holzer]

I have a Hayward Superpump 3/4 hp inground pool pump, its overheating and shutting off, even have some burnt wire smell. The pump basket is clean, and skimmer basket is clean, wiring should be okay as the pump has been in operation for a few years. I have checked the impeller for debri and am running out of ideas. Anybody ?

Cheers
Ron

[Holzer]

Holzer, I'm having the same problem with my daughter's pool pump. It is also a Hayward super pump. I've checked line voltage, cleaned the pump, baskets etc. I even changed the motor out and replaced it with a used extra that I had. All to no avail. I'll let you know if I come up with a fix. Please do the same.

Thanks,

Pappy

[espritaville]

Any news .. I haven't opened mine up yet but hoping for fuse or overload protection inside ..
Any ideas yet from you two guys???
espritaville at yahoo dot com

[micahharwell]

Have you checked to see if the wires that feed the pump are sufficient? Wires that are too small will cause a motor to overheat.

[Backglass]

Have you checked to see if the wires that feed the pump are sufficient? Wires that are too small will cause a motor to overheat.

I was thinking the same thing...insufficient supply. Or the seal is bad and putting excess wear on the motor maybe?

[partee1s]

Hi!
I too am having a motor that is over heating.
It is a fairly new motor, it just started turning on and off by itself....I'm guessing it's an overheating issue.
Did you solve the issue with the previous overheated motors?
Any ideas to help me? It worked fine til end of last season.

I have a Hayward S400 filter, & a 3/4 horsepower pump &
20X40 inground
Thanks!

[Backglass]

Is the motor in direct sun? They will overheat easily in direct sun on a hot pool pad.

[ragus22]

I have a above ground swimimg pool and a Haywars motor which is having the same problem - overheating and triping. Can anyone share the info on how they got this fixed. Thanks

[AZ Poolowner]

My pump also recently started cutting off periodically after it gets very hot. I noticed the problem after I vacuumed the pool. When I take the lid off the skimmer basket the water level is higher then normal (spilling over sometimes). I cleaned the impeller but it had no impact. When the pump is running the pressure on the system is normal and the water returns to the system fine through the return, pop ups, water fall, aerator. I haven't tried a snake to check the pipes, but I'm wondering if it's a clogged line even though the pressure and return of water to the pool are fine.

[pool tech]

The solution to your problem is replace the motor. It would be nice if there was a cheaper alternative but theres not. If you do nothing the motor will stop working all together in the meantime the length of time it takes for the motor to overheat will get shorter. If you have a new motor under a year old it's still under warranty, but I don't think your spare motor is going to qualify. I've had customers ruin motors in less than a month by letting the pool water get to low or having their booster pump come on at the same time or before the filter pump. The last thing I see in common with all of you is you have Hayward pumps. Next time you buy any pool equiptment stay away from hayward it is junk. I only trust in pentair and sta-rite and i've serviced 30,000+ pools.

[stevek]

I just replaced my 3/4 hp hayward today with a 3/4 AO and having the same problem. In additon to this the pump is cycling(?), turning off and on but not like when it over heats and changes speeds. Any suggestions? The wiring was fine for the last 3/4 pump. Should I look at replacing it or is it a pump issue?

Steve

[Spotszilla]

Check your electrical connections all the way to the main panel for loose or bad connections. Get a cheap ammeter from harbor freight or borrow one and check your motor amperage. If its higher than the name plate on the motor you need to find the reason its over amping.

[terpanther]

I was having this problem and it was a connection wire inside the pump motor. Pump would run about 10 minutes, overheat and cut itself off. We unplugged everything inside the motor, cleaned them off and replugged them up and so far it is working fine.

[eddie43]

I have a heyward super pump ii and it just burned out after 4yrs. Everything was working good until today.I called the pool experts and they said it probably is just wear and tear.Its gonna costs about 400.00 to replace.

[RRich]

My motor too, is overheating and recycling on and off intermittently.

A couple of months ago, I found that my pump casing was cracked and leaking profusely. I disconnected and delivered, intact with pump, motor, and trap/strainer assembly, to my local pool supply/service shop. One of the owners happened to have a spare casing [discontinued Dominator], which he swapped and installed along with other needed parts, shaft seal, impeller, and other parts. After reconnection, I noticed that the motor would now shut down and restart intermittently – running approximately 10 to 20 minutes, shutting down, and then resting from 20 to 40 minutes before restarting. I checked the timer mechanism and the timer was still in the on position. I tried to manually reset the timer, but the motor still would not restart, until after it had cooled. I also checked to confirm that the breaker had not been tripped.

•Could the problem possibly be caused by the timer and if so, how can I tell?
•Could a smaller pump impeller or other problem with the pump mechanisms be causing the motor to overheat?
•A new motor might not be the solution.

Please read details below:

When I called the pool supply/service shop again, the owner thought maybe the technician had reset the motor for 220 volts while testing in the shop and suggested that I rewire to 115 volt. I checked and found that the motor was still set to 115 volts. Several weeks later, the owner made a house call, and without running the motor or testing, he immediately diagnosed that I needed a new motor, just based on my description of the problem. The pump repair had already cost me about $299. So, I reluctantly later agreed to purchase a “new” last year’s model A.O. Smith motor - $294 with shaft seal installation.

Before installing, I tested the voltage input and found it fluctuating at between 122 and 124.7 volts at the motor and at the timer. I reset the motor from the factory default of 220 volts to 115 and reconnected. When I powered-on, the motor ran for about 20 to 30 minutes and shut down. I switched the power off at the breaker and later called the repair shop, again. I’ve concluded that apparently, my problem is not with the motor(s), unless the new motor is defective too. So, before you run out and purchase a new motor [or pump] of any brand, I recommend that you be absolutely certain that will solve your problem.

The repair shop sent another technician to the house who found that other than slightly loose connections at the timer, he could find no problem. He noted that the loose connection was not significant enough to have caused a problem. He remained on-site with the motor running for over 20 minutes with his multimeter connected to see if we could observe a spike or drop in the voltage. No change was observed and no other problem was found. He agreed with me that the problem was not in the motor, unless it too was defective. The motor continued to run uninterrupted after he left for up to another 20 to 30 minutes while I continued to monitor.

Hoping that the loose wiring had been the problem, with the motor still running (over 40 minutes now], I went out at about 10:45 am and when I returned at about 2pm, the motor had started recycling again, now running only about 5 to 10 minutes, before shutting off - it was too hot to touch. This was a Friday, with outside temperatures getting up to only about 69 degrees that day. A couple of troubleshooting guides online stated that local electrical supply may drop during periods of high electrical demand and suggested running the pump during the evening [non-peak] hours. I haven’t done so yet and haven’t checked with my local utility company yet either.

The pool was built in the 50’s and we’ve owned the house for about 13 years. We've had an Aqua-Flo Dominator pool pump with 3/4 hp [Model 15907000]for about 8 to 10 years – no heater or other peripherals. The pump motor is connected to an Intermatic [T101R] 24-hour mechanical timer. Until recently, I don’t recall ever having a problem with the motor overheating and shutting down. However, four years ago this month, I replaced the pool timer. I don’t recall now exactly why I replaced the timer, but it kind of seems now that I was having a similar problem with intermittent shut downs, solved by replacing the timer. Could the problem possibly be caused by the timer and if so, how can I tell?. I can't find my notes from that time period.

Our pump pressure normally ran no lower than 18 PSI – sometimes after acid-washing the grids it ran as low as 15 PSI, but never ever lower than 15 and required sometimes weekly backwashing. Since the problem started with the motor, we also decided about 3 weeks ago to replace our old Sta-Rite DE Spin with a new Sta-Rite System3 media filter. After 13 years of inquiring about problem to the pool supply/servicer, one of the owners finally suggested replacing the standard impeller with a smaller one, to compensate for our one-inch filter to pool return line. When we purchased the A.O. Smith motor mentioned above, the pump impeller was changed out at that time. That seemed to solve the pressure problem, as the pressure now has been as low as 9 PSI. It's very noisy though, especially with the Kreepy Krauly connected. Could a smaller pump impeller or other problem with the pump mechanisms be causing the motor to overheat?

Please Help!!!